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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Gary Allen Montelongo won $10,000 for a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/archimedes-death-ray-science-fair-project-middle-school-teen-2024-2">science project</a> on train derailment.</li><li>More than 1,300 trains derailed in the US last year. One caused a catastrophic chemical spill in Ohio.</li></ul>Toy trains can be a hobby, or they can be an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-win-fifty-thousand-for-ultrasound-microplastic-filtration-device-2024-5">award-winning science experiment</a>.Gary Allen Montelongo, age 14, just won $10,000 for coding, building mini railroad tracks, and running a model <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/overnight-amtrak-train-bedroom-miami-new-york-what-its-like-2021-10">train</a> on them to investigate an infrastructure weakness that can cause trains to dangerously derail.The project won his regional science fair, then took him to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shanya-gill-thermo-fisher-science-fair-winner-fire-detection-system-2023-11">Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge</a>, where he competed with 29 other middle schoolers. They each presented their research and completed challenges in coding, battery building, disease diagnosis and genome editing, and ecosystem research.<div type="image" title="three middle schoolers in white lab coats and blue gloves huddle over some lab equipment" height="2500" width="3750" msid="114883751" hostid="261" sizebytes="336708"></div>On Tuesday, in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teen-wins-isef-science-fair-grand-prize-discovery-biomedical-devices-2024-5">the competition's awards ceremony</a>, Montelongo was one of five big winners, taking home the Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award."He integrated mechanical engineering and learned how to use machines and specialized tools, as well as being a coder," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/isef-science-fair-parents-mistake-pressure-2024-5">Maya Ajmera, the president and CEO</a> of the Society for Science, which puts on the competition, told BI. "So it's this integration, this interdisciplinary method of doing the research that I think got him to where he is at."He also chose a research topic that resonates across the US. Last year there were 1,301 train derailments across the country, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Query/TenYearAccidentIncidentOverview.aspx">data</a> from the Federal Railroad Administration. Most of these are minor and occur at low speed, but some derailments damage property and spill hazardous materials.<h2 id="496655e6-745d-4b08-b333-4d30f3f2759c">The Ohio derailment</h2>When a freight <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/animals-sick-dying-after-ohio-train-derailment-caused-chemical-leak-2023-2">train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio</a>, causing a disastrous chemical spill that forced the town to evacuate, Montelongo was in the middle of an internship on railway safety. It was February 2023.<div type="image" title="A dark plume of smoke rises from a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that leaked toxic chemicals." height="5292" width="7938" msid="114883750" hostid="261" sizebytes="5994114"></div>"I was shocked at first," Montelongo said. But his cohort at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley was abuzz about the incident and what could have caused it. Soon they were all discussing the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/railroad-worker-delivers-water-by-rail-navajo-nation-water-crisis-2024-5">railroad's</a> suspension system.The internship ended, but Montelongo couldn't get the derailment off his mind, so he went down to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amtrak-train-delay-passengers-stuck-for-hours-2023-1">train tracks</a> near his house.As he studied the trains there, he paid special attention to the giant springs in their suspension systems. Some of the springs were brand new, while others were old and rusty and had visibly collapsed over time, with less space between each coil.Montelongo had an idea. He wanted to see how those spring differences affected simple trains and tracks."It kind of just hooked me into it," he said.<h2 id="efcc7cfb-0284-487c-bae9-1b2497cd18a2">Bouncy train tracks</h2>He would need an instrument called an accelerometer, to measure vibration. Montelongo had started coding around the age of 8, so of course he built and coded an accelerometer himself.Then he built three sets of model railroad tracks out of foam and fitted them with three different types of springs: fresh new springs, midlife springs, and old, worn-out springs. This mimicked the different suspension systems he'd seen at the train tracks near his home.Then Montelongo ran a model train on the different sets of tracks, measuring the vibration and bounce in the springs. He then attached weights to the train to see how an unevenly distributed load would affect the tracks."All the springs that were completely worn out were really bouncy and shaky," he said."Those caused a lot of derailments," especially when the train was carrying uneven weight, he added.<div type="image" title="middle schooler with curly hair wearing a formal black shirt with grey pants and a conference lanyard stands in front of a science fair posterboard titled &quot;rock til' you drop: investigating a train's harmonic rock and roll&quot;" height="2048" width="1152" msid="114883746" hostid="261" sizebytes="259128"></div>Montelongo is now in his first year of high school, playing football, and hopes to become a mechanical engineer."I really enjoyed designing things and coding things," Montelongo said. "What I really want to do is design the spaceships that go up to space."One day he'd like to work at NASA or SpaceX, he added. For now, he builds rocketships in a game on his phone.Later investigation found that a defective wheel bearing — which is part of the suspension system — caused the Ohio derailment.

A 14-year-old took home $10,000 for his award-winning investigation into train derailments. Here's what he found.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A train derailed in a small Kentucky town on Wednesday afternoon.</li><li>Some train cars were carrying molten sulfur, which caught on fire and released chemicals.</li></ul>A CSX freight train derailed in eastern Kentucky Wednesday afternoon, the company <a target="_blank" href="https://www.csx.com/index.cfm/about-us/media/press-releases/csx-responds-to-livingston-kentucky-derailment/">said</a>, spilling chemicals and forcing evacuations that have stretched into the Thanksgiving holiday. 16 train cars were involved, two of which were carrying molten sulfur. Because the derailment also started a fire, the spilled sulfur <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/23/us/livingston-kentucky-train-derailment/index.html">turned into sulfur dioxide</a>, a colorless gas that can cause irritation and even frostbite. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/csx-train-derails-kentucky-spilling-molten-sulfur-2023-11-23/">One crew member was treated</a> for minor injuries.Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a<a target="_blank" href="https://governor.ky.gov/attachments/20231122_Executive-Order_2023-733_State-of-Emergency_Train-Derailment.pdf"> state of emergency</a>, urging residents of Livingston, Kentucky to evacuate. The fire was only about 50% contained in Rockcastle County as of Thursday morning, and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.lex18.com/news/train-derails-in-rockcastle-county">evacuation order has impacted about a dozen homes</a> so far."Due to the train derailment, many families in Livingston in Rockcastle Co. will be displaced for Thanksgiving," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/GovAndyBeshear/posts/pfbid0z7PCvryAnL9jsMsQCsqYGZDMgXQshXnrk5rfBZfeq3N4JiGSgCa9X6YXKgAu6Tegl">Beshear said in a statement</a> on Thursday morning. "Please think about them and pray for a resolution that gets them back in their homes."CSX is paying for hotels in Mount Vernon, Kentucky as well as holiday meals from local restaurants to help affected families."We will work together with the local authorities to secure the area and safety is our top priority as we develop a recovery plan," CSX said in its press release.

Kentucky governor issues state of emergency after a train derailed and spilled chemicals in a small town, forcing evacuations

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Another Norfolk Southern train derailed, this time in Jasper, Alabama, police say.</li><li>The derailment follows a Norfolk Southern train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio in February, spilling toxic chemicals into the environment.</li></ul>Another day, another train derailment in the United States. A Norfolk Southern train went off the tracks near Jasper, Alabama, on Sunday, trapping the train's crew in the engine room briefly after the engine car tipped over, the Jasper police <a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Jasper-Police-Department/100067481301279/">said in a statement</a>. "There were no major injuries, but [Regional Paramedic Services] was called to the scene to evaluate the crew and transported two crew members as a precaution. "The derailment comes two months after another Norfolk Southern train came off the tracks in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling hazardous chemicals and forcing the partial evacuation of the town for several weeks. Animals <a href="https://www.insider.com/animals-sick-dying-after-ohio-train-derailment-caused-chemical-leak-2023-2">started dying</a> at alarming rates near the town after officials conducted a "controlled release" of the chemicals on board.Rail unions say cost-cutting measures have caused railroads to become unsafe in recent years and have called for strengthened safety measures, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/03/31/train-derailments-us-follow-years-cost-cutting-railroads/11479655002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">USA Today</a>. The incident rate of <a href="https://www.insider.com/derailed-montana-train-carrying-coors-light-blue-moon-beer-2023-4">train accidents</a> in 2022 was 16.75, an increase from 15.42 in 2020, <a href="https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/graphs.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Railroad Administration</a> data shows. The Jasper Police Department said that Norfolk Southern officials confirmed that there were no hazardous chemicals on board the train that derailed on Sunday. Norfolk Southern told Insider in a statement that 11 cars and the lead locomotive of the train derailed and rolled onto its side, spilling some diesel fuel and engine oil. "There are no reports of a hazmat situation or danger to the public," the statement said. "Our two crew members were transported to the hospital and have since been released."

Another Norfolk Southern train derails, this time in Alabama

Why animals are dying after a train derailment in Ohio

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A Norfolk Southern train derailed on Saturday in Springfield, Ohio. </li><li>This follows a derailment on February 3, which caused a major chemical spill.</li></ul>A Norfolk Southern train derailed on Saturday in Springfield, Ohio, Clark County officials <a href="https://www.facebook.com/clarkcountyohio/posts/pfbid0yYuj5BPHHy4hLA9KW49yw9yxoaF2BFTmCKCTFoFCJxubzFQhi3p7TQTxrS4nUQzhl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. This is the second Norfolk Southern train to come off the tracks in just over a month, following the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3.The first train to derail was carrying vinyl chloride, a hazardous chemical that has made local residents fear for their health after the chemical spilled. Clark County officials said that the second train was not carrying any hazardous materials, and that no one was hurt, according to a Facebook statement.County officials said 20 of the 212 cars derailed, with four tankers carrying diesel exhaust fluid polyacrylamide water solution. They said that these are nontoxic materials and the crash was not near a water site, so there is no concern for water pollution, such as what happened after the East Palestine derailment, <a href="https://www.insider.com/east-palestine-train-derailment-estimated-43000-aquatic-animals-dead-2023-2">which has caused over 43,000 aquatic animals to die</a>. The crash has downed power lines, causing more than 1,500 residents to lose power, with Clark County officials saying they are unsure of when power will be restored to these residents. No cause has yet been given for this second accident.

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A 14-year-old took home $10,000 for his award-winning investigation into train derailments. Here's what he found.

Morgan McFall-Johnsen

Kentucky governor issues state of emergency after a train derailed and spilled chemicals in a small town, forcing evacuations

Julia Pugachevsky

Another Norfolk Southern train derails, this time in Alabama

Kenneth Niemeyer

Why animals are dying after a train derailment in Ohio

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Another Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio, causing mass power outages

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