Louisville KY Zoo train derails, injuires

[E.M. Bell]

http://www.whas11.com/justposted/stories/whas11-topstories-090601-train-derailment-zoo.3b67056c.html

[Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR]

last time I was there it was scorching hot like today and the engine kept stalling out and they had to back down hills and restart three or four times.   thought it funny then , I told the guy we should cut off and sand but he looked at me like I had four heads!! hate to hear this but I guess it happens.  at least nobody was real bad hurt I heard the kids were doin better.

[E.M. Bell]

I have no idea what happend, but the thought had crossed my mind.. sharp curve, first real hot day this year...sun Kink??  There is not a lot of ballast from what I have seen there, and light grade ties. It wouldnt take much to knock the track out of line. 

[Kentucky & Indiana Terminal RR]

yeah and its got like super small rail like ten lbs or something I looked once but cant remember.   

[E.M. Bell]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- WLKY has learned the operator of a train that derailed at the Louisville Zoo had just begun driving the ride by herself that same day.

The 18-year-old driver was in her second summer season of employment at the zoo.

Zoo officials said she'd just begun training the day before the accident and was cleared for solo rides hours before the accident.

"She was certified on June 1," said assistant zoo director Mark Zoeller. "She had taken about an estimated 12 solo rides on the train by herself as the lone driver."

Hundreds of pages of documents obtained in an open records request show the operator began training the day before the accident.

Zoo officials said the driver performed 20-30 rides with a senior driver before a certification ride.

"Our senior supervisors then get on the train and they will take them through the ride, ask them questions while they're driving, make comments to them while they're driving," said John Walczak, zoo director. "After that, they're certified or they're not."

And while WLKY found documentation of how the process works, there is no documentation of that process actually occurring.

Walczak said that's the case for every driver.

"The supervisor that does the certification has been with us for 12 years. This supervisor has certified numerous drivers and we have great confidence in their ability to judge the skills of the drivers and be able to make that determination," he said.

WLKY found that in the last year, Train No. 312 had a variety of what the zoo considers routine maintenance issues, from problems with air pressure with the brakes to bells and whistles.

The inspection the day of the accident yielded only a note to check the wheelchair ramp. It's unclear if the cause was mechanical or otherwise.

"We're going to be looking at all of our practices, policies, and procedures out here," Walczak said. "So, this, of course, is time when we we're going to be looking at everything that we do."

WLKY News learned the identity of the operator.

Inspectors have not determined if mechanical failure, operator error or something else is to blame. Therefore, we have chosen not to identify the teen during the investigation.