Western Railroad Discussion > Birds in the Water!!!

I took off this morning in search of the derailment with the Boeing cars with limited info. In fact I totally missed the derailment going east. It wasn't until I photographed a heavy unit coke train going up Evaro Hill that I heard the west end dispatcher give out a milepost for the derailment that helped me zero in on it. The derailment is at MP 165 on the 4th Sub between Cyr and the Fish Creek Trestle (just under a mile east of the trestle). Even then you really can't see very much from Fish Creek Rd due to all the trees above the tracks. It wasn't until I got to the far side of the river via a hike over rugged terrain and through a pine forest that I finally saw just how bad this derailment was. All told, six aircraft bodies were involved with three in the river. 5 of the 737 bodies suffered heavy damage while the lead most plane lost the rear truck on it's flatcar carrier.
This derailment is going to take a day or two yet to reopen the tracks, and even then, likely will require MRL's big hook to retrieve the three planes and flatcars that went over the bank.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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funnelfan Wrote:
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> I took off this morning in search of the
> derailment with the Boeing cars with limited info.
> In fact I totally missed the derailment going
> east. It wasn't until I photographed a heavy unit
> coke train going up Evaro Hill that I heard the
> west end dispatcher give out a milepost for the
> derailment that helped me zero in on it. The
> derailment is at MP 165 on the 4th Sub between Cyr
> and the Fish Creek Trestle (just under a mile east
> of the trestle). Even then you really can't see
> very much from Fish Creek Rd due to all the trees
> above the tracks. It wasn't until I got to the far
> side of the river via a hike over rugged terrain
> and through a pine forest that I finally saw just
> how bad this derailment was. All told, six
> aircraft bodies were involved with three in the
> river. 5 of the 737 bodies suffered heavy damage
> while the lead most plane lost the rear truck on
> it's flatcar carrier.
> This derailment is going to take a day or two yet
> to reopen the tracks, and even then, likely will
> require MRL's big hook to retrieve the three
> planes and flatcars that went over the bank.

OH this is going to be spendy for the MRL. :(

J.

Personally, I suspect that a sun kink will likely be the cause of the derailment. The ambient temp spiked at 93 degrees at the time of the derailment in this area, the hottest it has been since winter ended. The derailment happened at the worst spot possible (outside of being on a trestle). The spot is a reverse curve on a narrow ledge some 200' above the river in the rugged canyon. The tail section of the plane with the large crack in it was threatening to tear off and float away. I was kinda waiting for it to happen, but it didn't. It may happen overnight.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/14 21:57 by funnelfan.

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Some more closeup shots of the damage. That brush rack sure took a beating. Not really seen in the photos is the first and second planes. The first plane was dragged clear of the scene losing the trailing truck on it's flatcar carrier. The second plane ended up sitting askew on the ROW with the tail end hanging out over the canyon. The tail of the third plane did get ripped off. The remaining planes went into the river.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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This is a very rugged canyon that is popular with rafters, who were very excited to discover the wreck during their journey downriver. Many were trying to stop for pics, but the the Fish and Wildlife dept was shooing them away down the river to avoid the dangers of the scene. There was talk of the river being shut down on this popular weekend, which would piss off a lot of people and rafting companies. Also note they were a few cars away from putting some large LPG or Ammonia tankcars over the edge.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/14 22:15 by funnelfan.

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I've been told there was 10 cars entrained ahead of the Boeing cars, and at least two hoppers and a tankcar show signs of having fallen on their sides. I could not see the other cars. RJ Corman was the responding cleanup crew out of Pasco, WA.

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

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Great photo coverage, thanks for posting.

Looks like a nice place to be taking photos or rafting as well.

The CAB and or FAA are going to condemn all of those fuselages. They will not be allowed to get an airworthy certification.

Thanks for your efforts to get these great photos, Ted. We owe you for going to all the trouble to get them. That stretch of the river is known locally as the Alberton Gorge. I believe the problem tank cars were alcohol, which could have been more toxic to aquatic life than a hydrocarbon.
Dano
Helena

That aint gonna fly...

Posted from Android

Ted --
Thank you very much for these stunning and
very interesting pictures. That is a beautiful
area. What a mess for Boeing and for MRL!
I would think that all those fuselages are write-offs.

Glad no one was hurt in the derailment.

That just plain sucks (sorry).

That might be just about the only thing worse to see in your
rear view mirror then a cop with flashing lights.

I wonder if any of the fuselages were protected in a sufficient
fashion by the flat cars they were mounted on?

Still wondering why a railroad would risk shipping so many
fuselages on one train - or at least, why ship without placing
SEVERAL buffer cars in between so that a derailment risks fewer
fuselages.

Thanks for the pics.

/Mitch

funnelfan Wrote:
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> I've been told there was 10 cars entrained ahead
> of the Boeing cars, and at least two hoppers and a
> tankcar show signs of having fallen on their
> sides. I could not see the other cars. RJ Corman
> was the responding cleanup crew out of Pasco, WA.

Actually it is Hultcher who is based out of Pasco.

Thanks again for making the trek out there to get these pics.

Thanks for the photos Ted.

Even though this is a waste of money, material, and man hours I am so thankful that this didn't happen on the Fish Creek trestle or any hazmat in the river.
This part of the Clark Fork is pristine and Fish Creek is a gem. I personally spend many days floating, fishing, birding, and train watching in this area and it would have been tragic had this been a loaded crude train or any other hazmat involved. Hopefully MRL is counting their lucky stars, could have been much worse.

Great coverage, Ted! Thanks for making the effort to find it - a very worthwhile hike. I can see how you missed it too since the original reports had the derailment 7 to 10 miles farther east.

Paul Birkholz
Sheridan, WY

way to go with these epic photos

Your very informative pictures tell it all Ted. Thanks for hiking into the tough terrain.


Larry

Will be interesting to see how Boeing/Spirit responds. Those fuselages will most certainly be written off as hull losses and since they are custom made for each airline customer, I'm thinking they will have to start over from scratch on each plane. I guess I'm surprised MRL doesn't send a road railer ahead of each Boeing trains to inspect the track (or maybe they did?) Thanks for your hard work getting the pictures!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/14 23:42 by billnict.

Thanks guys. It's funny reading all the reports and speculation on the other thread, a lot of them being way off (tankcars in the water, fuselages off the flatcars, ect....). The 737 bodies did remain firmly attached to the flatcars for the most part. The only one to show signs of weakness in mounting was the one with the huge crack around the middle. What is going to hurt Boeing is not only having 6 missing aircraft, but losing the 6 fuselage carrier car sets. I imagine both BNSF and Boeing want those cars sent to the repair shop ASAP!

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

syscom3 Wrote:
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> The CAB and or FAA are going to condemn all of
> those fuselages. They will not be allowed to get
> an airworthy certification.


A little rework and they will be good to go. ;)