Western Railroad Discussion > Salem Oregon derailment cleanup

Cruised by Front Street about 10:30 this morning and shot a few pix of the cleanup of last night's P&W derailment. Doesn't look like any of the loads fell completely off. Just a couple of cars tilted and being unloaded. This is just south of the Cascade Warehouse
Bill Pyper
Salem, OR
 

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It looks like just the one truck of that one car decided to go up the spur. I wonder if bark or something that fell off the car caused that to happen?

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

According to the paper they had to decouple the cars........must be something new..........know they are always right. LOL

Because "some wheels lost contact with the rail."

BAB Wrote:
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> According to the paper they had to decouple the
> cars........must be something new..........know
> they are always right. LOL

Great photos....Thanks Bill...
.....Swede.....Albony,OR........

Thanks for the photo coverage. Interesting collection of log cars in that area. The skeleton cars look like ex BCR cars, the big flat with stakes could be a later BCR car, not really sure where they came from before log service.

TCnR Wrote:
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> Thanks for the photo coverage. Interesting
> collection of log cars in that area. The skeleton
> cars look like ex BCR cars, the big flat with
> stakes could be a later BCR car, not really sure
> where they came from before log service.

They were built for PGE or BCR for log service (on the Talka Sub). P&W purchased 200 of them, mixed skeleton-type and the newer type, from BCR.  Most of the skeleton-type cars showed a build date of '68.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/05/18 19:25 by roustabout.

TCnR Wrote:
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> Thanks for the photo coverage. Interesting
> collection of log cars in that area. The skeleton
> cars look like ex BCR cars, the big flat with
> stakes could be a later BCR car, not really sure
> where they came from before log service.

I didn't post this earlier becasue it is not a very good pic, but it clearly shows the car's heritage.

BP
 

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Both CP and BCR had a specific task for those log bunks.

In BC, there are or were two logging companies whose sole purpose was to harvest logs for use as telephone poles.

I am familiar with Bell Pole Company, a long established subsidiary of the original Bell Telephone Company.

Suitable trees were harvested in BC, sometimes debarked, and then sent to a creosoting plant elsewhere. Staying on the log bunk, they were then sent to Minneapolis for storage. The longest poles were too long to be shipped by truck.

While creosote is no longer used, it has taken some time to develop a non-toxic wood preservative. Utility companies continue to use wooden poles because they are pliable, and don't shatter when struck by a vehicle. Also, steel and concrete poles are pre-drilled for a specific number of cross arms, wooden poles can be adapted to carry more more cross arms.

The BCR and CP fleets of these cars seemed interchangeable.  The pole traffic continues today on CP, I don't know about BCR.  Like Thomas the Tank Engine, a very usefull design of car.

Bell Pole brands their poles with a nice version of the old Bell Telephone trademark and also the date it was harvested. Why? Because utility poles have been known to be stolen, and also to let people like cable TV outfits know who owns the pole.