HI everyone.
I have a friend of mine who lives in Waukesha, WI who said that there was a major rail derailment in the area (the cops wouldn’t let him go home by the normal route). I came home too late to catch the evening news, so I am wondering if anyone on the forum heard about this? I am assuming it is involving CN or WSOR.
Here’s a link to a local news story, with video as well:
http://www.todaystmj4.com/_content/news/topstories/story_4034.asp
Looks pretty torn up. From what I can tell, the one unit that they show the cab damage on is WSOR 4025, which is painted for the WSOR’s 25th anniversary last year. It looks like it needs extensive work on the cab, which makes me wonder if it’s repainted, what will it be repainted to, normal WSOR paint, or back in the 25th anniversary scheme?
From what I’ve heard from eye witness reports of reliable sources, apparently the train has already derailed on the WSOR, with one axel on a trailing locomotive dragging as it entered the CN at Waukesha. Of course no one on the train bothered to notice it (despite a sharp curve where they could have looked back and seen the trouble before entering the CN), and so the train ripped up a switch and few grade crossings on the CN before finally derailing in the CN’s mini-yard in Waukesha. Quite a mess it is…
Noah
Wow. What a mess. Thanks for the links guys. Does this mean that CN’s line from Chicago to Fon du Lac was shut down while they clean this up?
I posted several accounts of the incident, as well as a number of photos, on The Fuzzy World 3um:
www.fuzzyworld3.com/3um/viewtopic.php?t=268
I remember when that subdivision was the railroad shops , complete with a roundhouse , turntable, machine shop…And I remember the big 1880’s vintage car shop that until the mid 80s still said Wisconsin Central.
Sounds like quite the mess. My [2c] says that b/c WSOR was operating their engines it’s their fault.
Yep, it was. Reports say that the main line was re-opened again at about 1pm on the 23rd, the day after the derailment. Really that is pretty fast considering the wreckage that they had to deal with if they did get it done in that time.
Noah
YEah it was one heck of a mess it caused a 1.5 dollars in damages and a 18 hour delay on the railroad railroad officals said that they execpected more then normal train traffic today and for the. Next couple of days because of this. Up to 25 trains come though that area a day and the waukesha police captain was saying that rush hour was going to be messed up for this morning and even into tonight. But now comes the investigtion on how and why the third engine and eight cars came off of the tracks.
Yikes!
Checked out some of the pictures posted at Fuzzyworld. That’s not a mess that’s a massive cluster (you know what). Looks like CN is going to be doing quite a bit of re-building after the wreck gets cleaned up. They have really been working to upgrade that line through southern WI the past couple of years, and this looks like it set them back quite a bit!
It’s all still here…except for those “CN” signs everywhere…come back for a visit some time…[8D][swg]
I’d say quite a bit of the credit would go to WC, considering the “secondary main” status the line had regressed to when they took over.
In Fondy, sure. But Randy was talking about the subdivision (Phoenix Heights) next to the yard in which the train derailed. I was actually kinda happy to see those streets when they were first put in, unaware at that time that it was once the Waukesha engine facilities. I thought, “Ooo! Good place to watch trains!” Though by the next time I went through there, quite a few houses had popped up, along with a fence that blocked the view… [sigh]
Waukesha was the main divsion headquarters on the original WC . There was a coach shop that survived until the 30s. The turntable by the time I got there was an armstrong type and the round house was in decent ( savable ) condition. After the big shops were built in Fond du lac , the Waukesha shops were closed with the exeption of the coach shop. The waukesha switch engines were housed in the round house for many years .
I remember when they were building the new housing developement there thinking that it is very close t the track, on the outside of a sharp curve… I think it was a bad idea !!
I’m hoping to come back to Wisconsin to visit family and friends sometime this fall , of course I would have to stop and see my friends left at shops !
Randy
From what I have heard, WSOR 4004 was the engine that derailed. 4025 just happened to be the engine behind it and got that cab damage as a result. Too bad 4025 was involved. I’m guessing its going to be painted into the standard WSOR scheme at Horicon since it’s no longer WSOR’s 25th anniversary. Hopefully I’m wrong.
I too hope that the WSOR 4025 retains its 25 Year Paint Scheme. I have never seen this locomotive in person but I don’t want to miss seeing it and getting some photos of it myself!
WSOR 4025 wasn’t damaged that badly that the entire thing would need to be repainted. ex-UP 9918 will probably be the source for a cab for 4025, and it will probably just get painted to match. That, and bend back some of the other sheet metal and handrails! Of course, that’s not to say that it absolutely won’t get repainted, but hey – there’s only one 4025!
Yeah, and its the Wizzor! Not CN who would rid of all of it!
Now its, “Long Live The WSOR!”