Canadian Railroads > Tragically twenty years ago

At 0721 January 20, 1995 CP train 981-20 approached a 10-degree curve at mile 111.0 of the Nelson Subdivision unaware of a freeze-thaw rock fall on the curve. The train stuck the slide and the three units (5738, 5660 and 5938) and the first few cars of the 49 car train plunged into Kootenay Lake. An emergency brake application was made some 322 feet before the train encountered the slide. Engineman Peter Whitehead and Trainman Shaun Hogg were in the lead locomotive and were killed. The conductor was in the third unit (5938) and managed to escape to the shoreline and run to mile 114 where he encountered a MOW crew who were able to summon help.

CP and/or the contractor for CP were aware of rock instability at this location but no actions were taken to secure it until after the derailment.

Shaun Hogg was Kylie's second cousin. Shaun had moved to Cranbrook following a couple of close calls on the Shuswap Subdivision. One involved a near collision with the CN at Campbell Creek when the CN crew fouled the CPR mainline without authorization.

The photos are from Kylie's collection, Photographer unknown.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/15 07:09 by eminence_grise.

A couple more photos.

This portion of the CP Nelson Sub. from Kootenay Landing (Mile 83.1) to Procter (Mile 117.5) was built in 1930 along the south shore of Kootenay Lake to replace barge operation along the lake between those two points . One of the enduring legends about this portion of railway is that because dynamite had been invented, tunnels and cuts through rock which would previously been drilled by hand or blasted with gun powder were instead created using massive TNT explosions, which cause widespread fracturing of the surrounding rock.

Two other significant train wrecks involving rock slides have taken place along this portion of track. One involved a steam engine which remained visible in the lake for many years and took the life of engineer Bull, and another involved a pair of MLW FA-2's. In this case, the engineer spotted waves and debris beyond a short tunnel they were approaching. He threw the brakes into emergency, hollered "jump" to the trainmen and fireman, which they all did. The fireman broke his leg in the jump. The FA's struck a slide beyond tunnel, and plunged into Kootenay Lake. Then as now, this is an area without road access, and the crew members packed the injured fireman out on a stretcher some distance before a section crew arrived with a speeder. The slide had severed the railway telephone in an era before widespread radio use.

Since the 1995 incident , talking slide fences have been fitted along this one train a day each way route. The fences are dormant until turned on by radio by an approaching train.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/20/15 13:56 by eminence_grise.

A stark reminder of the hazards crews encounter on the railroad and for that matter the hazards of any heavy industry. May they rest in peace. I've had my share of heart stopping moments. Doug

The safety professional's motto is "every accident is preventable". The hard part is getting everyone in the organization to believe it, and practice it.

I have to admit that the concept is an especially tough sell in railroading. This particular accident might have been preventable, but there is always a risk of washouts, rockfalls, grade crossing accidents, etc that rail workers just can't do anything about.

Sadly, this at times breeds a fatalism that works against a true safety culture.

- Paul

A tough story for sure...

I had occasion to travel that stretch of track with the east and westbound trips on the head-end.

Along any rock bluffs, high mountainous regions etc, one can only hope every trip is a safe one.

Take care...

Hi to Kylie...


611

I remember that well. I was one of the firefighters who brought the spill trailer in from Castlegar.

I have a summer home in Procter, so I am somewhat familiar with this area. Nice pics. I believe that they send a "scout" car ahead of the train. Eastbound train comes through Procter between 5-6PM. Westbound comes through Procter in the night, somewhere around 1-2AM

There is always the CYA rule stuck into the rule books reminding crews running in foul weather to approach any place where slides and washouts might occur with caution. Does the company expect crews to run restricted speed prepared to stop short across the entire run? Well......

I once slowed for a slide area which "just didn't require a slide fence" and sure enough there was a small slide over the rail. While we were waiting we watched another slide come down about a quarter mile beyond which would have caused a derailment. That was more than ten years or more ago and there are still no fences though there are slides each year.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

Wow, as stated, the perils of railroading in the wild especially in dark territory. Very sobering.
JB

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There's a Youtube video of the aftermath of the wreck. It's possible those stills came from it...

Keith Robertson
Langley, BC

LKeithR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There's a Youtube video of the aftermath of the
> wreck. It's possible those stills came from it...


Most likely not as the photos were given to the family weeks after the incident.

On July 02 and 04, 1992, I rode over that line segment on a special dome-equipped High Iron Travel passenger train. Setting aside the dangerous characteristics of unexpected rock slides, it has to be one of the most scenic pieces of railroad in all of Canada. The organizers of that trip were so impressed with the scenery that a convention of the American Association of Private Railroad Car Owners (AAPRCO) was held in Nelson three years later.

On the July 04 return leg, we stopped in that general vicinity and some of the passengers took a brief swim in the lake. I was not one of them.

I think it's safe to say that if the smelter at Trail ever shuts down, that line will not be long for this world. It's a very expensive piece of railroad to operate commensurate with the amount of traffic operating over it.

I was NOT impressed with the way CPR treated the widow of one of the deceased crew members as you described. Shameful.

Major incidents involving crew fatalities in time become the "stuff of legends" around the workplace.

Such is the case about the outcome of the survivor benefits regarding this incident. One of the survivors pointed out that the denial of benefits and the family status was wrong in my report.

For that I apologise.

I worked with both Trevor and with Peter's brother Duncan. I honour both Trevor and Peter's memory.

Kylie is a distant relative of Trevor's.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/15 09:34 by eminence_grise.