Sculpture of whale's tail saves train from plummeting 30 feet off railway platform

Railroadforums.com is a free online Railroad Discussion Forum and Railroad Photo Gallery for railroaders, railfans, model railroaders and anyone else who is interested in railroads. We cover a wide variety of topics, including freight trains, passenger and commuter railroads, rail news and information, tourist railroads, railway museums and railroad history.

Bob

Forum Host
Staff member
Sculpture of whale's tail saves train from plummeting 30 feet off railway platform
The train somehow landed perfectly on top of a giant art installation.


A giant sculpture of a whale’s tail has miraculously saved a train from plummeting more than 30 feet off of a railway platform in the Netherlands.

The incident occurred in the early hours on Monday morning in Spijkenisse, Netherlands, when a metro train at De Akkers station in the suburbs of Rotterdam reportedly crashed through a buffer stop at the end of the railway line and managed to land perfectly on top of a giant art installation of a whale’s tail that was located at the end of the line.
 
The artists have responded, essentially saying "Wow, that wasn't supposed to be able to do that..."

“My first thought when I saw the photos was this can’t be true! This tail was not designed for this,” said Muller.


“I thought it was an impressive sight to see that the whale tail was holding the whole carriage in the air. The driver was very lucky to get out of there safely! I’m happy he is safe,” added van Uden.

It becomes even more incredible when it turns out the tail of the whale is only 6 mm thick, and was able to hold up a 20 ton train engine almost two decades after construction. This was all achieved using what was then a cutting edge advanced manufacturing technique, which relied upon composite engineering, specialized materials and predictive modelling. The secret lay in both the design and construction of this new composite plastic material that was both lightweight and incredibly strong at the same time.
 
Last edited:
Cranes lift Dutch runaway train off whale sculpture


SPIJKENISSE, Netherlands (AP) — The front carriage of a Dutch metro train that landed on a sculpture of a whale’s tail after plowing through the end of an elevated section of rails was painstakingly lifted clear of the artwork Tuesday and lowered to the ground.
 
Another photo from a FB friend of mine.

1604531701922.png
 




RailroadForums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

RailroadBookstore.com - An online railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used railroad books. Railroad pictorials, railroad history, steam locomotives, passenger trains, modern railroading. Hundreds of titles available, most at discount prices! We also have a video and children's book section.

ModelRailroadBookstore.com - An online model railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used books. Layout design, track plans, scenery and structure building, wiring, DCC, Tinplate, Toy Trains, Price Guides and more.

Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top