UNTHINKABLE.

A fixed-formation Acela trainset comes unglued.

The New York Post reports that Acela Express train 2150 was moving at 125 mph when it separated in Maryland. The news organization shows a photo of what appears to be a loose drawbar on the semi-permanently coupled trainset hanging between cars as though it had nowhere in particular to go. Thank God, no one was hurt.

But this happened.

In the United States of America.

So far, most media organizations haven't grasped the gravity of this. The closest I can come up with is if the Acela were an airplane, this would be the wing coming off in mid-air. Or if it were a automobile, the auto's frame split in two with the back section falling out and the front still moving forward.

Regardless of the analogy, each incident is an example of a catastrophic failure of things coming apart that shouldn't unless you have an acetylene torch and some time. And this incident comes just days after the Silver Star crash near Columbia, S.C.

Take care of the O-rings and the Space Shuttle will take care of itself.