Eastern Railroad Discussion > NS's Lake Pontchartrain trestle

I just recently went over it on the Crescent, and looking out my window, I saw theres no room between the side my train and the edge. No railings either. What do they do if a train goes in emergency on the bridge and crew cannot walk it?

Posted from iPhone

Scuba gear

LOL

Such things as going into emergency on the bridge are not allowed! It's a good question though,
I could see a boat ride in someone's future.

Out 

callum_out Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Such things as going into emergency on the bridge
> are not allowed! It's a good question though,
> I could see a boat ride in someone's future.
>
> Out 

I guess in the old days, they would make their way over the car tops and tank car gangways

I assume that the bridge does not have much room to allow someone to make their way alongside the train. I too would like to know today's procedure is.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/25 13:36 by ts1457.

Maybe the walk way is on the other side?

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe the walk way is on the other side?

No there isnt, i checked other side. Most of NS's bridges do not have walkways, as Im told NS is to cheap to install them. But I guess having a train stuck is no issue to them

Posted from iPhone

Google Earth suggests that the bridge width is 16 feet with the track centered in that. Based on the link, appears there may be some area to walk?  https://www.railpictures.net/photo/149816/

joe6w Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Google Earth suggests that the bridge width is 16
> feet with the track centered in that. Based on the
> link, appears there may be some area to
> walk?  https://www.railpictures.net/photo/149816
> /

Its very narrow with no railing, might be two feet at best but from what I could see its not more than 2 feet, be way to easy to fall off

Posted from iPhone

From SOU days they had the motor boats that patrolled the trestle and could do inspections. Pontchartrain trestle was the last ex-SOU place to use motor car speeders for track inspection because of the narrow area on the bridge, per Charlotte Roadway Shop officers.

We had places on the SOU North Charlotte District with viaducts or trestles impossible or unsafe to be on be doing an undesired emergency inspection. We inspected what we could and boresighted the rest, looking for signs of wideness indicating possible derailed cars. If the air returned on the rear, we would try to ease the train off the trestle. The dispatcher having been previously notified.

Posted from Android

Around 45 years ago, when I was working in that area they had a fire boat stationed at the bridge tender's location on the north end. The boat had a pump and nozzle system so that if a fire broke out they could quickly get water on the fire. The boat had a ladder also, so in case of emergency the boat would take you to where you had to go.

Notch7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> From SOU days they had the motor boats that
> patrolled the trestle and could do inspections.
> Pontchartrain trestle was the last ex-SOU place to
> use motor car speeders for track inspection
> because of the narrow area on the bridge, per
> Charlotte Roadway Shop officers.
>
> We had places on the SOU North Charlotte District
> with viaducts or trestles impossible or unsafe to
> be on be doing an undesired emergency inspection.
> We inspected what we could and boresighted the
> rest, looking for signs of wideness indicating
> possible derailed cars. If the air returned on
> the rear, we would try to ease the train off the
> trestle. The dispatcher having been previously
> notified.
>
> Posted from Android

Yes I saw those trestles on my ride on the Crescent, it its mind boggling how they wont put walkways on them, a couple bridges did have a walkway but most did not. One bridge that stood out was the trestle over James River in Lynchburg Va. There were several just like it

Posted from iPhone

If I recall correctly, an Amtrak employee fell to his death from the Wells Viaduct in northeast Georgia. 

Yeah, it was a South Charlotte District baggagemaster. Some of us retirees talked about it recently. I thought it was a guy I worked with regularly on the Southern Crescent, but it wasn't. The story always told was he swung down off the baggage car in the dark to help with the undesired emergency, and he fell to his death. Similar thing happened to a Danville District conductor at High Point NC.

Posted from Android

Notch7 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yeah, it was a South Charlotte District
> baggagemaster. Some of us retirees talked about
> it recently. I thought it was a guy I worked with
> regularly on the Southern Crescent, but it wasn't.
> The story always told was he swung down off the
> baggage car in the dark to help with the undesired
> emergency, and he fell to his death. Similar
> thing happened to a Danville District conductor at
> High Point NC.
>
> Posted from Android

When did that happen? Freight conductor or Amtrak?

Posted from iPhone

DM1980 Wrote:
-----------------------------------
> When did that happen? Freight conductor or
> Amtrak?

It would have happened before 1987 when Amtrak crews replaced NS men on the trains. The conductor had worked the original Carolinian and the Crescent. He was working freight and stepped off the cab on an overpass over a road, falling to his death. I was told it was where guys had picked up the ghost of a dead girl. I think they called her "Laura" in the old song. I knew him through being on the Carolinian with him, and we were both members of the Spencer NRHS, and we did one excursion together.

Posted from Android