SILVANA, Wash. — The engineer was taken to a hospital and one of the two remaining Talgo trainsets in Amtrak Cascades service sustained significant damage Tuesday night, Nov. 19, when it hit a downed tree during a heavy storm in the Pacific Northwest.
KGW-TV reports the accident occurred about 7:50 p.m. in Silvana, about 45 miles north of Seattle, and involved Cascades train 519 from Vancouver, B.C., to Seattle. The engineer was treated and released at a hospital after part of the tree went through the windshield of the train’s cab car. No other injuries were reported. The 48 people on board were given alternate transportation to their trip.
The train involved is one of two Talgo Series 8 trainsets owned by the state of Oregon. Older Talgo Series VI trains owned by Amtrak and Washington state were removed from service in 2019 in reaction to findings regarding a fatal 2017 derailment involving one of the trains [see “WSDOT prepares to remove Talgo Series 6 …,” Trains News Wire, May 24, 2019].
The Northwest was hit Tuesday by a storm described as “bomb cyclone,” bringing winds of more than 70 mph and knocking out power to more than 360,000 customers in Washington and British Columbia, CNN reports. At least two people have been killed.
The storm led to the cancellation of the Coast Starlight in both directions between Seattle and Oakland, Calif, on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and the Empire Builder in both directions between Seattle and Spokane, Wash., and Portland, Ore, and Spokane on Wednesday. The eastbound Builder sections between Seattle/Portland and Spokane have also been cancelled today (Nov. 21), according to an Amtrak advisory. The westbound Builder scheduled to arrive in Seattle/Portland on Nov. 19 had previously been cancelled west of Spokane.
The Cascades website shows trains operating normally today.
With that thick of a tree limb hitting the windshield dead-on, it is a wonder the engineer wasn’t seriously injured, if not killed.
Agreed. The engineer is very lucky to be alive!