HISTORY HUNTS WAREHOUSE: Railroading: The Dark Side

"We got the bubble-headed bleach-blonde who comes on at five

She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye

It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry".

Don Henley's "Dirty Laundry"

When I first considered posting pictures from the Cade, La. incident, those lines came to mind.

An internal war smoldered. Then I rationalized that this blog has become a chronicle of my experiences with railroading, the history searches and following its day to day workings.

This report portrays the dark underbelly of the railroading industry.
Accidents happen, people die.
It is distasteful but a fact. Such an incident occurred in Cade, La. two days ago.

This is my recount.

I was headed into Lafayette and then on to Scott to talk to a guy at an alignment shop. I heard an Amtrak crewman talking to a dispatcher from Cade. I'd been told that there had been a crossing collision earlier that day. It should have been cleaned up and done with. I decided to ride down there out of curiosity.

"You don't really need to find out what's going on

You don't really want to know just how far it's gone"

Yes we do. Don nailed it. Humans are perverted.

The pictures were taken with the little handheld while riding. Their quality is poor.

The first thing I saw when approaching Cade was a lone engine sitting above the trestle.

It was the lead engine which had hit the van at the intersection.

It being parked over a trestle did not make sense. I don't believe it was able to move safely.

The crossing was .....

The rest of the train had been moved east to the double railed passing tracks.

Nothing looked wrong with the second engine.

I could only imagine being a passenger.

I headed back to the north end of the situation.

Workers were still struggling with temporary repairs. This had shut down the BNSF RR's route.

It hadn't moved.

I'd retreat and come back in about 30 minutes.

The scene at the crossing remained the same.

The train had not moved nor would it for a long time.

But, the stricken No.824 had moved to the side track south of No.2 and the remaining train.

The right headlight area appeared damaged along with the damage on the right rear.

I'd seen enough and headed home.

The next day I was told that the damaged engine was in New Iberia being repaired. I needed to get out of the house late in the day and that would be a destination, a followup. I was already involved..

I'd totally forgotten about Amtrak's schedule.

The crossing had been cleaned up and was functioning.

A high rail car was coming north checking the rails. It seemed more elaborate than most.

Arriving at the depot all seemed quiet.

No. 824 was there. I saw no one working on it.

The damaged lights seemed untouched.

I think she was on BNSF's side track next to the main line.

I rode around to the back side.

The following is a collection of shots of the engine.

Notice the one red light.

Yet another look for those that may know what they are looking at.

I must have heard that the Sunset Limited was coming at about 4:00. The dispatcher was telling someone that the train was at Iowa Junction and would be in Lafayette in one hour. That would put the average speed at between 65 and 70 mph. But, the dispatchers are always a little tight with the time to give some leeway.

Could I hold out until 5:30, an hour and one half away? It was very hot. I found some shade at the end of Washington St. and stayed a while. Staying anywhere a while makes me nervous so I took several uninteresting tours. Why was I staying ...... to see another Amtrak? No, I had a hunch that the passenger train would pick up its stricken sister.

Then a fella came out and removed the de-railer. Oh yea, something was going on.

Other guys showed up and the engine was started.

Was that stuff from the damaged engine?

Conferencing was done. There would be more.

The guy in red got up into the cab.

You cannot mistake their horns You can hear them miles away.

What was the plan. I heard the engineer ask the Conductor that. Wasn't the plan already clear?

Possibly reassurance was all he was asking.

Workers set about cutting the lead engine off the train.

The guy in the red shirt would be around coupling operations.

It took a while.

The Conductor is the guy in the white shirt.

The guy in the brown shirt would eventually save the day.

The Conductor was riding the tail.

The guy in the red shirt and two others walked over to 824.

Moving East Across the Switch

The train stopped short of the switch and the Conductor requested "10 feet more".

This was after he couldn't move the switch. It was 97F and the sweat was flowing,

at least from me, and I wasn't doing anything.

I could have shot the whole fiasco, but I didn't. They didn't need some jerk documenting the fact that the
Conductor could not move the switch and the guy in the brown shirt had to do it for him.
This was a pivotal moment in the operation.
Without Mr. Brown Shirts assistance chaos would have ruled the day.
After the switch show was over the engine moved in reverse to the sitting and running No.824.

The passengers sat. I would not have been happy about missing an hour in New Orleans on Friday night.

The engine moved down the side track.

The sun was intense.

The group of players stood around the second engine.

Most moved into position for the coupling.
Where was the guy in the sports coat?

He appeared only at important moments.

I have no idea what he was doing.

A railfan?

He seemed to have that railfan stare.

If he had touched the engine's nose ....

It is a shame this monumental picture had to be spawned from tragedy.

This scene, according to a native, is rare.

Don't ask me.

Was he headed back to the AC quickly, or were they chasing him?
Seriously, I think he was a local impersonator.

The "tow" engine and No.824 moved east.

The switch hero would also flag the crossing as there is no crossing gate there.
There is a yield sign for those who would normally challenge a train for space.

The Conductor rode No.824. Red Shirt and Safety Vest watched.

They would have to return to the switch and back into the waiting train.

The conductor was in the right place to try that switch again and to relay distances.

You can see the conductor checking something on the wall.
They were doing a air pressure tests which initially failed.
It had to work before she could get onto the main line.

The switch did not go well for the Conductor again but he finally got it and replaced the lock.
I was straining with him and almost fell over while sitting on the bike.
Then we could have all had a laugh.