- 17 -
Some of the side posts on the rear car were sheared off through the welds which attached the posts to the sill reinforcing angle. Other posts were sheared off above the welds and were bent outward, which contributed to the failure of the sill reinforcing angle. Many of the intermittent welds which attached the sill reinforcing angle to the side sill broke in the welds and thus permitted the sill reinforcing angle to be torn from the side sill for about one-half of the damaged area. The intermittent welds which attached the bottom of the side sheets to the sill reinforcing angle broke and allowed the side sheets to separate. (See Figure 5.)
The speedometer of the lead car of train 416 was malfunctioning after the accident. Tests indicated that it would not register above 63 m.p.h. All speeds above 63 m.p.h. registered as 63 m.p.h.
The brakes of the surviving cars of trains 416 and 720 were tested, and no deficiencies were discovered.
Applicable Standards
Contract specifications. Because Federal funds were not available to private companies for the purchase of equipment, the Highliner cars on train 416 were purchased by the Chicago South Suburban Mass Transit District (CSSMTD), assisted by a grant from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA). Although ICG wrote the specifications for the Highliner cars, CSSMTD retained a consultant to recommend industrial design modifications. UMTA accepted the specifications, and the contract for the design and construction of 130 cars was awarded to the lowest bidder, the St. Louis Car Division of General Steel Industries. The approved specifications contained the following requirement:
"Where applicable the cars shall be built in accordance with the latest requirements of the 'Association of American Railroads Standard Specification for the Construction of New Passenger Equipment Cars,' latest issue of the 'United States Post Office Department Specifications for Passenger Car Construction,' and in all respects with the latest Interstate Commerce Commission 'Rules and Instructions for Inspection and Testing of Multiple Operated Electric Locomotive Units Designed to Carry Freight and/or Passenger Traffic,' including amendments to date."
