Nostalgia & History > Just the facts, sir

I just happened across the immediate aftermath of a salt train derailment on the D&H at Warnerville, NY in August 1988. The wreck was so recent, the state police (from the barracks only a mile away) were still taking statements from the crew. At the time, it was news to me that you had to call the cops after a derailment, but it makes sense. They were blocking a county road, at the very least.

Coming across a recent wreck while railfanning might seem like an amazing coincidence, but it's not. In 1988, D&H was in the depths of the Guilford Darkness, and you had a lot of opportunities to shoot wreck scenes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/14 18:36 by march_hare.

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More pictures?

Marty Bernard

Well, since you asked...

The front end of the train was still on the tracks, first derailed car was maybe 20 cars deep.

The derailment took out the signal at KF cabin, which had been a crossover on the double track main but had become the defacto end of double track following another derailment up near Richmondville a few years prior. I used to shoot here a lot, and that signal head sitting in the field makes me glad I wasn't anywhere nearby when this went over. Those puppies weighed maybe 30 pounds?

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Actually, I should correct myslef. Guilford was gone by this time (that explains the NYSW power and the leased CV Alco). But the RR was still very derailment prone.

A few weeks later, the main had been restored, and scrap crews were busy cuttting up the carcasses. I'd never seen what the lining of a salt hopper looked like before this. The scrap crew did NOT like being photographed, and I quietly melted away after taking this pic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/14 18:37 by march_hare.

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Thanks, very interesting pictures. The one of the signal head in the field is really unique. I'm glad you took it.

Marty Bernard

Regarding the police presence, if the "barracks" was only a mile away, the "bears" might have heard the noise, figured something bad had happened and didn't wait for a call. As far as the scrap metal salvage workers being camera shy--I thought of a visit to the San Diego Trolley yard several years ago where a party of transit fans was advised that the people cleaning the light rail cars were prisoners from the County Jail on a work detail. We were instructed to not take any photos of the workers in that area. One wonders if the scrap metal company also "salvages" people who would not pass a background check in more glamorous industries.

Some observations. A wreck like that today would probably call for an instant perimeter set up around the site until it was determined there were no hazmat cars involved. This was probably during the short NYSW/CSX operation of the D&H noting the NYSW SD45 in the consist. Finally, I'm thinking the CV RS11 was en route to one of the Genesee Valley shortlines maybe Depew Lancaster and Western or Delaware Lackawanna. Was living in New York State back then and don't remember any operator of the D&H leasing CV ALCO's.
Steve B.

A couple of those CV Alcos hung around a lot on the D&H during that time, including one lengthy assignment as yard switcher at E Binghamton. If I remember correctly the CV noodle logo had been altered to look like a GV instead. Don't remember what the details were of who was leasing what. Maybe somebody on the board has a better memory than me or a big stack of old Railpace mags sitting around.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/14 09:49 by march_hare.

A little hard to confirm, but it looks like this CV unit is the one with the modified noodle.

I vaguely remember them running around on the D&H too.

CV the civil E in NJ