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Low Bridge Opens Up Tops of Train Cars Like Sardine Cans, Destroys New Vehicles Within

A train and a bridge | Photo: YouTube (NewsXMonger)
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Derek Boshouwers
Video of freak accident near Memphis shows tops of train cars being torn off, damaging vehicles within

Another indication, if one was needed, that 2020 will go down in history for all the wrong reasons: a video has surfaced of a train losing the rooftops of many of its cars as it passes under a bridge. Here’s the incredible video of the incident that happened recently outside of Memphis, Tennessee:

| Photo: YouTube (NewsXMonger)

At first glance this seems completely unbelievable. The train was rolling on an existing track, under a bridge that presumably has seen countless numbers of trains pass underneath it without incident. Why would a train’s cars all of a sudden be too high to pass under that bridge?

A closer look at the train, however, shows that one car’s roof was already largely ripped up before it passes under the bridge. That torn-up roof stuck up further than normal and thus caught on the bridge, Then a domino effect wreaked havoc on the following cars. Keep in mind that a train can often take a kilometre or more to come to a full stop.

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Damaged vehicles on the damaged train
Damaged vehicles on the damaged train | Photo: YouTube (NewsXMonger)

And as the video shows, the cargo being transported inside the train cars that were opened up like sardine cans were vehicles, and some of those were heavily damaged if not totally destroyed. Identifiable in the wreckage once the train was extracted from the bridge were a totaled Lincoln Nautilus and Ford Explorer. According to the account that first posted the video, total damage to the trains, vehicles and bridge amount to about $2 million USD.

We don’t know if this incident took place on a Monday, but we’d have to think so.

A destroyed car in one of the train cars
A destroyed car in one of the train cars | Photo: YouTube (NewsXMonger)
A destroyed SUV in one of the train cars
A destroyed SUV in one of the train cars | Photo: YouTube (NewsXMonger)
Another destroyed car in one of the train cars
Another destroyed car in one of the train cars | Photo: YouTube (NewsXMonger)
Derek Boshouwers
Derek Boshouwers
Automotive expert
  • Over 5 years' experience as an automotive journalist
  • More than 50 test drives in the past year
  • Participation in over 30 new vehicle launches in the presence of the brand's technical specialists