BO derailment at upshur siding

1967,a B&O coal train (loaded)was coming up a grade with 3 GP7/9s leading a 42 car train, from cowen,WV to grafton,WV. the train pulled on to the 4100 foot siding to wait for an unloaded coal train to come down the hill to return to the rich coal fields of southern Upshur County. (NOTE) the B&O wanted to save money when they bult the lin in the mid 60's-1860's that is so they usually laid the tracks along a river, the siding was right beside the river) any way the unloaded train passed and saw about half way down the train on the siding a loadec oal hopper was leaning dangerously to the left, toward the river, he notified the eingineer of the stopped train to tell him some thing was wrong. the stopped train called for assistenace from Buckhannon,a dn crews were there with in 10 minutes. They used a 150 ton crane to simply pick up one end of the partially derailed car to set a new set of wheels under it, therail simply collaped under the set of wheels of that car that were on the rails , and the whole car tipped right, laying flat on it's side beside the main. it didn't block it, and then the dispatcher from grafton had to make then clear the main for trains to come through. the lead engined picked up the back half of the train and the first half and went north to fishing camp and waited on the trains to come while that one coal hopper had coal spilled all over (the main was cleared of the coal though) the crews came back the next afternoon, and there were about 30 men and boys in pick-up trucks and trailers, loading up the coal to take home for heat, the foreman just let them have it, and waited a few days until not many were there, then they lifted up the car, set it up side down on a flat car , and took it to Huntington,WV to be scrapped. My grandpa told me this one, he was the firsts one down there to get the coal.

[ 19 February 2001: Message edited by: A&A 6183 ]