Passenger Trains > Derailment on the BNSF Needles Sub.

The BNSF Customer Service web page reports :

To: All Impacted Customers

04/13/2008

Preliminary Report: Derailment at Newberry, California


We have a preliminary report that train S CLOSCO1 11 has derailed at Newberry, California at approximately 1:55 p.m. CT on Sunday, April 13, 2008. This location is approximately 90 miles northeast of San Bernardino, California.

BNSF personnel are en route to determine the impact and we will continue to provide you with additional information as it becomes available.

Customers may experience delays of 24 to 36 hours on shipments moving through this corridor.

How will this affect AMTK Train 4 (April 13) or Train 3 (April 12)?

OCV

OK with the yesterday afternoon Glamis derailment on the Sunset this blocks BOTH major transcon lines from Los Angeles and Socal.
It would likely be a good time for the railroads to take a mini vacation and regroup.
That is the only possible answer at this point.
I wonder what the Amtrak passengers will do today??
--- Daniel

daniel3197 Wrote:
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> I wonder what the Amtrak passengers will do
> today??
> --- Daniel

I obviously am not anywhere near the site, but since that is flat wide open desert, I'll bet my money the Hulcher will have one track open well before the time Amtrak is due. They'll just get slowed down by the freight congestion.

Barry Draper

About 20 years ago or longer I was a firefighter in Apple Valley, CA, and we were called out to a fire at Daggett, on the same sub, about 60 miles east of Barstow. Two engine and over 30 cars in a wreck. We had fire in several cars and some tank cars we had to wait on to get the all clear from Union Carbide. It tore out about 1/2 mile of double track. Within two or three hours Santa Fe road gangs were on the scene with the largest front loaders I had ever seen. They jurked cars every which way until they had an area clear. Then they be began to lay pre-made track, ties and all, around the area. It was interesting to see them work. They laid the track, bolted it together, and ran ballast cars over them. They would work the track up some and run the train back and forth. It took about 24 hours, but they began to allow trains move by at 3 mph, keeping many eyes on the whole area. They finally dug holes and buried most of the cars with the burning wood, paper and soy beans, and they are there to this day. I don't know how many days it took to get the two original tracks back up because we left, but these guys worked hard and solid without rest to get the job done. Sadly the train that was hit lost one man, and three others were injured. The engineer and fireman at that time were declared under the influence. So in answer to the question: They will get it up in record time to get things moving again.

Well, I have an update on my last post. Amtrak is annulling #4 (Southwest Chief) out of Los Angeles and is going to turn #3 at Kingman, AZ to become #4(06). I assume passengers will be bussed between LAX and KNG.

Barry Draper

Woodman Wrote:
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> About 20 years ago or longer I was a firefighter
> in Apple Valley, CA, and we were called out to a
> fire at Daggett, on the same sub, about 60 miles
> east of Barstow.......Sadly the train that
> was hit lost one man, and three others were
> injured. The engineer and fireman at that time
> were declared under the influence.

That would have been the rear ender at Pisgah. We had to move water tank cars from Ludlow and Newberry to provide water to fight the fire.

One track was reopened in just under 24 hours but the first train over the shoo-fly derailed a car. In anticipation of the opening about 10 trains were on duty out of Barstow and an equal number out of Needles. In order to run No. 4 sort of on time we had to DR him from Daggett to Ludlow on the North main. By the time we finished that DR No 3 was out of Needles and we had to DR that train around a fleet of Westbounds somewhere between Cadiz or Amboy and Ludlow.

The better part of an 8 hour shift passed just wrong maining two passenger trains around all the freights. All 10 of the eastbounds out of Barstow died on the law before getting past the derailment at Pisgah. IFRC some of the Westbounds did too but not as many since they got to follow No. 3 after it had gotten around them.

Boy I know that was fun, well, I'll keep my eyes out for tomorrow on when things will go crazy since they're already tyin' trains down at Winslow Westbound! I know Barstow, San Bernadino, La, the harbor, Fresno, Bakersfeild, and Richmond got some freights waiting to head south once things clear up, and I know Barstow's gonna be a madhouse!