Eastern Railroad Discussion > Rockslide on the Kenova District

While sitting in Kenova earlier today, I was listening to broken radio traffic from the NS Kenova dispatcher tower near Williamson, as the dispatcher was talking to train NS 859 about stopping near Stepptown, WV due to a reported rockslide near Chattaroy, WV a few miles north (Railroad west) of Williamson. The Chattaroy area has been notorious for rockslides and mudslides blocking both main lines, and today was no exception. After a confirmation from radio traffic of a MOW worker in Kenova (and a check on ATCS to see blue blockers up between College and Borderland, I headed south to see what I could find. The radio got busier as I approached Kermit on the heels of an eastbound with distant radio traffic from the work site at Falls Branch.

#1: I caught up with the eastbound train at Nolan, which was mine run U04, having picked up the Kenova District work/wreck train from the crew of 93J somewhere near Wolf Creek or Naugatuck. The train had stopped on an Approach signal at Nolan to talk to the Railway Worker In Charge (RWIC, someone may have to confirm that description) and develop a plan. After talking to the RWIC, U04 accelerates quickly with a single Dash 9, 4 side dump cars, the ex-N&W American work crane, and former N&W caboose #555585 leading the way. U04 would meet an operator at Borderland and take the crane & a single car in to the slide site while U04 would tie up in the middle track at Nolan.

#2: After turning off US 119 at Falls Branch Road, the damage quickly became apparent. A large chunk of rock had fallen from the nearby cliffside across both main tracks, as well as old US119. From one of the workers, a woman driving through was caught in the slide, and was shaken up by the debris landing around her car, but otherwise okay. To my knowledge there were no trains lined through at the time, and MOW forces were in the area already when they heard the commotion. Old US119 to Buffalo Creek Road was cleared by the Chattaroy and Williamson fire departments and local road departments and was left open until Norfolk Southern began clearing the rockslide.

#3: Not long after I arrived, crews set to work beginning to clear rocks and debris from the ROW. I put the drone in the air to give a better perspective of the extent of the damage. The rails can clearly be seen shifted by as much as a few feet, and the large rock (at least 25 feet across) can be seen laying on the side of Main 2.

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#4: After cutting the crane off from the work train consist, and obtaining the proper permissions & paperwork to obtain joint occupancy (JO) limits between Borderland and College, N&W 514888 heads east with the crane car & a single side dump car to begin clearing the right of way. At left out of frame is the large area where US119 once ran, which NS currently uses for storage of track pieces as most of the Kenova District is undergoing surfacing & tie replacement projects.

#5: After a quick talk with the RWIC, the American crane goes to work tossing large chunks of rock out of the ROW along with a couple other pieces of equipment already hard at work. A dozer with crane attachment from Cleco is also waiting behind me for permission to head onto the ROW and help clear out the larger chunks of rock.

#6: By this point, several dump trucks have arrived from MOW points along the Kenova District, including from Kenova, Greyeagle, and Williamson and are running through loading rocks and debris to be dropped off back near the crossing at Chattaroy. This operation will go on well into the night while other crews work on preparing for incoming track panels to get the rail line back in operation.

Trains have be stacking up on both sides of the slide by this point; coal trains NS 859 and NS 861 are waiting at Stonecoal and Webb, respectively, while intermodal 218 will pass them later in the evening and wait at Borderland or Nolan to be the first to head through when the line comes back online, and NS 188 will wait back at See near Fort Gay, WV for their turn. On the Williamson side, intermodal 29G is tied down on the main at Williamson, a grain train & manifest 17M are in the yard at Williamson tied down.

At this point I had overstayed my welcome a bit, as NS has shut down the roadway to prevent traffic from interfering with cleanup operations, so I decided to head home before the big wigs decided to show up. Of course, this meant taking the long way around up Buffalo Creek and back over the hill into Williamson and back north. Rumors are saying that one track will hopefully open up by early morning, so it looks like the Kenova District as well as the Pocahontas District will be a beehive of activity tomorrow, if anyone is going to be out and about.

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Doesn't seem like anyone is watching the rock face. Was it checked before the MofW crews/equipment were deployed?

All that material is going take a while with those little buckets.

Was the track away from the hillside shifted away from the hillside?

Thanks,

* JB *

prr4828 Wrote:
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> Doesn't seem like anyone is watching the rock
> face. Was it checked before the MofW
> crews/equipment were deployed?
>
> All that material is going take a while with those
> little buckets.
>
> Was the track away from the hillside shifted away
> from the hillside?
>
> Thanks,
>
> * JB *


I'm sure the RWIC was watching it or had someone watching it. From the looks of it from my aerial photo Main 1 was shifted heavily (at least 2 feet), and Main 2 was damaged, but not shifted from what I can see.

It must not have taken them long, because as of 4AM the RWIC was giving back Main 1, the first train through (NS 218) is lined up through Borderland, and traffic is getting ready to flow again. Main 2 sounds like it will be down for the rest of the day, since it did take the most damage.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/17 01:16 by msullivan1993.

Looks like something the coyote would try to drop on the roadrunner

Wow, outstanding pics, especially the drone shot!

Posted from Android

Interesting stuff...!! Thanks for sharing these.

Nice pics...

Great coverage and photos!

RWIC = Responsible Worker In Charge

Posted from Android

penncentral74 Wrote:
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> RWIC = Responsible Worker In Charge
>
> Posted from Android

I was close.. you learn something new every day. Thanks for the clarification.

Posted from iPhone

Where I come from, it's "Roadway Worker in Charge". I think that's from the FRA Part 214 RWP regs, though some plans use EIC, for "Employee in Charge"..