Rail Theivery in Taunton, Ma. causes derailment

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

While surfing on Drudge Report , found the following article of some interest here:

http://www.tauntongazette.com/news/business_news/x530602459/Police-investigate-theft-of-railroad-tracks-in-Taunton-today-train-derailed

linked from the Taunton (Ma.) Daily Gazette## by CHARLES WINOKOOR Staff Writer Posted Jun 01, 2011FTA: “…It stopped a little too late and derailed — it just dropped down on both sides,” CSX trainmaster Mark Smith said of the four-axle GP40 engine that was pulling two cars and a rear engine…”

Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/archive/x530602459/Police-investigate-theft-of-railroad-tracks-in-Taunton-today-train-derailed#ixzz1OEmS28F4

The links in the article show the engine and some of the remains of the track that the thieves had cut up and left at the site.

2

The picture accompanying the article shows a CSX GP40 sitting on the ground.

What is it with people these days?

3

The drug habit is a powerful driving force. If those " space cadets" had to work at a job legaly they wouldnot work that hard.

Jim

4

Desperation? Unemployment? The need to put food on the table?

I laugh whenever some crime happens and the police immediately blame it on drug users without one shred of evidence. That’s as poor of a generalization as saying all cops eat donuts and sleep in their squad cars. While no doubt some of the thefts are for drug money, I would question the assumption that all such crimes are similarly motivated.

5

I have no use for a thief. Period.

6

This is not new, but it is still rare that the switch engine winds up on the ground. (there are multiple scenarios where track just up and walks away after being in a happy productive place for years.)

Wonder if the oxy/gas costs even ballanced with the salvage cost of the rail?[:-,] (or was the welding gear stolen too?[}:)])

7

The stolen rail is of no value unless a scrap yard is willing to buy it. The scrap yard owner is neither unemployed, nor a drug user, and is equally culpable with the guy who took it from the ROW.

8

Hate to say it…but the crew was not observing Restricted Speed as is required on such tracks…did not get stopped within 1/2 the range of vision when the removed rail was observed.

9

Our rulebook says you only have to “lookout for” broken rail. Granted the rail was REALLY broken…

10

We just had some people cut the traction motor cables on one of our Baldwin trucks this morning. They took all the copper.

11

The Southern New England rail bandits have struck again!?:

http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/143670.html

The link is to a news story about a theft of rail in Portsmouth, RI, only about 20 miles from the Taunton scene. The tracks in Portsmouth are owned by the state of RI and leased to the Newport Dinner Train operation. The dinner train is the only traffic as the line has been isolated from the rest of the New England rail network for many years since a swing bridge was taken out of service, the Dinner train operation has to bring equipment in by barge…

I wonder if this was the work of the same criminals or a copy cat?..

12

Trying to haul away rail to a scrap dealer means that somebody has to have heavy equipment and can mix the cut rail in with a lot of scrap iron. That narrows down the suspects.

Andrew

13

No need to mix the rail with other scrap if a thief knows of an an unscrupulous scrap metal dealer…I also suspect the two thefts in MA./RI. were done with nothing more than cutting tools and manpower…

14

Another theory is that someone is going to use it as a surprise barrier to damage the automobiles of the drivers snooping or spying on their “Private Property”.

Andrew