Leo,
Interesting account, and most fortunate indeed! In the third paragraph you
mention a shifted load for the first time. Did the load shift due to the
derailment? Where in the train was the shifted load located?
Dave Lotz
Pooler, GA
[Dave Lotz] -----Original Message-----
From: CBQ@yahoogroups.com [mailto:CBQ@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Leo
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2014 8:09 PM
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [CBQ] Close call 1
The list is fairly quiet so in the interest of generating conversation and
explaining how "it used to be" here's a close call I was a part of:
we were coming down Sugar Grove hill eastbound into Aurora one sunny early
spring morning.
The train was definitely being operated at track speed or maybe a hair
over,just a hair over. The grass was starting to turn and the sky was blue.
Sitting on the left side of the w/c I observed what appeared to be a 1x 12
x16 go airborne about the approach signal for the Aurora siding at Barnes
road. I mentioned same to Lewis who thought for a second and advised,over
the radio for the hogger to"stop the train". When we stopped we went to the
back door and observed our worst fears. The ties were cut behind us. That
meant we had a wheel on the ground. Lewis said to me "you know we are lucky"
, I asked why? He said if we got on the elevation with all those switches
we'd be on the ground with cars on the streets below.
I walked up and approx 12-15 ahead of the w/c was an mty Q bulk head flat
with one pair of wheels off the rails at probably 60 mph or better. Joe
Arrington,the asst supt happened to be in his office at Aurora depot and
heard our transmission to Aurora tower advising that we had a car on the
ground and needed the Eola wheel truck to come out. He and the train master
came out in his car. He asked if we felt a bump from a broken rail. We both
said no. The train master walked back about a mile and found a chunk out of
a rail. At 60plus we didn't feel it.
We ended up setting out the shifted load of 1x4 at Eola with everything
ahead of it set on the running track. We then went back to Barnes road with
the power and with the assistance of the Eola wheel truck guys rerailed the
mty flat. Took it and the rest of the train to Eola,tied up and went home.
The company saved a bunch of money that day because a brkmn was looking over
his train and the Condr made the right call.
By the way there was a dragging equipment detector at Barnes road and it
was flashing "OK NO DEFECTS FOUND"
I have a couple more of these, if I get positive feed back ill post them
Leo Phillipp
Sent from my iPad
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