1 May 2004 Wheel Blamed in Train Mishap A train wheel that may have been disintegrating for up to three hours over 80 kilometres of track likely was responsible for a CP Rail train derailment in Whitby that killed two women instantly in January.   Railway officials met with Whitby politicians and family members of the deceased women this week to give them an update on their investigation into the 14 Jan 2004 accident in which two long rail cars of a westbound freight train derailed just before an overpass in Whitby, releasing 14 cargo containers on to Garden St. in the middle of a residential area.   One of those containers, filled with bottles of whiskey, flattened a car containing Kathleen Kellachan, 36, of Whitby and her niece Christine Harrington, 19, of Keswick.   Investigators for the railway have narrowed the cause of the derailment down to a broken wheel on the rail car immediately preceding the two cars that derailed about 100 metres before the Garden St. overpass.   When this one wheel jumped off the tracks, it likely damaged the railbed and caused the trailing two cars to derail, sending their cargo on to Garden St.   "There were a total of two broken rails prior to the derailment site but it is our opinion the wheel started to disintegrate significantly, close to the accident site," said Chris Carroll, CP's chief investigator.   This same wheel might have started to cause problems for the train 80 kilometres (three hours) away from the derailment, near the Northumberland community of Colborne. Railway maintenance crews dispatched to the Colborne location found a broken rail but did not immediately connect it to this train, as several had passed over that route that day.   But Carroll stressed investigations so far have not definitely connected that broken rail to this train.   The railway however believes the faulty wheel definitely caused a second broken rail about 10 minutes before the crash on rail lines in Clarington, just east of Oshawa.   It's this second rail signal that alerted train dispatchers to a possible problem on this particular train.   When the second "unauthorized track occupation" light came on in Montreal, railway staff sent a radio message to the train crew within 10 minutes to stop and inspect the train.   This type of light can signal a broken rail, CP says.   In the 10 minutes it took to notify the train crew, the train had already derailed, Carroll said.   Neal Foot, CP's senior vice-president of operations said the railway, since the accident has implemented changes that should help prevent this type of accident in the future.   New computer software has been installed in the dispatch centre to help with the "human decisions" that must be made when multiple rail condition warning lights come on.   As well the railways track maintenance staff have been instructed to examine the track for 91 metres on either side of a rail break to see if there is more debris, or other evidence that should trigger a call to a train to stop for inspection.   "The breaking of a wheel is a rare event," he said in an interview. "We have 500,000 train wheels touching the tracks on any day on our system," he said. "We have only three or four derailments a year caused by broken train wheels."   In addition to meeting with the families of the victims, and Whitby Council members the railway this week is mailing 6,000 brochures to Whitby residents, outlining its commitment to safety and what is being done to prevent similar accidents.   Helen Halsall, Kathleen Kellachan's older sister said her entire family is still deeply grieving "the loss of two very wonderful people."   "It does not matter what caused the accident; it's just so horrific and we miss them terribly."   She said coping with the loss has been hard on the entire family, "and it just doesn't get any easier with time."   Kathleen Kellachan and her niece Christine Harrington were best friends as well as niece and aunt.   They worked at the Scarborough offices of Novopharm, a pharmaceutical company, and on the night of the accident had been shopping in Whitby.   Harrington, the mother of a 3-year-old boy, had decided to stay over in Whitby because she was afraid of driving north to Keswick in a snowstorm that day.   Halsall said Harrington's son, Nolan, who will turn 4 in July, misses his mom "terribly." He is living with his grandparents in Keswick.   "There are so many bad people in this world we wonder why the good people have to go like this," Halsall said.   CP says it still has to complete its investigation and is co-operating with transport Canada and the Transportation Safety board in their separate investigations of the crash.   Metallurgical studies are being done on the wheel to find out what caused the wheel failure.   Two or three manufacturers make wheels for all North American trains, CP officials say.   Whitby Mayor Marcel Brunelle said he is interested in seeing what the final report on the accident says about wheel inspection and wheel safety.   "I would be interested in knowing the railway's wheel inspection procedures are adequate," he said. "The last time these wheel's were inspected was when the train left Montreal."   But he said Whitby has had trains running through it for more than 100 years with no previous accidents of this magnitude.   "It looks like a fairly rare occurrence but something that has to be carefully watched."