All language subtitles for Air.Disasters.S18E19.Runaway.Train.1080p.SMIT.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-maldini_track3_[eng]

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: A freight
train is out of control.

Get on the phone.

Tell 'em we got a runaway train.

7551 to West Colton.

NARRATOR: It's brakes can't hold
as it rockets down a mountain.

Mayday!

Mayday!

We're doing 90 miles
an hour-- nine, zero.

NARRATOR: Now thousands of
tons of steel and freight

are heading straight
for a small city.

[suspenseful music]

We're gonna die on that curve!

NARRATOR: An innocent
mistake risks

the lives of everyone on board,
and many more in the city

below.

[clatter]

WOMAN (ON INTERCOM):
Ladies and gentlemen,

we are starting our approach.

We lost both engines.

[radio chatter]

MAN (ON RADIO): Mayday.

Mayday.

WOMAN: Brace for impact!

MAN: He's gonna crash!

[music playing]

NARRATOR: San
Bernardino, California--

a quiet outer suburb at the foot
of the San Gabriel Mountains.

It's a great place
to raise a family,

in between the emptiness
of the Mojave Desert

and the bustle of Los Angeles.

When we had problems
in the neighborhood,

we could go to one another.

And it was a very
nice neighborhood.

NARRATOR: But in
1989, San Bernardino

is rocked by two disasters
that killed six people.

18 houses are
completely destroyed.

It begins with an
out of control train.

60, 70, 80!

[explosion]

NARRATOR: And it ends
with a raging fire.

MAN: You could see a huge cloud
of black smoke in the air.

RUSSELL QUIMBY: The scene
looked like Dante's Inferno.

NARRATOR: The disasters
appear linked,

but they happened more
than a week apart.

Investigators combed
through the wreckage

to find the hidden connection.

Help!

Somebody help me!

NARRATOR: They uncover a
series of shocking decisions,

which have deadly
consequences for some

and scar a city forever.

[ominous music]

Early morning, May 12, 1989--

on a railroad siding
in the desert,

a freight train waits to head
west over California's San

Gabriel Mountains.

Frank Holland is the chief
engineer for Southern Pacific

freight train number 7551 East.

Well, my job as an engineer
is to get on the train,

operate the locomotives,
obey the rules, speeds,

slow down and restrictions,
and get the train from point A

to point B.

NARRATOR: Holland's
work on this trip

actually begins the night
before at the Mojave Railyard.

Southern Pacific
puts some trains

together here, with
crews and engines to take

them across the country.

Holland begins by collecting
the paperwork on his assignment.

[knock on door]

Hey, Frank.

Hi.

NARRATOR: Holland was
promoted to chief engineer

three years before.

OK.

Clearance form, train
orders, train list,

and tonnage profile.

NARRATOR: The
paperwork tells him

he's hauling 69 freight cars,
each one weighing 60 tons.

Holland also learns
that the cars are filled

with the same thing, trona,
a nontoxic chemical used

in fertilizer.

So you start making your
calculations on what kind

of horsepower you're
gonna have to have to take

that train down that hill.

And that will tell you
at what speed you can go.

Thanks.

Have a good one.

NARRATOR: All together,
Holland's paperwork tells him

he's hauling more than
3,800 tons, more than eight

fully loaded jumbo jets.

The cargo's final
destination is South America.

On this leg, Holland's
taking it to the West Colton

terminal near Los Angeles.

To do that, he'll
have to haul the cargo

up the San Gabriel Mountains
and through the Cajon Pass.

Then he'll carefully
slow his huge train

as it winds down the mountain.

OK, guys, we're going
down to West Colton.

We've got 69 cars
filled with trona.

NARRATOR: Everett Crown
is the conductor of 7551.

He'll sit up in the front
engine to assist Holland.

Alan Rice is the
brakeman this morning.

He'll ride two engines back.

I'll be back at 3:00.

NARRATOR: Between
them, the three men

have almost 50 years of
experience working the trains

with Southern Pacific.

[ominous music]

To make sure he has enough power
to move his train up and down

the mountain, Holland has
asked for a little assistance.

Southern Pacific dispatchers
send him to helper engines.

Lawrence Hill is the
engineer at the back.

Robert Waterbury
is his brakeman.

While they've run this
route before, it's not one

they normally work.

They don't know the weight
of the cargo they're helping

to haul, and they don't ask.

7551 East now has four engines
up front and two behind.

With the last two in place,
the train is all set to go.

Helper calling head end.

Head end.

Coupled and ready to go.

Roger that.

[music playing]

[bell dinging]

NARRATOR: 7551 East
slowly picks up speed.

In just an hour
and a half it will

reach the top of the mountains--
the 3,700-foot Cajon Pass.

[ominous music]

On the other side
of the mountains,

the city of San Bernardino
is slowly coming to life.

The Muscoy section is a fairly
new development on the city's

northwestern edge.

It's filled with single-story
homes and growing families.

Christopher Shaw is waking
up at 2326 Duffy Street.

It's his mother's house.

But after a fight
with his girlfriend,

he'd spent the night.

Across the street, Ruth Green
has gotten three children

out of bed and off to school.

Her oldest daughter,
Lavon is staying home.

It's just my
daughter and I, and

we're just making ready for what
we considered a normal morning.

We had had our breakfast
and was straightening up

in the kitchen.

NARRATOR: This part
of San Bernardino

sits right next to
the train tracks.

Trains pass by on a levee
almost 20 feet high.

Some of the houses
on Duffy Street

back right up to the tracks.

[music playing]

Just after 7:00 AM, 7551 East
reaches the highest point

of its trip, the Cajon Pass.

It's mostly downhill from here.

The railway pass helps
keep Los Angeles connected

to the rest of the world.

It's one of only three ways
to get through the mountains.

Dozens of trains rumble
through it every day.

Traditionally in railroading,
mountain railroaders

are respected as the big
guys, the tough guys,

because they have the
most demanding job.

Cajon Pass is one of
the toughest mountain

passes for railroaders to
deal with in the entire United

States.

So many trains go over
it, and it is extremely

demanding, that everyone
has to be on their toes 100%

all the time.

- No chance.
- No?

No.

NARRATOR: Engineer Frank Holland
and conductor Everett Crown

have the train
running right on time.

They haven't had to
communicate with the two men

at the back of the train
since the trip began.

They've had no need to.

Everything's running smoothly.

Now comes the most critical
part of the journey--

slowing the massive train as
it starts down the mountain.

What we do when we run a train
from the Mojave area to Colton

is basically we
drive it off a cliff.

At that point, the track
tips over and goes downhill

at a very steep grade, 2.2%.

And for trains, 2.2 feet
down in every 100 feet

is like falling off a cliff.

[ominous music]

NARRATOR: As 7551 East
begins heading downhill,

the crew still believe
it's a normal run.

What they don't know
is that their train

has already out of control, and
they have no way to stop it.

[ominous music]

NARRATOR: May 12, 1989, just
after 7:00 in the morning,

Southern Pacific
freight train 7551 East

begins the long, slow
descent from the top

of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The massive train is hauling
69 cars full of freight.

At the bottom of the hill--

the sleepy city of San
Bernardino, California.

As the tracks start
to dip downhill,

engineer Frank Holland
applies his dynamic brakes.

They slow each of
the six engines,

reducing the speed
of the entire train.

He's only allowed to go 30
miles an hour through the pass.

He checks in with Lawrence
Hill, the engineer in the helper

engine in the back
of the train, to make

sure he can maintain his speed.

Calling the helper.

This is the helper.

You got all your dynamics?

Yeah, I'm in full.

NARRATOR: Holland starts
applying his air brakes.

They put pressure on the
wheels of each freight car.

The train is now traveling
at 25 miles an hour.

That's exactly where
Holland wants it to stay.

But as they leave the
mountains, Holland's brakeman,

Everett Crown, notices that
the train is picking up speed.

Frank, we're at 30.

We should be at 25.

NARRATOR: Confused, Holland
continues to increase

the pressure on the air brakes.

But the train just
keeps going faster.

FRANK HOLLAND (VOICEOVER):
By the time it reached

40-miles-an-hour, I
was very concerned

that the train was speeding.

NARRATOR: As the train
approaches 45-miles-an-hour,

Holland turns his
air brakes on full.

It doesn't help.

At the bottom of
the hill, the track

bends around San Bernardino.

Holland knows he
shouldn't take the turn

at more than 40-miles-an-hour.

Halfway down the incline, he's
already going much faster.

Ruth Green's husband
has left for work.

Her three youngest
children are at school.

Across the street, Chris Shaw
is just about to take a shower.

There are several houses in
the way if the train comes off

the track.

FRANK HOLLAND: I'd been over
that territory many times.

And, yeah, I knew that there
was a curve coming down there

that we weren't gonna make.

[ominous music]

NARRATOR: At the
back of the train,

engineer Lawrence Hill also
knows they're in trouble.

The air brakes are
turned on full,

but the train isn't
slowing down at all.

Something must
be wrong up there.

NARRATOR: Without talking
to the front of the train,

Hill slams on the
train's emergency brakes.

It's their last chance.

The train, at
that point, tried

to slow down a little bit.

A couple seconds later,
it was off to the races.

It just took off like a rocket.

The speed was going
up so fast I--

I couldn't even believe it.

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: The emergency
brakes don't work.

Smoke begins pouring out
from under the train,

and it just keeps going faster.

60!

70!

80!

It stopped at 90,
because that's as far

as the speedometer would go.

NARRATOR: 7551 East is
still picking up speed.

[suspenseful music]

I'm thinking,
my god, I'm fired.

[chuckles] Actually,
that's what I thought.

I'm just looking at
everything that I've done.

I'm trying to go back
and see where I had made

a mistake, what had happened.

7551 to West Colton!

7551 to West Colton!

MAN (ON RADIO): West
Colton, go ahead.

We have a slight problem.

NARRATOR: At the
back of the train,

engineer Lawrence Hill
listens to the radio call.

ACTOR AS JOE STRAPAC (ON
RADIO): I don't know if we

can get this train stopped.

NARRATOR: He breaks
in, desperate to tell

the dispatcher how
dangerous the situation is.

Mayday!

Mayday!

We're doing
90-miles-an-hour-- nine, zero!

Out of control.

Won't be able to stop
till we hit Colton!

NARRATOR: But there's nothing
the dispatcher can do.

The train is traveling at
more than 100-miles-an-hour.

The houses of San Bernardino
are just seconds away.

[suspenseful music]

In the city below,
a strange rumbling

breaks the morning calm.

[rumbling]

RUTH GREEN: My house
began to vibrate.

The house was rattling
so hard I would

have thought that the
windows would have broke.

It just got worse and worse.

By then, I realized
it was the train.

As we were coming up to that
curve, I looked over at Everett

and I said--

We're gonna die on that curve.

He-- wild eyed, like he
was just couldn't believe,

and just scared to death.

And I'm sure I
looked the same way.

All I knew is that I just put
my feet up there and I said,

hang on.

Here we go.

I never expected to survive.

[suspenseufl music]

[crash]

[screams]

NARRATOR: Southern Pacific 7551
East as derailed tragically

in San Bernardino, California.

ACTOR AS LAWRENCE
HILL (ON PHONE):

West Colton, AGYM's
August dispatcher.

Please come in.

We're on the ground here
between Dike and Stover.

Mayday!

Mayday!

NARRATOR: From the helper
engine at the back of the train,

Lawrence Hill desperately
calls the Southern

Pacific dispatcher.

He's been saved from injury,
but he's not sure everyone

else has been so lucky.

ACTOR AS LAWRENCE HILL: SP 7551.

I haven't heard anything
from the head end.

They may need some assistance.

We went on the ground!

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: Incredibly,
engineer Frank

Holland survives the wreck.

The man in charge
of the train crawls

away from his ruined engine--

the first of the cars to derail.

Everett.

Where's Everett?

We got to get him.

He's still inside.

Let's get you down first.

NARRATOR: He's helped
out of the train

by eyewitnesses to the disaster.

FRANK HOLLAND: When they
pulled me off the locomotive

and set me down, it was just--

I just couldn't believe it.

The cars were just mangled.

The locomotives were destroyed.

It was just, you know,
unbelievable devastation.

I looked back at that
and I went, oh, my god.

What did I do?

[sirens wailing]

NARRATOR: Frank Holland
has broken several ribs.

One of his lungs is punctured.

The man who was riding
with him, Everett Crown,

is soon found dead, as is
Alan Rice, the brakeman who

was riding in the third engine.

Footage taken shortly
after the crash shows

the scale of the disaster.

Seven houses have
been destroyed,

as well as the train itself.

You could see just a
twisted, jumbled mass of metal.

These cars are turned over.

You're really trying
to grapple with what

is this, what's happened.

[sirens wailing]

[somber music]

NARRATOR: Allen Simpson is a
battalion chief with the San

Bernardino Fire Department.

The house that we focused
on, with the information

that the mother gave us
about one individual,

was totally obliterated.

You wouldn't recognize
it as a house.

It looked like a
jumble of somebody

going through it
with a bulldozer.

They were hollering
that there's

somebody still in there.

We later learned that that
was where Chris Shaw lived.

And when you looked
at that house,

it was like you would
say there was no way

anybody could still
be alive under all

of that rubble and wreckage.

NARRATOR: Deep
below the wreckage

is another problem that could
make the situation much worse.

Running alongside the railway,
about six feet below ground,

is a fuel pipeline.

If it's been damaged
in the derailment,

a single spark could
cause a major explosion.

The thought's always
in the back of your mind

if you have something like that.

This is major.

A 14-inch pipe full
of pressurized fuel--

we knew what that's going
to do if it ruptures.

NARRATOR: The
pipeline is operated

by the Calnev Pipeline Company.

Calnev responds by draining
hundreds of bottles of fuel

from the pipe to try to
prevent an explosion.

But much more fuel
remains behind.

Automatic safety valves that are
supposed to shut off sections

of the pipeline aren't working.

The company can't
completely drain

the area under the derailment.

Almost three hours
after the crash,

rescue workers find the
body of a small child.

He's the second young boy
killed in the disaster.

Well, after we recovered
the two children from the one

house, there wasn't a
lot of hope for finding

anybody else at that point.

But you never give up hope.

You always keep trying.

But there's pressure to
wind the search down.

Every moment spent
looking for Chris Shaw

further delays the cleanup.

And Calnev can't check
the pipeline properly

until the railcars are gone.

An entire neighborhood
holds its breath.

12 hours later, night
has fallen and Chris Shaw

is still missing.

George Avery, a firefighter
for less than a year,

arrives for his shift
at the crash site.

We were ordered to
relieve the crews that were

trying to search for a body.

And, at that time, they
thought it was a body recovery.

NARRATOR: Shaw is the last
person in the neighborhood

still missing.

Workers ask his mother to
draw a map of the house.

She tells them her son
was in the bathroom

when the train derailed.

Workers concentrate their
final search effort there.

[ominous music]

GEORGE AVERY: There's pieces
of the house itself sticking

out of this big potash mound.

So you have studs, and
rafters, and roof covering.

So they gave me a
specific area, so I

started removing the product.

And as I did so for--

it seemed like an eternity,
but it was probably

an hour, an hour a half--

this void occurred
and started to reveal

itself in front of me.

NARRATOR: As Avery
reaches into the opening,

he feels something
snag his jacket.

So then I immediately
pulled it out, thinking it was

caught on a nail or whatever.

As I pulled it out
and looked inside,

I saw this hand waving in front.

I found him!

I found him!

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: It takes
workers nearly an hour

and a half to free Chris
Shaw from the wreckage.

Debris had formed a
protective cocoon around him,

giving Shaw air to breathe,
and keeping the jagged metal

from crushing him.

We were absolutely amazed that
he lived, especially that long.

We're talking about
most of the day.

Really didn't think he
had much of a chance,

so when he came up out of
there it was just stunning.

NARRATOR: With Shaw's rescue,
every one in the neighborhood

and on the train
is accounted for.

The crash of 7551
East into Duffy Street

has killed four,
injured four more,

and destroyed seven homes.

Even with Shaw's rescue,
San Bernardino's troubles

aren't over.

If the Calnev Pipeline
has been damaged

it could explode at any
time, destroying more homes

and taking more lives.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Amid the looming
threat of a gas explosion,

the investigation into
the derailment begins.

William Pugh and Russell
Quimby are with the National

Transportation Safety Board.

RUSSELL QUIMBY: By the time
the team got out there,

it was fairly late
and it was dark.

And the scene looked
like Dante's Inferno.

A lot of wreckage, a
lot of parts, still

particularly the
brake parts wheels red

hot still after 12 hours.

The wheels had gotten
so hot they'd literally

expanded off the axles.

NARRATOR: The friction between
the wheels, the brakes,

and the tracks was so intense
that the wheels themselves

began to liquefy, turning to
molten steel as the train sped

down the hill.

Investigators know the
train's brakes didn't work.

But why?

[ominous music]

The next day, the
cleanup begins.

First, Southern Pacific
must remove its ruined train

so investigators
can work and Calnev

can inspect its pipeline.

Two days later, Southern
Pacific has moved all the cars.

But the ground is still covered
with the train's cargo--

hundreds of tons of trona.

Calnev begins clearing
the trona along the route

of the pipeline.

It's the quickest way
to inspect the line,

and it keeps the
heavy equipment away.

They made five or
six excavations down

to the pipeline to visually
look at the pipeline.

They felt comfortable that
nothing had penetrated

to the depth of the pipeline.

NARRATOR: The fuel is
under incredible pressure.

Any damage could lead
to a massive leak

and possible explosion.

But Calnev finds nothing.

The depth of the
pipe has shielded it

from the storm above.

The pipeline is a vital source
of gas for Las Vegas, almost

200 miles away, as well as
other civilian and military

customers in the desert.

There's pressure to get
the gas moving again.

Just four days after
the derailment,

Calnev restarts the pipeline.

It watches for any drop in
pressure that could mean fuel

was escaping and there was a
leak somewhere in the system.

But it holds.

The very same day,
Southern Pacific

finishes its repairs
on the damaged railway.

Trains once again move
past San Bernardino.

[suspenseful music]

But cleanup isn't quite
finished, however.

The ash-like cargo of train 7551
East still litters the area.

Heavy machinery is used to
dig it up and haul it away.

The huge machines could
easily damage the pipeline,

so it is carefully
marked with stakes.

RUTH GREEN: I told my husband
one evening that I smelled gas.

But we had been reassured that
they had inspected this line

and that there were no leaks.

I was at the accident
site until it was finally

cleaned up, and there was
a fence put around the area

and secured.

And it looked like
everything was fine.

[music playing]

NARRATOR: Early
morning, May 25--

it's been almost two
weeks since 7551 East

derailed, slamming
into San Bernardino.

But the cleanup was fast.

For more than a
week, the trains,

and the fuel and
a pipeline below,

have been running smoothly.

[explosion]

Then, from a clear sky,
rain seems to fall.

Large sections of
the neighborhood

are soaked by this
peculiar shower.

Ruth Green is back in her house.

[explosion]

Then, for a second
time in a month,

she's confronted with
a horrifying sight.

RUTH GREEN: To the left of
me, is far as I could see up,

down, or side to side, was
nothing but a big wall of fire.

I got to the front door.

Neighbors were screaming,
get out, get out.

I ran for my life.

[firehouse bell ringing]

NARRATOR: Once again,
the fire department

responds to a major
disaster on Duffy Street.

[suspenseful music]

[siren wailing]

A tower of smoke and
flame reaches more

than 300 feet into the sky.

Initially when
we got in there we

were so close that the
plastic lenses on the front

of the engine melted.

Several of the turn signals,
part of the red lights melted.

There was an intense noise
coming from this pipeline

where it had ruptured.

It sounded like a jet engine.

Deafening is how I
would describe it.

And we dealt with
that all day long.

NARRATOR: Local firefighters
aren't the only ones

called back to the scene.

I got a call to report
to the chairman's office.

I went down to the
chairman's office, notified

that the pipeline blew
up, and that I should

get my team together again.

NARRATOR: Once again, the
pipeline operator Calnev can't

shut its emergency valves.

More than 500,000
gallons of fuel

burn over more than seven hours.

By the time the flames are out,
two people are dead, three more

are injured, another 11
houses have been destroyed.

The residents of San
Bernardino are in shock.

DWIGHT PLEDGER: They
talked about the fact

that one of the
people that died,

that all they really
could find was their shoes

that were left in one spot.

And that-- you know, the
mental picture of that,

it troubles you quite a bit.

After the fire,
it was over for me.

I just-- I couldn't see myself
living in the house anymore.

It really scared
me just that bad.

[somber music]

NARRATOR: What people
here will soon learn

is that all of the damage,
pain, and suffering

was the result of a
simple horrifying mistake.

NARRATOR: A small neighborhood
in San Bernardino, California

has been devastated
by two disasters.

In just 13 days, a train
derailment and a gas explosion

have ripped through the
area, killing six people.

Investigators with the National
Transportation Safety Board

study both accidents.

From three of the engines
on the wrecked train,

they recover black boxes.

And that records distance,
speed, throttle position,

air brake pressures.

Then we try to
figure out what speed

the train eventually got to.

NARRATOR: The black boxes reveal
that 7551 East had reached

the incredible speed
of 110-miles-per-hour,

far above the speed limit on
the curve of 40-miles-an-hour.

Although engineers applied
the train's brakes,

it continued to accelerate.

[screams]

NARRATOR: How had the train
raced so far out of control?

Almost all accidents are
a chain of events that link

together to cause the accident.

Of course, any one point,
if you'd broken that link,

you know, the accident
wouldn't have occurred.

NARRATOR: Like other
freight trains,

7551 East has two different
systems to slow it down--

dynamic brakes and air brakes.

[air hissing]

The air brakes push a
block against the wheels

of each freight car.

The greater the pressure
applied to the block,

the slower the train goes.

The investigators
learned that the air

brakes were working
properly as the train

started down the hill.

But as the train sped up,
engineer Frank Holland kept

pressure on the air brakes.

The heat created became so
intense that the brakes melted.

By the time of the
crash, they were useless.

Next, the team turns
to the dynamic brakes.

The dynamic brakes
harness a magnetic field

created by the engine's
main generator.

They reverse the magnetic
field, which slows

the axles on the locomotive.

There were four engines
at the front of the train

and two at the back.

Before beginning his trip,
engineer Frank Holland

knew that his second engine
wasn't working at all,

and that the dynamic
brakes on his fourth engine

were only working sporadically.

Still, it was more than enough.

And we figured that with the
units that we had on the head

end, and the two helpers
that they gave us later

on, we could do
30-miles-an-hour down

that grade with no problem.

NARRATOR: When his train
starts down the mountain,

Holland has it under control.

With the brakes
he has, he should

be able to hold his speed.

But he can't.

The information from the
black boxes is stunning.

The brakes in the third engine
at the front of the train

didn't work at all as
7551 East gathered speed.

During the trip, Holland had
checked with the brakeman

in the third engine.

Alan.

Yeah?

What are your dynamics like?

They're revving.

NARRATOR: But the black
boxes show investigators

that even though
the dynamic brakes

were making the noise
they usually make,

they weren't working.

They weren't helping to
slow the train at all.

And it gets worse.

Coupled and ready to go.

Roger that.

NARRATOR: Of the two engines
added to the back of the train,

one didn't have any
braking power either.

Lawrence Hill, the engineer
at the back, knew it.

But he never told Frank Holland.

He didn't communicate
to him that he had only

one locomotive at that dynamic.

The other one was out.

The helper engineer
thought that the dispatcher

would notify the lead engineer.

NARRATOR: So when Holland asks
Hill at the back of the train

if he has all of his
dynamics, Hill says yes,

but he only means in
the other one engine.

It's a startling discovery.

Holland doesn't have anywhere
near the braking power

he thinks he does.

Investigators studying
the black boxes

uncover one more secret of
the train's terrifying ride

down the mountain.

Something must
be wrong up there.

[air hissing]

NARRATOR: When Lawrence Hill
activated the emergency brakes,

he actually canceled
out the dynamic brakes.

It's a safety feature
to keep the wheels

from locking and the train
from sliding down the tracks.

In this case, with the
air brakes melting,

the dynamic brakes were the
only way to hold the train back.

Activating the emergency brakes
actually sped the train up.

And when the emergency brakes
are applied, what happens

is that you lose
your dynamic braking

and you've got a
runaway train now.

NARRATOR: But Pugh
is still puzzled.

According to all the
paperwork, 7551 East was

hauling 3,800 tons of cargo.

At that weight, even with
his crippled engines,

Holland should have been
able to hold his speed

going down the mountain.

To find out why he
couldn't, investigators

turn their attention to the
days before the accident.

[suspenseful music]

7551 East was pulling a
shipment for Lake Minerals.

Five days before the trip began,
the company's superintendent

drops off the paperwork
with Southern Pacific.

The paperwork should describe
what's in the shipment

and how much it weighs.

Thanks.

NARRATOR: In this case, though,
the weight is not filled in.

Lake Minerals believes
each of the cars

is filled to the
maximum, 100 tons.

But Thomas Blair needs to
enter a weight in the computer

or the train won't
be able to leave.

[suspenseful music]

Blair has been working with
Southern Pacific for 17 years.

He's seen thousands of
freight cars leave his yard.

He makes an educated guess that
the material in each train car

weighs 60 tons.

It's a tragic miscalculation.

Every car on 7551 East
is actually carrying 40

more tons than Blair estimates.

Across 69 cars, the
train is 2,700 tons

heavier than anyone thinks--

a difference of more than
five fully-loaded jumbo jets.

It was dramatically wrong.

I mean, that was only 2/3
of the weight of that train.

That train was doomed,
and we just didn't know it.

[suspenseful music]

NARRATOR: Frank Holland was in
trouble before his trip began.

Even if all of his
engines were working,

it would have been a difficult
trip down the mountain.

With all of the
problems he had, he

simply didn't have the power to
slow his enormous train down.

Crashing into San
Bernardino was all but

inevitable from the beginning.

The wreck of 7551 East was
a preventable disaster.

Investigators are
about to discover

that the explosion
which followed

didn't have to happen either.

The fuel pipeline was
six feet underground.

In the days after
the derailment,

Calnev examines it closely.

They can't find a single
dent or crack where the train

had broken through the earth.

The crash hadn't seemed
to weaken the pipeline.

They started
operating and brought

it up to about 1,600 pounds.

And all of the pressure
readings at various places along

the pipeline looked normal.

NARRATOR: Since the
derailment itself

didn't cause the
rupture, investigators

continue their search.

They study the
pipeline for clues.

Even though the fire
burned for hours,

the piece of pipe that burst
has not been destroyed.

[explosion]

CHARLIE BATTEN: When
the pipe opened up,

it caused a rupture in the
pipe that was sort of what we'd

term as a fish mouth shape.

And at the widest area it
was about 4 inches wide,

and it was about 2
and 1/2 feet long.

NARRATOR: Near the spot
where the pipe ruptured,

investigators find dents
and several deeper gouges.

The marks are like wounds
on a murder victim.

The NTSB determined that
the damage to the pipeline

was done during
one of two phases--

either the cleanup of
the train wreckage or it

was done during the
time in which the trona

was being cleaned
up after the train

wreckage had been removed.

[somber music]

NARRATOR: Two mistakes
resulted in a pair

of disasters for San Bernardino,
and the death of six people.

In its final report the NTSB
doesn't blame Frank Holland,

saying his belief that
he had enough braking

power to stop the train
was perfectly reasonable.

[somber music]

Holland still rides
the rails, but he's

never made the trip down the
San Gabriel Mountains again.

Psychologically, I just
don't think I could take it.

I don't think I
could relive that.

Every time I went down,
I would relive it.

And I choose not to do that.

It would just be too painful.

NARRATOR: Calnev, the
pipeline operator,

was criticized for not checking
the pipe after the cleanup

operations were finished.

It settled lawsuits related
to the disaster out of court.

Thomas Blair, who incorrectly
estimated the train's weight,

was never charged.

But after the disaster, Southern
Pacific changed its rules

so that every freight car
without a specified weight

was assumed to be carrying
its maximum allowable load.

Southern Pacific
also settled a number

of lawsuits out of court.

Its operations are now part
of Union Pacific Railroad.

Trains continue to run
past San Bernardino,

but many of the families caught
up in the disaster moved away.

Trains were still coming
down out of Cajon Pass.

And so a person couldn't
help but go-- in their mind

go to where what if that this
thing could happen again.

NARRATOR: Houses
beside the tracks

were removed, leaving
an ugly scar of land.

There is no monument
to mourn the dead

or to mark the day when
disaster came to Duffy Street.