headed towards seattle, a trip that allows passengers to experience the rugged splendor of the american west. instead, at around 4:00 p.m. mountain time on saturday near joplin, montana, the idyllic scene turned to tragedy. >> it was probably 10 or 15 seconds of rocking back and forth and tons of noise. then we came to a stop. >> reporter: megan vander vest was taking a nap in one of the front sleeper cars that did not derail. amtrak said there were approximately 141 passengers and 16 crew members. the train had two locomotives and ten cars in total, eight of which derailed. >> i would describe the experience as like extreme turbulence on an airplane but louder. and there was kind of a lot of smoke smell. >> reporter: she said there was silence in her car and then passengers evacuated within ten minutes. it wasn't until she got outside that she realized the extent of the problem. she says while the front cars weren't affected, she could see