Derailment of Freight Train in El Toro Causes Commuter Runs to Be Canceled

Thirteen cars of an 80-car Santa Fe freight train jumped the tracks early Thursday in El Toro, blocking eight Amtrak trains and stalling an estimated 2,400 commuters, railroad spokesmen said.

The accident happened about 2:40 a.m. near the El Toro Road overpass, Santa Fe spokesman Michael Martin said, when an axle on a car near the center of the train apparently broke. He said the train was traveling about 55 m.p.h. and was carrying no hazardous materials. No one was hurt.

Four commuter trains heading from San Diego to Los Angeles--at 5:25 a.m., 6:45 a.m., 7:45 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.--and a like number going in the opposite direction, were affected, according to Amtrak spokesman Arthur Lloyd.

Lloyd said buses picked up passengers at both terminals and at intermediate stations such as Oceanside, San Juan Capistrano and Fullerton.

“We figure each train averages 300 riders, so it took about five or six buses to make up for each train,” he said. “According to computer read-outs, passengers were anywhere from 35 to 45 minutes late reaching their destinations.”

He said the last trains to be held at their stations were those scheduled to leave Los Angeles and San Diego at 2:45 p.m.

Lloyd said the tracks were cleared by evening and that the last commuter trains of the day--scheduled to leave Los Angeles at 5:45 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. and San Diego at 4:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.--made their runs.

Martin said the freight train, bound from San Diego to Barstow, had stopped at Oceanside to pick up 30 cars loaded with sand. They were coupled into the train just about in the middle of the original 50 cars.

“It was a journal box on one of those sand cars that failed, causing 13 cars to derail,” he said. “Five of them turned over on their sides.’

He explained that a journal box houses bearings for axles and that a failure could cause an axle to snap.

The crew--an engineer, a conductor and two brakemen--escaped unhurt, he said.

Thursday’s derailment was the latest of several incidents on the Los Angeles-to-San Diego Amtrak line in recent years.

In October, 1982, an Amtrak commuter train burst into flames in southern Orange County after hitting an object believed to have been placed on the tracks. Frightened passengers had to leap through the flames to escape. Of the 250 passengers aboard the train, seven were treated for a variety of minor injuries.

Last month, federal railroad officials in San Diego, citing safety concerns on the line, ordered speed reductions along 75 of the 102 miles of Santa Fe railroad track between San Diego and Fullerton, adding 15 to 25 minutes to the one-way running time of the commute.

Rough Spots

An inspection turned up problems in suface conditions of the tracks and bed, including rough spots at certain track joints and at some switches, which could cause a derailment, the officials said.

By the evening rush hour Thursday, commuters at the Santa Ana station were doing their best to muddle through.

A group being driven north from Del Mar to Los Angeles by bus agreed with their driver’s suggestion that it might be wiser to detour to the Santa Ana station and pick up one of the late northbound trains, rather that braving rush hour traffic on the freeway.

Mario Machado joked that he had been traveling so long that “my clothes are out of style.” Although nearly drowned out by the sound of the oncoming train, the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission member put his ear to the rail to make certain the train was actually coming.

Made It Official

Two minutes later John Miller, a security officer, made it official, calling out: “All aboard for Anaheim, Fullerton, Los Angeles!”

Miller said that the accident and resulting disruption provoked “a few complaints, somewhat verbal, but no violence.” For the most part, he said, the passengers have been “very understanding.”

Winifred Strahan of Glendale was upset but reconciled to the situation as she climbed aboard the train, saying: “It’s an unfortunate situation, but I could have been stranded in a bus station.”

Helen Monroe of Escondido was on her way to a dinner appointment in Los Angeles but decided it was too late, so she waited for a bus to take her back home. “It’s kind of a nuisance,” she said, “but these things happen.”

The bus driver who brought the group to Santa Ana got high marks from Monroe and the other passengers.

“We had a very charming bus driver,” Monroe said. “He tried to be accommodating, but there’s not much one can do.”