http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/05/24/2321537/1-dead-in-union-county-train-crash.html
CSX ? Article doesn’t say which railroad - and the photo shows a Union Pacific locomotive - but the article mentions that one train was to/ from Hamlet, which I believe is where a CSX yard is.
Two train crewmen were killed - 3:45 AM collision. Prayers for them and condolences to their families.
- Paul North.
From the description and google maps, it’s CSX’s Hamlet to Atlanta line. There is a control point for the north end of a controlled siding at Waxhaw, NC. CTC territory… a meet gone wrong?
Trainorders.com says it was a rear-end collision. The stationary train that was hit was a short one, so it’s easy to see how their crew could have been shaken up as well. Never nice to hear about fatalities…those guys are probably the only ones who really knew what happened (or not). Unfortunately, I have an idea…
Yes, it is definitely the former SAL Hamlet-Atlanta line. Unless there is a wye in Monroe (junction with the line to Charlotte and Rutherfordton (“Ruffton”)), the train to Charlotte perhaps would have been reversed in Monroe to continue into Charlotte, and not go into Hamlet.
The UP locomotives were video camera equipped, hopefully the recorder survived and the data is recoverable.
News article with pics. Very sad day on the railroad.
http://www.wbtv.com/story/14702934/train-derailment-causes-road-closures-in-union-county
The UP locomotives were on the head end of the train that was rear ended, CSX Q618. It was hit by CSX Q194, an Atlanta to Charlott intermodal train. The power of that train runs around the train in Monroe to go toward Charlotte. CSX tried several times to locate that intermodal facility in South Carolina, but the NIMBYs would not allow it. If they had, this train would not have gone as far as Mineral Springs where the accident occuured.
CSX – Wrecked Train (1) by Joe the Photog, on Flickr
CSX – Wrecked Train (2) by Joe the Photog, on Flickr