Can a train travel through water without coming off the rails?

Question

Can a train travel through water without coming off the rails?

Answer 1

Yes, they can. A Conrail crewman told of a track in New Jersey that ran in a concrete 'bathtub' to lower the track for overhead clearance. When it rained heavily it got filled up. They ran the train through it fast and made a huge splash! The traction motors did not short and the train did not derail. It may have had a small snowplow that was permanently attached which helped slosh most of the standing water out. If they ran slow they might have shorted the electric motors or controls. I got the impression this was not the only time this was done!

And I saw a NYS&W train stop short of a lowered track that is under another railroad bridge and the crew checked the depth and decided to go ahead slow. They were concerned about the traction motors. But there was no concern here about derailing.

Answer 2

As the other guy stated, it really depend on how deep the water is.  Besides, even if the water was only 2 inchs over the rails anyway, they would not go over the track.  Too much at risk.

Answer 3

Yeah, it depends on how deep the water is.  If is is deep enough that the resistance from the water is greater than the connection to the rails it will definitely come off the tracks.

Answer 4

Shallow water yes and at a high speed.. deep water yes but at a much slower speed.. it has to do with displacement and resistance.. water can be quite resistant because it will not move much and has resistant energy. There is no energy in still water but once it is caused to move it creates kinetic energy that is highly resistant. Everything depends on the volume of water against the weight of the train plus train speed.

Answer 5

I'm no engineer but I can hazard a guess..

When a train crew sees a section of track has been flooded, they would probably want to be real cautious..  Washouts can weaken the roadbed (i.e. wash away the gravel ballast and dislodge the ties and rails).   That might cause a derailment when a 200-ton diesel electric locomotive rolls over it.

Also, I don't know how waterproof the truck assemblies are on today's diesel-electric locomotives, but these trucks have electric traction motors mounted in them to drive the locomotive's wheels.  I'd imagine that water getting inside the electric traction motor/axle assembly would be bad.

Answer 6

Yes but only if it has it's "floaties" on.

Answer 7

Sure! The force being exerted on the train from underneath must be greater that the weight of the train.  So, you would have to have a lot of water and a lot of speed from either the water, the train or a combination of the two. This would be needed to compress the water enough to over come the train's weight.

Or a massive amount of water hitting the train broadside would do it. But, again, the pressure against it  it would have to exceed the weight of the train.

How deep the water level is would play a role in the equation as well. An inch would have no effect, five feet would have a greater effect and ten feet would cover the train.

You do not give enough information for a clear answer to this question.

Answer 8

If I'm not mistaken, doesn't a rapid transit train in San

Francisco run under the bay (BART)???  The Transbay Tube is the part of BART which runs under the San Francisco Bay in California and is the longest underwater tube for rapid transit in the world. It hasn't derailed lately, I don't think....  

This may qualify for the 'under water' portion of the question....  Just thinkin'!

Answer 9

Well 200 tons, it's going to have to be really deep to stop it. Plus it's connected to many many cars. So if a conductor really wanted to, and went against the rules he's supposed to follow (which is stop and report any water on a track, and wait for higher authority to let him cross. Depending on how long it's been there, and why.. But if water is still, a train will not stop, fall off or anything like that. Eventrully it will slow down, and stop but thats like .5 mile away or somthing, depending again on how deep.

    But over all, no, it's not going anywhere.

   Somthing to tell the MythBusters.

Answer 10

Depending on how deep the water is and how fast its flowing. Also the track has to be still in good condition and like anything else,it has to proceed slowly and with caution. Not like idiots with pickup trucks that have to floor it every time they see a puddle.

Answer 11

No the traction motors will fail and the train will stop dead.