The Wreck of the Flyer. Chapter three, Back on line with a happy ending!
One of the passengers on board, was the bus driver who had brought some of the group to the departure station. With the help of a railfan who had been pacing us, almost immediately, he was relayed the thirty miles South to get his bus and start ferrying passengers back to their vehicles. We made a determination that the passengers would be safer remaining on board, rather than having them milling about on a busy thoroughfare. Needless to say, the onboard train crew did a great job of soothing nerves and maintaining a calm atmosphere. A line of emergency services workers and train crew assisted the passengers to single file off the train, up the thirty feet to the road and onto the waiting busses.
Within an hour, we had the first bus load of passengers off and on their way. The emergency services director was able to locate five more busses and the rest of the passengers were on their way within the next hour. Some of these people had been in PA the weekend before, riding a different train where the same thing happened. By this time, the train dispatcher had notified the section crews as to our plight. They had started arriving even before all the passengers were off the train. With passenger safety being the first priority, re-railing operations were not started until the train was empty.
The apparent cause of this derailment was that the trailing axle on the engine I was in, picked a joint bar and kicked the rail out on the lowside allowing the engine wheel to drop between the rails. A joint bar is a formed piece of steel that bolts the ends of the rail sections together. Once the engine had dropped, it became a hundred ton plow and spread the gauge of the rails wide enough to allow the following coach wheels to also drop in between the rails. Train wheels have a flange on the inside with the tapered surface of the wheel to the outside over the rail. The standard for North American rail gauge is four feet eight and one half inches between the rail heads, or fifty six and a half inches. We usually gauge them at fifty seven and a half, which allows the wheels to naturally hunt between them. Train wheels are not flat but have a slight taper from the flange to the outside edge with the outside being smaller. This naturally keeps the wheels centered between the rails on tangent or straight track. When in a curve however, the flange may move towards the outside rail in the curve and actually rub on the railhead. This, along with brake action accounts for the squealing sounds one hears as a train passes by.
The process of re-railing a car or train as in this case, is a slow one. The actual method is pretty simple. We were fortunate to have had two engines in the consist. Once the cars were empty, the engine in the lead, which was still on good rail, eased the train apart at the first coach. Hardwood blocking is placed in under the wheel that is off and the train is slowly moved forward up on the blocking until the wheel reaches the height of the rail. The tension on the rail lets it move back under the wheel and the axle is re-railed. Once the second engine had been put back on, gauge rods, large J bolts, are dug under the rails between the ties at about six to ten foot intervals. These rods are then tightened until the rails come back into the proper distance apart. It takes about half an hour of digging and tightening with a four foot long wrench to get one rod in place. There were at least four groups of track workers just placing rods. Sometimes the gauge is so far out, that a special come-along type of device is used. These have grippers that are bolted to the rails with a flat surface that the wheels can roll over. These are usually placed under the cars as they are being railed, to hold the gauge till the car can be moved and rods put in place.
This was done back to and under the first coach. The engines then backed up, made the hitch and the train was again broken apart at the second coach. The same process is used to re-rail the coaches as was the engine except that because of their lighter weight, both ends can be done at the same time. There is also a device that looks like a Y that fits over the rail and allows the wheel to climb back up and onto the rail. The rerailer weighs about two hundred pounds, so two men are needed just to transport it and position it. That
One of the passengers on board, was the bus driver who had brought some of the group to the departure station. With the help of a railfan who had been pacing us, almost immediately, he was relayed the thirty miles South to get his bus and start ferrying passengers back to their vehicles. We made a determination that the passengers would be safer remaining on board, rather than having them milling about on a busy thoroughfare. Needless to say, the onboard train crew did a great job of soothing nerves and maintaining a calm atmosphere. A line of emergency services workers and train crew assisted the passengers to single file off the train, up the thirty feet to the road and onto the waiting busses.
Within an hour, we had the first bus load of passengers off and on their way. The emergency services director was able to locate five more busses and the rest of the passengers were on their way within the next hour. Some of these people had been in PA the weekend before, riding a different train where the same thing happened. By this time, the train dispatcher had notified the section crews as to our plight. They had started arriving even before all the passengers were off the train. With passenger safety being the first priority, re-railing operations were not started until the train was empty.
The apparent cause of this derailment was that the trailing axle on the engine I was in, picked a joint bar and kicked the rail out on the lowside allowing the engine wheel to drop between the rails. A joint bar is a formed piece of steel that bolts the ends of the rail sections together. Once the engine had dropped, it became a hundred ton plow and spread the gauge of the rails wide enough to allow the following coach wheels to also drop in between the rails. Train wheels have a flange on the inside with the tapered surface of the wheel to the outside over the rail. The standard for North American rail gauge is four feet eight and one half inches between the rail heads, or fifty six and a half inches. We usually gauge them at fifty seven and a half, which allows the wheels to naturally hunt between them. Train wheels are not flat but have a slight taper from the flange to the outside edge with the outside being smaller. This naturally keeps the wheels centered between the rails on tangent or straight track. When in a curve however, the flange may move towards the outside rail in the curve and actually rub on the railhead. This, along with brake action accounts for the squealing sounds one hears as a train passes by.
The process of re-railing a car or train as in this case, is a slow one. The actual method is pretty simple. We were fortunate to have had two engines in the consist. Once the cars were empty, the engine in the lead, which was still on good rail, eased the train apart at the first coach. Hardwood blocking is placed in under the wheel that is off and the train is slowly moved forward up on the blocking until the wheel reaches the height of the rail. The tension on the rail lets it move back under the wheel and the axle is re-railed. Once the second engine had been put back on, gauge rods, large J bolts, are dug under the rails between the ties at about six to ten foot intervals. These rods are then tightened until the rails come back into the proper distance apart. It takes about half an hour of digging and tightening with a four foot long wrench to get one rod in place. There were at least four groups of track workers just placing rods. Sometimes the gauge is so far out, that a special come-along type of device is used. These have grippers that are bolted to the rails with a flat surface that the wheels can roll over. These are usually placed under the cars as they are being railed, to hold the gauge till the car can be moved and rods put in place.
This was done back to and under the first coach. The engines then backed up, made the hitch and the train was again broken apart at the second coach. The same process is used to re-rail the coaches as was the engine except that because of their lighter weight, both ends can be done at the same time. There is also a device that looks like a Y that fits over the rail and allows the wheel to climb back up and onto the rail. The rerailer weighs about two hundred pounds, so two men are needed just to transport it and position it. That
