Model Railroading on the Cheap

    Is there such a thing as a minor derailment?  Not when you are the crew of the local out on the main line up against the clock and you get on the ground. I took these pictures on April 19, 1989 of a heavy duty 4 truck flat car in Salem at a time when mainline trains of Conrail still had cabooses and the local had to work in between trains of the busiest daily freight traffic in eastern Ohio. Round trips with a dozen cars covering 40 miles might take 12 hours with waiting for track time! Note the third axel from the left of this heavy duty 4 truck flat car is on the ground and the crew has outlawed!

    The load was a heavy industrial press frame being sent to the company (E.W.Bliss) that had made it for refurbishing. It had been shipped on a 150 ton flat car with two dedicated empty gondolas for weight distribution over bridges. The conductor – unfamiliar with the plant had shoved the 3 cars into the plant around the rather sharp curve in the spur track, but the plant could not hold all 3 cars inside, so he pulled out to drop one or two gondolas. That is when he derailed on the bad track joint (with the 4 inch gap) in that sharp curve.  I got there after the excitement but my friend; a retired railroader had contact with the crew of the local and filled me in with these details.  I got a few pictures, but had to work the next day so I was unable to see how they got the car back up on the rail, maybe with re-railing frogs or jacks, or both.

Next photo is a close up: Then we see the original cause before the temporary rail patch – the red paint didn’t fix much.  Track repairs of a 4 inch piece of rail head and steel tie bar came years later.  Lastly is the empty car of 150 ton capacity in the paved lot awaiting the next trip.   Story and photos by Ray Lora.