Steam & Excursion > A Bad Day In The Missoula Yard For NP 2-8-0 #28!

We all have days like this from time to time. No matter how hard you try, something invariably goes wrong. Such was the case for the crew of NP #28 on June 13, 1945.

As we can see in this fine photo by Ron Nixon, #28 was running light when she split a switch in the Missoula, Montana yards on this otherwise sunny day.

Her coal fire has been allowed to burn out while the section crews begin to assemble rail and other track pieces to remove #28 from her predicament and to repair the track and the switch so that operations in the yard can resume.

One can only wonder what the company had in mind for the crews future with the railroad.


Martin



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/15 03:19 by LoggerHogger.

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One of those "Aw crap" days! Nice shot showing the wide open spaces.

looks like a 3 way switch and maybe a brakeman threw the wrong points or maybe it really just split the switch. Still you can bet the crew caught hell.

Judging by the scars on the ties as far back as the tender, the distribution of the dirt piles, and that the derailment was to the outside of the running rails, I'd say 28 was moving left to right. I don't think it split the switch, I think it derailed on the frog. No time off.

I've always though it interesting how NP liked to put their air cooling pipes above the running boards.

-John

They probably held a fair and impartial hearing and fired the crew. Isn't that what usually happens? ;-)

I agree with Doyle. Looking at the evidence it would certainly seem there is no reason to whack the crew if a flange picked a frog.

That'll buff right out.

No, even with a "Kangaroo Court" more often than not, no one gets fired.

Palhoghead Wrote:
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> They probably held a fair and impartial hearing
> and fired the crew. Isn't that what usually
> happens? ;-)

I doubt that the fire has been allowed to go out, it's more than likely been 'banked' so that it can be bought back to life when required. At least that's what happened in my day.

Malcolm
New Zealand.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/15 23:31 by MMD.