Not to long ago, a little less than a month, I was coming home from school. As I was leaving, I was ‘stopped’ by a train. It was carrying about 65 cars, mostly tank cars and grain cars. Anyways, as I drove home I paced the train. It was moving about 35-40 MPH. As I was turning off I noticed dust kicking up from the back of the train. At first I thought a hatch on a grain car had come loose and was spilling the load. Boy was I wrong, pretty soon I saw several grain cars leaning over and eventually the string stopped. It was so loud! The dust was very heavy. As it started to settle, I saw the damage. All in all, 15 cars had left the tracks, 5 of them were completely on their sides. 10 of the 15 had broke off the original string, while the train dragged 5 cars that were off the rails. It completely destroyed the roadbed. Everything was a mess, but luckily all of the cars involved were empty grain cars. Even today, is is not completely restored, but I saw the ribbonrail train dump the rails at the site and got to see some heavy duty machinery working to set those cars back on the tracks. I was just wondering if anyone has been able to witness a derailment, wreck, etc. It is something that we don’t like to hear about, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience. Thanks.
-If anyone was wondering which railroad it was, it was the CN branch line running into Decatur, IL. Also the cause has not yet been determined. Sorry I left these important pieces of info out!
When I was 16 [back in '69], having just received my driver’s licence, my dad & I were out for a drive heading west on highway 20 in Racine approaching the C&NW overpass. Just as we passed the turnoff to go across the tracks at grade next to the overpass, we saw a southbound train go over the crossing and under the bridge. As we proceded up the overpass, we saw the train derail. It was going about 40mph. I saw a tank car do a backflip on to the car behind it, saw boxcars stacking on that, and so on. Luckily there were no hazmats involved.
But if we had been 1 or 2 seconds later, we would have turned on the side road to watch the train pass, as we both were railfans. When we turned around and went back to the site, the crossing we would have stopped at was completely buried in the wreck for about 50’ either side of the tracks. We would have been crushed.
To this day, if you visit the site, you can still see the gouge marks on one of the bridge support columns that a boxcar was wrapped around.
Two years later, when I went to work for the CNW, I found out that a Trainmaster had dropped a red signal in front of the train at the Waxdale interlocking (with the Milw. Rd). The engineer had a clear signal at the distant signal preceding the interlocking, then when he rounded the curve under the bridge, he saw the redeye and put the train in emergency, which caused a slack run-in around the curve which caused the derailment. Needless to say, the official that performed that ‘efficiency test’ was soon an ex-official. Or maybe he was promoted to president, I’m not sure 
the night JR was shot on Dallas a quaker state(empty) petroleum car got a hot bering and caused a derailment. It caused a flat car to go through a boxcar.Sliced it wide open and delmonte vegtables were everywhere. they used the john deere tractors on another flat car to help clean up the mess.the next morning we saw a 100 ton B&O heavy crane come and help lift the cars too.No one was hurt.I will never forget that night.
stay safe
joe
[:(] I have been witness to a rail accident. A CN frieght was approaching the Hyde Park siding when it hit the tunout into the siding and [:0] jumped [:0] the tracks causing damage to both mainlines and tearing up the siding. No one was killied but the engineer and brakeman in the lead engine had to be taken to Hospital as their locomotive fliped on to its side and the two trailing units crashed into it as well as the next 12 cars which were [B)]destroyed. There were three very large cranes on the site by the next day to help the clean-up of the wreck. The line was closed totaly for 20 hours and the wreck was completely removed in five days. Today the siding has been removed and the Hyde Park spur has been removed. It was a frightening scene and loud as the sound of crunching metal and accompanying noises as well as the sight of a SD60, an SD 40-2, and a GP 40 were all sent off the rails. They were all sent to the wrecker after the accident. The cause was a turnout was in the wrong position. [8D][8D]
Some years ago I saw a CNW GP7 at Proviso split a switch and derail. My vantage point was the Mannheim Road overpass and probable cause was carelessness. The switchman on the ground was starting to run to stay ahead of the locomotive and the locomotive got to the switch before the switchman finished moving the points.
Wow! If the Mookie had any hair on her arms, it would be standing straight up! What a dull life I lead - I get excited just seeing an engine and boxcars doing their thing! I can’t imagine seeing something like the above!
Mook
In the 1970s a wreck in a rare snowy Cajon Pass (California) was almost witnessed. A decision was made to change locations. A few minutes late a train was spotted and photographed. In immediately returning to the original location, it was found that the photographed train had pile up THERE. If only I had stayed! A safe, front row close-up view could have been had.
(Improper weight distribution [i.e., empty TOFC cars up front, boxcars in rear] was the derailment cause.)
In retrospect you should be thinking its good you DIDNT stay if you were right next to the tracks.
Ever seen what happens to a mouse that get hit by a semi while crossing the highway?
You probably wouldnt have had time to even run before the pileup would have been on top of you. If you were some distance away then, yes, you missed out on selling the photos to Trains Magazine or the local news.
I agree. I would rather see it after not while it was happening.My neighboors were out their back door as the derailment was happening across the street.
stay safe
Joe
Mookie:
At Pueblo, the AAR/TTC has a facility called “Rattlesnake Junction” complete with two “staged” derailments. Those of us there for emergency response trainining are run through at least one drill during the week of training and the fun goes out of it when they start playing games with the variables in the derailment scenario. Moral of story is that you can get real dead, real quick if you don’t know what you are doing. If you see a derailment, report it and get out of the way for the response teams. (Take a look at the photo for September 2003 on the 2003 trainining program schedule at www.hazmattraining.com which is the AAR/TTCI website for how real it gets.)
Been to enough derailments where the clean-up was more risky than the derailment itself, including crane boom failures, snapped cables, dropped loads and other unfun stuff. Get really annoyed with newspeople sneaking in unprotected and getting in the way of what we’re doing.
Old Dirty Bird
I wouldnt want to be around when one jumped the tracks. I’d be pretty concerned about toxic chemicals or something like an LPG explosion. I’ve SEEN derailments and accidents on video. A few years ago Fox had a one time scare show “World scariest train derailments” or “When trains attack” or something like that, and it showed several derailments, explosions, toxic clouds, and more wrecked trains that you’d ever want to see. One was a LPG tank train that derailed in the midwest somewhere and caught fire, when the fire finally caused the remaining tank cars to explode it looked like Hiroshima. A fireball big as a small town blew the train to bits. In fact they show zoomed in video of a tank car being thrown several hundred feet into the air from the fireball, it looked like a 2x4, so no, I would not WANT to be around a derailment.
Didn’t witness one, but missed it by about 10 minutes.
A Fox River Valley train coming through Eden, Wi derailed and took out a good portion of the local feed mill. By the time I arrived, the county police had the area cordoned off. Got a few pics, mostly grain hoppers on the ground, with one sticking out of the mill.[:0]
Another, in the FDL WC yard, 2 SD-45’s split a switch about 75 yds from me. Saw the crew bail off, as it looked like one of the engines was going over.[:0]
vsmith-
Was that the Weyauwega, WI derailment a few years back, or the one in Illinois at Crescent City? I saw the show, too, but I’ve seen a lot of those shows, and lost track which one it was.[:p]
In the 1970s Cajon incident, I WOULD have been out of danger.
Because of a safety orientation, the dark side of possibilities was and is well known by myself. But, vsmith, you speak wisely.
I have no idea, I lost the recording I made. The Fox show was “worlds scariest train crashes” and included both I beleive, one was daytime almost in the middle of a small town and the town was sillouhetted in front of the explosion and the larger one happened at night and looked like it was nearer to a yard, the fire burned till the next day and they moved the newscrews a couple of miles away before it blew, when it did the camera caught the tanker car getting launched like an ICMB and arcing away from the fireball. That was the largest fireball I’ve ever seen.
ODB - I bookmarked it - will go there on a lunch hour very soon and look at it.
Thanx
Mooker
I saw that too. There were actualy a couple of minor derailment that were caught by railfans on tape. One was a bulkhead flatcar with a very akward load of pipes on it. The car wobbled at bit and the pipes rolled off of it and then it tipped back the other way. There was also a video taken by railfans of a train going by when all of a sudden they jump back as a grain hopper fell down right where they had been standing. I wonder how many other railfans have actually caught a derailment on video.
I wish I would have had my camcorder! It would have been something to show people! Anyways, They are still working on the tracks, they have replaced the rails with twenty foot sections, and the ribbon rail is waiting to be installed. I took several photos of it, but no video footage. Anyways, the cause has not been determined, and after having seen the scene in its entirety, I really don’t have a clue. It was kinda like the rail just folded over and and everything went to hell after that. Oh well! We will probably never know what happened. I have also seen that show on TV a while back. It was really intersting. Now that I think of it, I really wish I could have recorded it. Oh well. One last thing, has anyone seen a wreck or the aftermaths of a wreck that occured on a bridge or trestle? My grandparents have photos of a trailer train that was crossing a 200-foot high trestle, and was blown off the tracks due to the high winds of a thunderstorm. It was one of the scariest things I have seen. There were trailers and flat cars strung all over the bridge and down into the river valley. It was however, quite easy to clean up and repair. Thanks.
UPRR-MDC
the former nyc mainline (now Ns) over sandusky bay near toledo has been a sight for a few of those type of derailments.
stay safe
joe
I actually do have that show on tape. I haven’t seen a wreck on a bridge. However, a CP frieght derailed in the town of Chrichbridge, Saskatchewan (very close to where I live) about 10 years ago that ended up sending some loaded container cars into the town’s cemetary, which is beside the tracks. Luckily, there was no damage done to any of the gravesites. I have pictures of it.
I also have some pictures that were taken in 1956 by my grandfather when he took my Dad to see a derailment in Bredenbury, Sask. (also close to where I live). The town has a large CP yard. A geep ended up smashing into the back of a steam loco that was doing some switching in the yard. Pictures show the damage on both locomotives quite well, but unfortunately you can’t see the numbers or tell what type of a steam locomotive it is. The tender must have received a lot of damage because while it isn’t in any of the pictures, the cab of the steamer is smashed in pretty good. There’s also a picture that shows an automobile boxcar with the doors off and heavily damaged cars hanging out. I’m now sure how that happened.
There was also a minor derailment in Bredenbury this summer. A couple hopper cars came off the rails. Later on, after that accident, the trucks of a diesel came off the rails. There is some concern about the condition of the track on the CP line that runs through my area because all trains that go through have been reduced to only 10 mph! Some of the towns have gotten together and sent complaint letters to CP. There was a letter sent back saying that CP was planning to repair the line in the future, but it didn’t say when. I hope it’s soon. I like to see trains highballing rather than crawling along.
It sounds like Weyauwega to me. My sister was living near there and was evacuated. Now she has a t-shirt that says, “I survived the Weyauwega train wreck.”
Kathi