1962 PRR grade crossing collision

[BR&P]

Kevin, I like how you think!

[SemperFidelis]

No one has asked the most obvious question--why wasn't the sand on a train instead of a truck? That whole mess could have been avoided!

As a former shipper of HUGE (or YUGE, depending upon one's preferences) quantities of sand and gravel I can say, without knowing a damn thing about the origin or destination of that particular load of sand, the reason the material was being shipped by truck instead of train was: (dramatic drum roll) bad rail rates!

Of course, this was well before Staggers allowed rail companies to price themselves out of the vast majority of sand and stone shipments, so it could well be any number of reasons.

[tree68]

No one has asked the most obvious question--why wasn't the sand on a train instead of a truck? That whole mess could have been avoided!

There are various grades of sand for various purposes.

I'm on the local sewer advisory board. The sand for the sand filters at our sewage plant must come from a site about sixty miles away, as it happens. Local sand doesn't cut the mustard, as they say.

And that might explain the load. Still doesn't explain why he was where he was...

[FarmallBob]

FarmallBob, by 1965 or so RS3's had replaced the RS1's locally.

You are no doubt correct BR&P! I was in my early teens in 1965. Didn't know enough then about locomotive spotting to distinguish an RS1 from an RS3(!)

No one has asked the most obvious question--why wasn't the sand on a train instead of a truck? That whole mess could have been avoided!

Unlike the normal river bottom sand available cheaply virtually anywhere, the load might have been more expensive sharp silica blasting sand. Or corundum, silicon carbide or other specialized "blasting sand".

Another possibility is optical grade (highly purified) silica sand for making optical glass.

[SemperFidelis]

Just a guess: a local block plant that I sell sand fines and powder to ships truckloads of sand in from Lake Erie due to its color. Could be something like that. Who knows?

[BR&P]

Article states the trailer was loaded with 76 drums of sand used in the sandblasting of buildings.

[sd80mac]

Could it be that driver was heading for a truck stop behind Day inn in Henrietta?? That's only one truck stop I could think of in Rochester area...

[RailKevin]

Article states the trailer was loaded with 76 drums of sand used in the sandblasting of buildings.

Would 76 drums be too small a load for a boxcar? I don't know if covered hoppers were in use back then, but even 76 drums worth of sand might be too little freight for the cost of moving it by train.

Could it be that driver was heading for a truck stop behind Day inn in Henrietta?? That's only one truck stop I could think of in Rochester area...

There used to be a truckstop on the corner of Jefferson and East Henrietta Roads (adjacent to the Regional Market). The building with the Indian restaurant I think is the last remaining part of the place.

[SemperFidelis]

Depends the size of the drum and the capacity of the car. Dried industrial-type sands weigh in a little over 100 pounds per cubic foot (IIRC).

Just checked: 95.46 lbs./cubic foot.

There are 7.865 cubic feet per 55 gallon drum.

Thusly, a 55 gallon drum weighs in around 751 pounds, give or take.

76 drums would weigh in around 57076. Being that the maximum load of a trailer was much less than it is now, the small type of trailer depicted being even moreso subject to this rule, I would imagine the drums of sand are somewhat smaller than 55 gallon.

The most we tend to throw on a flatbed of bagged sand or cement is around 52,000 lbs. or thereabouts. A railcar of product we tend to load to about 4x that number.

[sd80mac]

Could it be that driver was heading for a truck stop behind Day inn in Henrietta?? That's only one truck stop I could think of in Rochester area...

There used to be a truckstop on the corner of Jefferson and East Henrietta Roads (adjacent to the Regional Market). The building with the Indian restaurant I think is the last remaining part of the place.

I think Indian restaurant was probably before my time. I don't recall seeing that nor tons of trucks...

thanks for mention that.

[D Alex]

Could it be that driver was heading for a truck stop behind Day inn in Henrietta?? That's only one truck stop I could think of in Rochester area...

There used to be a truckstop on the corner of Jefferson and East Henrietta Roads (adjacent to the Regional Market). The building with the Indian restaurant I think is the last remaining part of the place.

I think Indian restaurant was probably before my time. I don't recall seeing that nor tons of trucks...

thanks for mention that.

Actually, there are 2 Indian places on that block today. But I don't think either of them date back that far.

[sd80mac]

Could it be that driver was heading for a truck stop behind Day inn in Henrietta?? That's only one truck stop I could think of in Rochester area...

There used to be a truckstop on the corner of Jefferson and East Henrietta Roads (adjacent to the Regional Market). The building with the Indian restaurant I think is the last remaining part of the place.

I think Indian restaurant was probably before my time. I don't recall seeing that nor tons of trucks...

thanks for mention that.

Actually, there are 2 Indian places on that block today. But I don't think either of them date back that far.

If anyone got pic of that, maybe I might remember... but I am pretty sure that I didn't saw these places..

[RailKevin]

The building with Haveli Cuisine one one side and Jimmy John's on the other side is (I think) the original truck shop building. The back of the building still has tall shop doors, behind which are large bays used for storage. I delivered there a few years ago, back when it was a smoke shop. The historic aerials website shows a good match for the building on the 1971 image.