Train vs. dump truck in Hampden 08-29-2013

[MEC407]

Breaking news via Twitter...

Train vs dump truck on Western Ave in Hampden. Lifeflight has landed.

Photo shows an MMA B23-7 and remote control caboose at a grade crossing, with medevac helicopter hovering nearby.

Source: https://twitter.com/PhotograTom/status/ ... 7445470208" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MEC407]

Also from Twitter...

Driver is still inside the dump truck. Fire dept is using jaws to cut open the truck

Photo shows MMA #2004 and badly damaged dump truck.

Source: https://twitter.com/PhotograTom/status/ ... 4341952512" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[F-line to Dudley via Park]

Well, doesn't look like MMA can be faulted for that one. Those crossing lights can't be working any more clearly, and that crossing is about as conspicuous and unobstructed as can be with wide open sightlines in every direction and huge overhead truss-arm flashers. This looks like another open-shut Darwin Award wannabe learning the laws of physics the hard way.

[MEC407]

Yep.

And it's not the first time that MMA has tangled with a truck in Hampden. At least this time the locomotive stayed on the tracks. 8592 wasn't so lucky. (But at least it got a nice new paint job out of the deal.)

Here's the latest from the Bangor Daily News:

The driver of a dump truck has been freed from the wreckage after a crash involving a Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway train on Western Avenue near Mayo Road.
. . .
The crossing signals are functioning, flashing as crews continue to work at the scene. Police are interviewing people at the scene.
. . .
Route 202 is still closed, as crews have to reconstruct the accident, clear the wreckage and clean up fuel that has spilled on and near the road.

Read more at: http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/29/n ... n-hampden/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[CPF363]

Photo shows an MMA B23-7 and remote control caboose at a grade crossing, with medevac helicopter hovering nearby.

Does the MM&A use a crew of one or two men on this line?

[MEC407]

And it's not the first time that MMA has tangled with a truck in Hampden. At least this time the locomotive stayed on the tracks. 8592 wasn't so lucky. (But at least it got a nice new paint job out of the deal.)

I'm not certain, but this may even be the same crossing that was involved in the 8592 wreck.

[fogg1703]

Yes same crossing.

[mwhite]

They have used one man crews for the past few years on the Searsport sub. Not sure whether they have returned to two man crews in light of "recent events".

[MEC407]

From the Bangor Daily News:

The East Millinocket man who was driving a dump truck that collided with a train Thursday morning is in good condition at Eastern Maine Medical Center, having suffered a few cracked ribs and a potentially fractured pelvis, according to his mother.
. . .
Frederick Lindsay, 63, of East Millinocket was driving east on Route 202 and wasn’t able to stop in time as he approached the tracks near Mayo Road. He swerved to avoid a vehicle that had stopped at the railroad crossing, but went on to collide with a Maine, Montreal and Atlantic Railway train, Hampden police Officer Joel Small said at the scene.

Read more at: http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/30/n ... ther-says/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MEC407]

From the Bangor Daily News:

Brake failure on a 23-year-old dump truck may have led to a collision with a train at a railroad crossing in Hampden on Thursday, according to police.

Maine State Police Sgt. Jason Sattler said Friday evening that an initial investigation found that six of the dump truck’s eight brakes were not functioning properly and “could have been a contributing factor” in the crash.

Sattler said the company that owns the dump truck could be issued a summons as a result of the crash.
. . .
According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, Medway-based M&S Trucking is a one-vehicle operation owned by Steve and Martha Kimball of Medway. The truck is a 1990 International Model 9370 with 780,000 miles on the odometer as of its registration date in February of this year, according to state records.

Read more at: http://bangordailynews.com/2013/08/30/n ... n-hampden/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;