Strange US collision

[John Ashworth]

STRANGE US COLLISION
Saturday, 31 May 2008

Three passengers in a four-coach train were injured on 7 May near Guildford, Connecticut, when the train they were in effectively collided with itself. It seems that the locomotive was propelling the train when it became disconnected. The coaches evidently went on ahead, then braked – after which the locomotive collided with them.

Well, that is what we think happened. The story came from a radio station, whose actual report said: “ConnDOT [Connecticut Department of Transport] officials said the four-car train had a locomotive at the end of the end, which separated. When the locomotive separates, its cars go into an automatic breaking (sic) mode. When the cars slowed down, the locomotive slammed into the car in front of it.”

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