These make for good reading, even for a railroader.
On Wednesday, April 23, 2014 11:16 PM, Dave Lotz <Dave_Lotz@bellsouth.net>
wrote:
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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