Canadian Railroads > Smash up Sunday

Last Sunday, Hoggerdoug posted a series of photos of a derailment.
I went digging back through my files to a derailment on the CN Bala sub at Gamebridge, Ontario on May 21, 2003.
Most of the derailed cars were carrying sulphuric acid or rolls of paper.
The investigation report is here:  http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/rail/2003/r03t0157/r03t0157.html 

Photo 1: View of derailed tank cars from Hwy 12 in Gamebridge.
Photo 2: Large rolls of paper from derailed boxcars.
Photo 3: Last of the derailed cars at the Hwy 12 level crossing.
 

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

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Photo 4: Boxcars on a pile of pushed up dirt/roadbed
Photo 5: Tank cars and rolls of paper
Photo 5: Boxcars and rolls of paper - the wheels demonstrate the size of the paper rolls.

 

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

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Photo 7: Hulcher pulling wreckage away from the tracks into a farmer's field
Photo 8: Another shot of Hulcher removing some of the wreckage
Photo 9: Overturned sulphuric acid tankers

 

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

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That rolled paper sure is heavy stuff, and don't get it wet. Interesting pictures.
Doug

Thanks for the pics...

hoggerdoug Wrote:
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> That rolled paper sure is heavy stuff, and don't
> get it wet. Interesting pictures.
> Doug

Looks like newsprint, which can weight more than a ton per roll depending upon width and diameter.  Paper salvage companies, called convertors, buy damaged rolls of newsprint and unwind them, then make things like lined paper and coloring books for youngsters.

-John (former newsprint salesman)

Because of this derailment, my trip on the Canadian detoured on the CP out of Montreal.  We departed about four hours late, because the inbound train had to detour also.   About 100 miles north of Montreal, our female engineer on her first solo trip, had another lady lay down on the tracks and commit suicide......    So we got a new crew; and took a four hour additional hit.  By the time we got moving again, there were trains in every siding, because the CP was the only track open.  We arrived at the first stop north of Montreal 11 hours late!  

But as we headed west we began to make up time and arrived in Jasper only four hours late!   But then overnight there was a signal failure and we departed Kamloops eight hours late at 8 a.m..  All of this was fine with me, because now I got to ride the Fraser River gorge in daylight.