I am looking for information on the CITY OF LOS ANGELES accident that occurred I believe in 1949 or 1950 at Wamsutter, Wyoming when the train was rear ended by a following streamliner. A number of sleeping cars and a sleeper observation were destroyed in the accident . I need as much information as possible on this accident for inclusion in a book on passenger train wrecks in the streamline era I am contemplating? Any help will certainly be appreciated. Thx.
http://dotlibrary2.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?file&fn=6&name=r%3A\DOT\Railroad\WEBSEARCH\3443.PDF
This link has the ICC accident report in pdf form. It seems that when they converted the paper document to digital form that it had some errors. Makes a little hard to read in places. It happened in 1951 in WYUTA, WY. I hope this helps you.
I tried the link to find ouy where Wyuta, Wy is i have never heard of it and i have lived in Wyoming for 19 years. But the link redirected me to somewhere else so you any want to check your link again there, mustangman.
http://dotlibrary2.specialcollection.net/scripts/ws.dll?websearch&site=dot_railroads
It is the second union pacific accident listed from the top for 1951. In case that doesn’t work I went ahead and pasted the report here. I hope this helps. I don’t have any clue why the first link didn’t work right.
INTERSTATE COMMERCE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON
REPORT NO. 3443
UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY IN RE ACCIDENT AT WYUTA, WYO., ON NOVEMBER 12, 1951
Report No. 3443
SUMMARY
Date: November 12, 1951
Railroad: Union Pacific
Location: Wyuta, Wyo.
Kind of accident: Rears-end collision
Trains involved: Passenger : Passengers
Train numbers: 104 : 102
Engine numbers: Diesel-electric units 998, 988B : Diesel-electric units CNW
and 985B 5007B, UP 928B and UP 987B
Consists:
The above is all true. What is not said is that it was the practice of many of the passenger qualified engine service employees to operate their trains as #102 was being operated to maintain schedule keeping. If you were late, you often had to explain why, and this was not usually a pleasant experience. (I have a cousin who was in engine service for the UP during that time period. He told stories.)
The accident report also does not adequately indicate what the weather was like that day. It was, quite simply, a blizzard of very wet snow.
Wyuta is on the Utah-Wyoming line and East of the summit of the Wasatch.
Photographs of this oops have been published. They are not for the faint of heart.
Where can I see these pictures and other historical rail images?
Thx mustangman79 appreciate the report.
My grandmother and uncle were 2 of the 11 passengers who lost their lives in this accident . I have read the report in the past but was unaware of any existing photographs. Does anyone know how I might be able to see these?
Best regards,
Frank Dodge
Anyone?
Probably in National Archives by now…Record Groups 399 and 398
http://www.archives.gov/publications/ref-info-papers/rip91.pdf
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/agency_reports/SORNs.pdf (Have fun with the 1974 Privacy Act)
Got my rail heating stuff out and warmed up the links…[:-,]
The name “Wyutah” said to me that it is on, or near, the border between Wyoming and Utah. Combining the names of two states into one name is quite common; here are some more examples–Texarkana, Florala, Alaga (this one is on one side of the Chattahoochee, so it is entirely within one state), Monida, Virgilina, Texico, Kanorado, Calneva, Calada, Moark, Delmar (which is on the Delmarva peninsula), Tennga, Pennmar, Texhoma, and Uvada.
Frank,
I have film of this accident scene on a video titled “Train Wrecks Crashes and Disasters” originally available on DVD from Questar Videos Inc of Chicago in 1995. I believe that the DVD by the same title currently available from Pentrex is a current digital edition of the same original film. Try www.pentrex.com and look for the same title. The commentary on the video matches the detail already provided on this thread and is comprehensive. I hope this helps.
Art
Mudchicken, Sam, Johnny and Art.
Gentlemen, thank you for your responses, I’ll follow your leads and see what I can find.
Art, thanks for the message.
Best regards,
Frank
I visited the area last week (Sept. 2014). The modern road bed is elevated some but there are remnants of the old track still intact. Found a little bridge over a drainage with the art deco script “Road of the Streamliners” still intact. There is no track connected at either end. I believe this is very near where the accident happened.
Wyuta is now a myth. No one seems to know what or where it was. Indications place it in Utah though, not Wyoming.
Anyone with any info or photo leads? Or specific car numbers of the 104 consist?
Regards,
Frank
Doubtless the name was of railroad coinage, applied to a company installation – a siding? – in the middle of nowhere, that disappeared when the installation did. It shows as 7 miles west of Evanston in my 1951 Official Guide, but does not appear in a 1970 employee timetable.
And with employee turnover over the generations, institutional knowledge of it also passed on.
The ICC report on the accident (see above, contributed in 2004) is a slog, but identifies Wyuta as site of a siding 1.23 miles in length between the two tracks of the main line.
Using the ICC accident report and Google Maps the location of both Wyuta siding, and point of accident can be determined.
Call up Google Maps and go to Satellite View; enter in Evanston, WY for location. The Wyoming-Utah state line is west of Evanston and shows on the map. Go north at the state line from Highway I-80 to the UP mainline (the tracks are close to the highway in that location).
After locating the tracks, zoom in as much as possible (the imagery is poor here). Now, start going east along the tracks; you will that the two main track are close together at the state line. A short distance east of the state line the tracks start curving to the left (described as a 1 degree curve 1522 feet long). At the east end of this curve note that the main tracks are now spaced farther apart to make room for the center siding between the mains. Signal 9224 is somewhere at the east end of this curve, and is also west of the west switch (on EB main) for Wyuta siding; the siding switches are on tangent track past the east end of the curve.
Continue east along the tracks (tangent for 3203 feet according to ICC report) until you see another curve to the left (described as a 1 degree curve 817 feet long). The point of accident was on tangent track 199 feet east of the east end of this last curve (total length of this tangent was 2359 feet).
With Extra 1475 East on the center siding any train going around this last curve could not see around the full length of curve (a “blind curve”); regardless, given the prevailing snow conditions at the time there is doubt in my mind whether Train 102 could have stopped in time when traveling at 77 MPH even if they approached the rear end of Train 104 on completely tangent track.
Kurt Hayek
A 1948 UP employee time table (reprinted in a volume by the UPHS) shows Wyuta at MP 921.7 on the First Subdivision of the Utah Division. 4.5 miles west of Evanston and 5.9 miles east of Wahsatch. A center siding of 124 car capacity is listed.
Jeff