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 Baggage car 1139 and dorm-coach 39908, also on the east side of the bayou, were gutted by fire, and parts of both cars sustained major structural damage. About half of coach 34083, which rested against the bridge after the accident, was submerged, and coach 34068 was almost totally submerged The next four cars, coach 34040, lounge 39973, diner 38030, and sleeper 32067, remained on the bridge All passenger cars were double-decker cars (See figure 6 )

Both the conductor and the assistant conductor were in diner 38030, the next—to-the-last car The latter said the accident took place without warning—mo setting up of the brakes, no horn blast, and no communication from the locomotive crew. He was thrown onto the table in front of him and then into the middle of the car The conductor was thrown over him When the train stopped, the conductor attempted to contact the engineers on the lead locomotive unit using his portable radio but received no reply

Postaccident events—After the derailment, the pilot of the MAUVILLA heard a "swishing noise " and saw a fire He directed the on—duty deckhand to awaken the rest of the crew, and while the deckhand was doing so, the pilot maneuvered the tow to reestablish control of the port string of barges As a result of these maneuvers, the tow was pushed against the northeast bank of the bayou, trapping the MAUVILLA between the port string of barges, which had been stripped and moved aft, and the bank. The pilot radioed the Mobile River bridge tender on VHF/FM channel 13 and asked whether anyone had reported a fire, the tender replied, "No."

When the on—duty deckhand went on deck (following the bridge collision), he saw the port string of barges slipping aft and also noticed that the starboard winch wire, which secured the starboard side of the towboat to the aft barge on the starboard string, was broken. He subsequently saw flames and said he heard "a hiss like a roar but not a boom or nothing like that" The on—duty deckhand estimated that the fire started 5 to 10 minutes after he felt the "bump." He stated that the port string of barges slipped about 80 feet aft, boxing in the MAUVILLA next to the bank.

Meanwhile, about 2:56 am. train 2's assistant conductor made a "Mayday, Mayday" transmission over the railroad-designated radio that was heard by CSXT train 579, waiting at MP 660 4, whose crew repeated it to the yardmaster at the Sibert Yard, Mobile Also about 2 56 a m, the assistant terminal trainmaster at Sibert Yard heard train 2 transmitting Mayday over the radio The yardmaster at Sibert Yard notified the train dispatcher in Jacksonville, Florida, at 2 57 a m and the Mobile Police Department's 911 operator about 3 a.m. that train 2 had derailed. The telephone number for the Coast Guard in the Mobile telephone directory was incorrect, and both the yardmaster and the CSXT representative in Mobile did not succeed in their first attempts to contact the Coast Guard

The bridge tender at the Mobile River bridge and the engineer of train 579 also radioed the train dispatcher in Jacksonville about 2 56 a m that train 2 was transmitting a Mayday call Immediately thereafter, the train dispatcher tried to contact train 2 but was unsuccessful Train 579's engineer advised the dispatcher that train 2 had derailed at the Mobile River bridge, which is where the assistant conductor said he thought the train was when he made his Mayday call, and was on fire The Mobile River bridge is about 3.2 miles north of the actual accident site. 8