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| In the month of May in the late 1970s, a loaded cement truck was driving west on the Slater road north of Bellingham, Washington. |
It was around 8am and the sun was brightly shining on the railroad crossing warning light.
The southbound Amtrak passenger train from Vancouver British Columbia was traveling around 70 miles an hour and was hit broadside by the cement truck. The truck was traveling near 50 miles an hour when it hit the back of the first car behind the engine. The truck was shredded and the driver killed.
The first car behind the engine remained coupled to the engine, which kept it from rolling over into the mud. All of the other Amtrak train cars remained upright.
These pictures were taken within 30 minutes of the accident. In a number of the pictures you can see small parts of the truck scattered in the field.
Amtrak had the Greyhound bus take their passengers on to Seattle by bus. By the next morning the track was re-opened to traffic, but the scars in the pavement from the derailed cars remained for many years. |
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