Nostalgia & History > Who Ya Gonna Call When This Happens

Why you call the MOW wrecker crew, including the "big hook" of course!  The C&NW had a lot of derailments during the seventies before they got their track back up to proper standards.  The derailment shown in the first photo is eastbound train #250 on the ground at Stanwood, Iowa in August of 1975.  The wrecker train shown in photos two and three is taken at Mt. Vernon, Iowa in November or 1976 enroute to yet another derailment site.

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Neat pictures, what is on the stack in pic 2?

Who you gonna call?  I want my moma.

Let's see if I remember...

Get a list of the train. Mark up what's off the railroad.

Car Foreman: Get the guys and get the hook ready for as soon as I can find a crew

(If there isn't already power in the yard for a train that will be annulled for the wreck) Roundhouse: Need two units for the hook SAP

Yardmaster: Get out the hook and caboose it for SAP call

(If there isn't a train already on duty) Caller: Need a crew for the hook SAP (otherwise Yardmaster: use the power and crew from ____)

Road Foreman: In the ditch at ___. Got the hook called for SAP

Section: In the ditch at ____ hook is called

Yardmasters at terminal not furnishing the hook: In the ditch at ____ bust the call on ____.

Signal maintainer: In the ditch at ____

Trainmaster: We're in the ditch at ____ hook is called

Chiefs adjoining divisions: In the ditch at ___ won't have a railroad until at least ____.. These are by it____. The rest are behind.

Caller at the other end (that isn't furnishing the hook): in the ditch at ____ nothing before ____. These guys are by it and coming _____

Roadmaster: In the ditch at ___ got the section called.

Signal supervisor: In the ditch at ____ maintainer is called

Gumshoe: In the ditch at____

Cops: Got a derailment at ____ gonna have a lot of folks parking cars and trucks along the road

Caller at the end furnishing the hook: These guys are by the wreck and coming ____.

Yardmaster: These guys are by the wreck and coming.

Claim agent: In the ditch at ____

Asst Supt: In the ditch at _____ hook called, all the folks called and on the way

Supt: In the ditch at _____ hook called, all the folks called and on the way (Have it all going then call the Boss, who will ask first thing what you have done...except once in a while you will have a boss dumb enough to say that he wants to be called first...at which time he will ask what you have done).

Control center, regional office, etc.: In the ditch at _____

Public Relations/Communications: In the ditch at ____

State utilities & transportation etc.: In the ditch at_____

FRA: In the ditch at_____

Now make a plan for putting away the railroad, what trains park where on line, get the directions and fuel level on every train tied down. Start with a figure of an hour a car after everyone shows up plus four hours for track work and build a realistic best case opening plan: what trains to turn the power back for fuel after tie down, what trains on line to call crews when, which crews need to bring power with them, what trains to call from terminals when, what trains will arrive terminals when.

Adjoining chiefs, yardmasters, callers, roundhouse foremen: Here's the plan....

Answer phone...get info on what cars, what position, lading, damage, track damage, signal damage

Supt: here's the situation....

Keep running report of everything up 'til now plus time each car rerailed, update estimate opening, time track ok, first train, Revise line opening plan as more accurate information or new information received. Notify all as necessary.

Answer lots of phone calls from officials wanting to know how they're doing. Tell them that they aren't doing anything because folks keep telling me to ask them how they're doing.

Be glad it's not a passenger train and that there's no hazmat.

Bring your lunch home...you don't have time for that.

TAW
 

TAW has the drill down!
Each department's people have their version of the drill.
It is the sort of institutional knowledge that does not come with a college degree or a consultant's operating plan.
We learned by listening over coffee, meals, and other opportunities to tell war stories, and by going out to "assist" and learn from the old heads.
Then before we knew it we were the old heads.
All the MBAs and analysts have an idea that they don't know these things but they don't know how to put a dollar value on this institutional knowledge so they ignore it.
But the troops tend to get the job done somehow anyway.
TAW you brought back a lot of memories with that.

The CNW had some pretty doozy wrecks. I think my Grandpa was living in Stanwood when that wreck occurred.
Was that the Clinton or Marshalltown hook there Randy?
MILW86A