Western Railroad Discussion > Tornado Crosses UPRR (KP) west of Chapman, Kansas

Dickinson County emergency manager reports the "tracks were destroyed" one mile west of Chapman, Kansas, this evening as a strong tornado went through the area. 

I have attached a Doppler radar image from that time with the location of the tornado circled. The core of the tornado passed about a mile south of Chapman. The tornado had been on the ground for about an hour at that point, originating near Minneapolis, Kansas. 

NOTE: Thursday looks like a very active severe thunderstorm/tornado day in the Great Plains. If you live in the region, please keep up on the weather. 

 

---

I had just received a phone call telling me about this and I told the guy I would post a little info about it. Mike Smith beat me to it, My friend told me about some guy that must have been driving by on Old 40 Hwy and seen pieces of wood laying around and some pieces of iron. So that would have been the rail and the ties that he saw, Anybody else have any more info about this. A mie West of Chapman would put that swath threu IKE Siding. upkpfan

PS. Also heard that a house had been hit SE of Chapman. Hope no lives were lost.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/16 19:27 by upkpfan.

I'm sorry to report the tornado reintensified. This is the Doppler wind image from 9:32pm showing it crossing the Golden State Route near Alta Vista (circled).

---

I thought Ike siding was west of Abilene.

I've read reports on the FaceSpace that the tracks are damaged. What that means specifically, I do not know. 

Since you're a meteorologist you'll understand what I'm saying. This looked too much like El Reno 3 years ago. Which was also spared. What a massive monster of a tornado.
Ike siding is indeed west of Abilene, not Chapman.
mg8711

Dickinson County is reporting that entire sections of the tracks are completely destroyed, and that "all trains should be stopped immediately."

So it sounds like UP will be making reroutes again.

factorone33 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> So it sounds like UP will be making reroutes
> again.

Honestly, that's pretty doubtful.  There is very little traffic on this line as it is.  Maybe 2-4 trains through this area a day, if even that.  Now, depending upon what damage was actually done, if no bridges or structures were damaged, panel track can be laid, ballasted and tamped in a matter of hours and this material is staged ready for these occurances in Salina and Topeka/Kansas City.  Track would be out of service less than 24 hours.

imrl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> factorone33 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > So it sounds like UP will be making reroutes
> > again.
>
> Honestly, that's pretty doubtful.  There is very
> little traffic on this line as it is.  Maybe 2-4
> trains through this area a day, if even that. 
> Now, depending upon what damage was actually done,
> if no bridges or structures were damaged, panel
> track can be laid, ballasted and tamped in a
> matter of hours and this material is staged ready
> for these occurances in Salina and Topeka/Kansas
> City.  Track would be out of service less than 24
> hours.

I suppose this is true. I used to live in Hays along the Sharon Springs sub, and they averaged 8-10 trains per day, and I'd imagined that the Salina sub had as much or more traffic than that, but I don't know any better either. So I suppose I'll have to just take your word for it. 

Back a few years ago, the Salina Sub did host more traffic.  But, the Colorado coal mines have pretty well dried up, and the manifests Denver-Salina and Salina-KC only run east one day and west the next at best.  There are a few grain trains and ethanol trains in the mix as well as an auto train that runs east to the NS, but even then, traffic is down to levels not seen in decades.  It's just a sad reflection of the current economic climate.

Has anyone ever seen a photo showing track lifted out of the ground by a tornado? Sounds far-fetched to me. I need photographic evidence.

Thanks for the post imrl ...

Overall agree with your observations, but as to the Colorado coal mines ... they have NOT dried up ... it's the EPA regulations and Obama mandates that have forced major power plants to switch from coal to nat gas as a fuel source  ... the Western Slope Colorado economy is truly suffering because of the current administration's dictates ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

 

Odyssey Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the post imrl ...
>
> Overall agree with your observations, but as to
> the Colorado coal mines ... they have NOT dried
> up ... it's the EPA regulations and Obama
> mandates that have forced major power plants to
> switch from coal to nat gas as a fuel source 
> ... the Western Slope Colorado economy
> is truly suffering because of the current
> administration's dictates ...
>

It wouldn't have anything to do with the price of natural gas, which because of the use of fracking technology has been averaging well below $6 per million BTU since 2009.  See:

  http://www.infomine.com/ChartsAndData/ChartBuilder.aspx?z=f&gf=110558.USD.mmBTU&dr=1y&cd=1

Nope, empower your favorite politician with godlike powers instead.

Brian

JoCoLB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I thought Ike siding was west of Abilene.

That is correct; more or less half way between Abilene & Solomon.

The tornado crossed the track at the circled location in the original post.

The Doppler wind data, in this type of situation, is very precise a locating the position of the tornado. 

Saw this pic come across on Twitter from a news station in Wichita.

 

---

Now I believe it. The photo speaks a thousand words. That is old U.S. 40 highway at the right.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/16 08:57 by JoCoLB.

JoCoLB Wrote: > ... Now I believe it...
Larry, I was squarely in your camp with the "I gotta see photographic proof" idea. In over 3 decades in train service I'd never heard of such a thing, much less seen anything like this with my own eyes. But one thing about railroading I learned pretty early was that ANY chain of events scenario you can dream up, no matter how goofy, unlikely, far-fetched or just plain against common sense odds, there's a 99% chance it's already happened somewhere, sometime in the past. It looks like the same rule applies to Mother Nature...

Lance/199
 

Foudn this pic of the damage path courtesy of Dickinson County Emergency Management.

---

And yet another one comes out. I'm sure by now most of the news stations are picking up on these, but I figure they're of special interest here. 

---