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New Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra Units Destroyed In Arkansas Train Derailment

Contrary to popular belief, train derailments aren’t quite as uncommon as some folks might believe. While many don’t cause great harm, a recent derailment in Arkansas destroyed a number of brand-new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.

Taking place late last month, 40 boxcars, some of which were carrying Silverado and Sierra units, derailed in The Natural State. Judging from a video taken at the scene of the incident, we can spot a black Silverado Custom Trail Boss upside down in a carrier boxcar, along with a red Silverado Custom piled onto a black Sierra Denali and next to a white Silverado Custom. In another pile, there’s a Silverado WT stacked on top of more GM full-size pickup trucks.

Thankfully, reports indicate that no one was injured in the accident. This is great news, as truck can be replaced, but the same doesn’t apply for lives.

Photo of train derailment with Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra units.

“We can confirm that some GM vehicles were damaged during a train derailment in Emmet, AR, on May 25th,” a General Motors spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “Most important, according to media reports, there were no injuries. We are working with the affected customers and dealers to replace the vehicles as quickly as possible.”

Unfortunately, it’s currently unclear exactly what led to the derailment, but it’s suspected that strong winds played a role.

Interestingly, there was another train that derailed in the same area within the same 24 hours as the one detailed above. This second train appeared to have been hauling alcoholic beverages, and had 10 of its boxcars crashing off the rails. Similarly to the derailment above, the cause is unknown as of the time of this writing, but likely related to strong winds.

Due to these accidents, Amtrak quickly canceled both the eastbound and westbound of the Texas Eagle route at Fort Worth, Texas, and St. Louis, Missouri, respectively.

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As a typical Florida Man, Trey is a certified GM nutjob who's obsessed with anything and everything Corvette-related.

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Comments

  1. I hate when trails derail. Makes hiking a real hassle.

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  2. Did these units count as sales for GM?

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  3. I hope that these damaged pick-ups will be given, after the VIN plate removed, to schools who are training new et future mechanics for the dealer network. These are the best tools to show new technologies to young apprentice mechanics. These vehicles will never hit the road again.

    Reply
    1. That is often what happens during road transit or storage yards, but derailments are the responsibility of the railway.

      Even with minor damage such as a small dent or a scratch in the paint on a roof, disqualified GM vehicles for sale, so the GM sponsoring colleges benefited.

      Hail damaged trucks in the ’90s were absolutely fine for training. We received transit damaged vehicles off transporters, theft recoveries and more over the years from GM, even an Acadia that was at a car show in Whistler where some drunk climbed up on the rood and danced.

      Reply
  4. Ship them to the dealer, it’ll probably buff right out.

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  5. Autorack design would appear to make them very vulnerable to tipping over.

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  6. Worked for a railroad for 35 years, used to be any vehicle that is on an auto rack cannot be sold and the railroad is responsible for the vehicle. They used to send them to a crusher. We had one auto rack derail in the yard, only one set of wheels were off the track, but the Special Agent told me all the vehicles in that car would be destroyed. Seems like a waste, but the manufacturers do not want to warrant a vehicle that has been involved in a derailment. By the way whoever is the author of this article, vehicles are hauled on auto rack cars, NOT boxcars. Yes, many, many years ago they were shipped in boxcars but not now. Want to see an unusual way that Chevy Vegas were shipped, Goggle it, very interesting.

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    1. All of these trucks were crushed before they left the crash site. Saw them on semi flatbed trucks leaving there on Friday (14th).

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  7. Its still.a waste of resources not to salvage anything ! There should be yards were vehicles and anything with value could be dismantled and sold for parts !

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    1. In theory it’s a great idea, but there’s far too much associated liability with any salvaged components.

      Any and all components may harbour hidden structural damage that is not visible to the naked eye, even with a thorough visual inspection.

      Subsequent injuries or fatalities associated with putting such parts into service is a huge pay day for the lawyers.

      A lot of assemblies with internal components received extreme forces far beyond their normal operating design when the train derailed and stopped, bending, twisting, tearing internals beyond resale.

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  8. Makes me wonder why these vehicles aren’t secured to the railcar in some fashion. Maybe then, I could sign a waiver to release GM from all liability and buy the vehicle for 10 cents on the dollar!

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  9. I am a retired Big 3 automotive engineer. A lot of science goes into designing powertrain mounts. Dynamics, NVH, hydraulics, etc. Once of the biggest challenges wasn’t the assembly plant processing or the customer experience – it was what happened during rail shipment!
    Think about it…. a train bouncing down the rails with railroad rail joints causing oscillations outside the normal frequency of an Interstate highway. Couplers between rail cars inducing transients when rail yards slam cars together during coupling, etc. None of these are “natural events” in the life of the vehicle on the road. yes, the vehicle is tied down in the rail car. But not the engine!

    A rail wreck shown in this news story confirms to me why all the vehicles need crushing. So many parts subjected to a non-normal service life.

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    1. Exactly. Forces beyond normal design limits exerted on mount, frames and so many systems during a major issue such as a derailment, result in hidden damage such as bent shafts in rotating assemblies, damage from brinelling and more. Engine mounts are frequently torn completely out of the cylinder block in these extreme events.

      In the ’80s “Box Car Bearings was an issue due to rail car oscillations traveling through the suspension system when crossing joints in the rail road tracks.

      Securing the vehicles differently during transport on trains changed the dynamic oscillations, frequencies and amplitudes of the transport. Wheel/hub/axle shafts and bearing issues went away and NVH issues at the dealerhip diminished.

      Maybe if people considered what would happen to the brain inside their skull and all other internal organs and bone structures if they were belted into one of these vehicles during a derailment, it might improve understanding.

      Even securing vehicles on flat beds changed from tying the suspension down firmly, to strapping around the circumference of the tires, so that the suspension could move throughout it’s range, absorb and dissipate energy in the same was as it does when driving down the road.

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  10. Sounds like the AAR, FRA or whoever overseas the railroad needs to inspect some places that could cause derailment. I remember the Memphis Bridge from AR to TN had a beam that was completely severed in two. It was like that for years according to pictures that were zoomed in from people. Someone finally spotted it and the whole TN dot that overseen the bridge got fired .

    Hope they get it fixed either way, and the customers won’t have to wait 6 months to get their purchase.

    Reply
  11. Good thing these weren’t electric trucks, huh!!

    Reply

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