This is STEEL, correct? And we're talking about 100 degrees, not 1000? And these rails buckled perfectly in unison? I'm not even sure what I'm bitching about, but this seems totally crazy...100 degree weather caused steal to buckle like this? Doesn't a 100 car freight train generate more heat than that as is passes over the tracks? Something is not being fully reported here.

The steel expanded in the heat. Like all steel does. So the tracks grew longer. If you don't have enough expansion joints in the tracks the ends of the rails run into each other, and then the rail bends somewhere in the middle.

Train runs over the sudden bend, the wheels can't follow it, and you get a derailment.

100 degrees is not unusual. I understand that steel expands...why is this year so different? 100 is not 1000. Why is this enough to buckle steel?

Imagine a situation where the expansion joints are big enough to handle 90 regularly. Just barely. Now it's 100+ for a week.

Plus, there have been problems in the past as well.

DC has always been hotter than that in the summer!
But - I had not really thought how imaginary global warming would affect infrastructure like this.

nt