AN INVESTIGATION INTO CAUSES OF A FIRE ON A DIESEL RAILCAR

A fire broke out on a diesel railcar while running on a line of the Japan Railways Group. After an exhaustive investigation into causes of the fire, it was found that the origin had been the lubricating oil of the engine. The lubricating oil vaporized from a long idling engine while the car was standing and accumulated in the exhaust silencer to considerable amounts. When the car was climbing up long slope, the above oil was exposed to a high temperature exhaust gas and ignited. The flame attacked and melted the exhaust funnel, and eventually caused a fire.