Project Location: West of Van Horn, Texas
Client: Parsons Engineering Science - Union Pacific Railroad
Dates: July 2002 to October 2002

A derailment of the Union Pacific Railroad occurred in the early morning of Sunday, July 21, 2002. The derailment was apparently caused by an erosion failure of the railroad embankment. The erosion occurred after a recent, two-day period of high rainfall in the area. Rainfall totals were estimated to be between 1.5 to 2 inches and approximately representing 15 to 20 percent of the average annual rainfall in this part of Texas.

Engineers from LCR&A were contracted to determine the causes of soil erosion and to provide recommendations for future actions. LCR&A determine dthat the derailment was caused by "subsurface erosion" or "piping" that undermined the railroad bed. This erosion had developed over a long period of time and resulted from presence of soil highly susceptible to this erosion, combined with a weather event that supplied large volume of water entering the exposed erosion conduits. Several actions were recommended for prevention methods of future erosion damages.