Okay, I was in error. It was the CHIEF. Effective January 10, 1954, the CHIEF added coaches to the consist and shifted the transcontinental sleepers to the SUPER CHIEF. The wreck in question happened at Lomax, Illinois on Aug. 22, 1954. Hard to find out what caused it. http://www.gendisasters.com/illinois/22205/lomax-il-fast-train-wreck-aug-1954 On this site it deals with a law suit filed in the case. Wading through all the legal gobble-de-gook there is a mention of a claim about damage to an automobile. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1811686.html Here is another photo.
Dalies, NM is where the old main line from Albuquerque meets the Belen Cutoff. It's quite a climb from Belen to Dalies. This is a remote spot and was gained only with additional off-road abuse of the rental car. Slides are from October '96 and June '97. Another westbound coming up from Belen. The line to Albuquerque curves off to the left. The Southwest Chief exits the Cutoff and heads to Albuquerque.
The cause of that derailment was attributed to a broken equalizer on a truck on the second car of the train, a heavyweight baggage-club-lounge car. Apparently, there was evidence that the equalizer was broken at least seven miles before the accident, but the equalizer finally had dropped low enough to hit the crossover switches at Lomax and derail the car as the train was traveling at about 90 mph, resulting in the wreck. ICC report: https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/44558 The car in question was #1301. Here is a brass model of it:
OK, reading over the law suit there is mention of that. I think it was still attached to the mail car and continued down the track after derailing the third car. The third car was a light weight coach and the only car that did not remain upright and where all the fatalities occurred. You can see that car on its side up against the reefers if you zoom in on the image.
Take a look at the ICC report. It states that the first two cars - the 1301 was the second car - remained upright and coupled to the locos. The train separated behind the second car. The third car hit the freight cars on the adjacent siding, spun end-for-end and came to rest on its side.
It's like when you go fishing... You're happy with what you catch, if ever . A 3-car local is far better than nothing. I can't count hundreds of hour I spent railfanning and seeing nothing, for various reasons (lower trafic figures, trackwork a little bit further on the line, incident, etc). The last time I came to north America was in the beginning of february this year, with a 3-day layover in Montreal, QC, and the only train I managed to spot on these 3 days was a Quebec & Gatineau Railway 2-car special, although I spent maybe 10 hours total time along the railroad... Dom
I totally understand that sentiment. I still call MOW "Maintenance In The Way".... "Veterans Over Gassman" When it's on time, Amtrak is a pretty reliable target to photograph in the evening here in Minot. That said, Amtrak engine 42, the Veterans unit, was leading this night. Amtrak 8 this night was led by engine 42, the heritage Veterans unit. The train was decidedly backlit here, but nearly impossible to tell until train time! I knew the north side wasn't lit at all, though. Give it three weeks...
What a beautiful shot Hemi. Yes, the long days of summer and the season's sun angles make shots possible that can't be worked any other time of the year. This is one here, taken in July of 2018 near my home. The composition is best from this side and it took a lot of failed attempts before I finally scored.
Williams, AZ is the home of the tourist-hauling Grand Canyon Railway which takes passengers 65 miles north to the National Park. Williams is also at the east end of the Santa Fe's Crookton Cutoff, a feat of engineering completed in 1960 which greatly reduced grades and curvature on the mainline west. The new line's location left the Williams station isolated from the main. It's the Grand Canyon's terminal today. The line in front is the old main line, retained as far as Ash Fork to provide a connection for the branch to Phoenix. [June 1997 slides]
Santa Fe's station at the Grand Canyon was built of logs in 1909 and remains in service for the Grand Canyon Railway. We somehow missed a steam trip and rode behind the FA.
August 2007 - I was lost somewhere in the corn fields of central Illinois. If I had to guess, I'd say I had to be near Mattoon IL maybe?
Chama, New Mexico, June 3, 1998. My son and I had been up in Colorado to do some back packing but it was too early in the season to get very high up on the mountain tails due to the unusually heavy snow pack. So what to do? Lets go ride a train. Wandered the yard in Chama while they got the locomotive ready and made up the train we were to ride.
This is the same locomotive years before stored inoperable behind the roundhouse in Durango in June of 1971.
