Train Wrecks: 1994 Cajon Pass Runaway 28 Years Later

On this day 28 years ago marked the 2nd runaway train crash on Cajon Pass. It happened where a Santa Fe Intermodal led by 4 Locomotives loses it's brakes and collided into the rear of a 82 car Union Pacific Coal train, which had 3 lead locomotives and two helper at the back. The wrecked occurred not far from where the first runaway train 7551 East derailed 5 years earlier. Two crew members on both trains survive UP helper crew got off before the impact, but the Santa Fe crew suffered serious injury when they jumped from their out of control train. The NTSB found the cause of the accident was the Santa Fe train had a blockage in the brake lines which may have occurred somewhere in the middle of the train, the dynamic brakes and emergency brakes where working but without sufficient braking power their was nothing that could be done to stop the train in time. The four Santa Fe engines and the 2 UP helper units where a total lost and scrapped along with 5 intermodal container cars the head UP locomotives where unharmed. But the story of the Cajon pass isn't over as one more train with lose control down the grade 2 years later, but that's for another day.