failed to slow down for a sharp 60 km/h curve at Berajondo, Queensland, Australia, derailing the train; although seven of the train's passenger cars and the leading power car left the tracks, remarkably there were no fatalities. See Cairns Tilt Train derailment, High-speed train derailment in central Queensland. December 26 – Approximately 1700 are killed in the Queen of the Sea train disaster, the world's worst rail disaster as the Sri Lankan train is overwhelmed by a tsunami created by the Indian Ocean earthquake. Deaths August deaths August 19 – John Francis Nash, Vice President of Operations for the New York Central and president of Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and Lehigh Valley Railroad (b. 1908). September deaths September 1 – Alastair Morton, chief executive of Eurotunnel 1987-1996, chairman of Strategic Rail Authority 1999-2001, dies (b. 1938). September 2 – Robert R. Dowty, construction foreman for the replica Jupiter and 119 steam locomotives at the Golden Spike National Historic Site at Promontory, Utah (b. 1923). September 5 – Nelson W. Bowers, president of the National Railway Historical Society (1983–1987); (b. 1931). September 6 – W. H. Krome George, director of Norfolk Southern 1979–1990 (b, 1918). November deaths November 22 – Edward Blossom, trolley and interurban streetcar restorationist, founder of Dushore Car Company (b. 1930). December deaths December 1 – Jack Anderson, Chief mechanical engineer for and co-owner of the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, and chief mechanical engineer for the Nevada Northern Railway Museum (b. 1953). Industry awards Japan Awards presented by Japan Railfan Club 2004 Blue Ribbon Award: JR Shikoku 5100 type bilevel cab car Marine Liner EMU 2004 Laurel Prize: (not awarded) North America 2004 E. H. Harriman Awards Awards presented by Railway Age magazine 2004 Railroader of the Year: Robert J. Ritchie (CP) 2004 Regional Railroad of the Year: Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad 2004 Short Line Railroad of the Year: Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad United Kingdom Train Operator of the Year 2004: Eurostar References Many of the events on this page were translated from 2004 dans les chemins de fer, the equivalent French-language Wikipedia. Abandonments and Acquisitions (March 2005). Trains Magazine, p. 15. Bull Sheet Monthly News Canadian National (July 14, 2004), CN closes BC Rail transaction. Retrieved February 23, 2005. Canadian National (May 10, 2004), CN closes transaction to acquire rail and marine holdings of Great Lakes Transportation LLC. Retrieved February 23, 2005. Journal of