Hoxie, Arkansas

[TerryC]

I saw this photo yesterday on railpictures.net. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=113627
Then I saw these two photos today. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=113660
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=113661
What caused this deraliment? I stinks since it wrecked a ex. Frisco SD40-2, ex. Reading GP40-2, and a ex. Burlington Northern SD60M. Not to mention a lot of torn up and contaiminated soil. I hope the crew and anyone else is all right.

keep searching keep finding
1929th member to join forum

[emd_SD_60]

Hopefully that 9252 can be repaired, possibly with surplus SD70M parts maybe.

[LCJ]

Ah...Hoxie -- I remember it well.

At-grade crossing of MP and SLSF lines (now UP & BNSF, of course). I recall one very hot, sticky summer evening there, waiting to catch an Eagle headed to St. Louis (pre-Amtrak, you know). I was about 12, I think.

Mosquitos were viciously swarming around and biting like mad. I hated Arkansas in the summer mostly for that reason.

As we waited for the northbound train in front of the shared depot there, a westward (northward?) Frisco mixed freight highballed through -- with every set of wheels banging on the diamond. He must have been hitting 60 at least, so the noise was deafening. I had never been that close to freight train moving that fast. Yikes!

At least it blew the mosquitos away!

I had a cousin who was struck and killed a year or so later by one of those Frisco trains when she drove her old Chevy pickup in front of it on the street by the depot. She was just about my age -- and a very pretty girl who was way too young to die.

Anywhere else she would have been too young to drive, too.

Hoxie is the next station stop! Hoxie -- this way out!

[Komachi]

Mosquitoes... the unofficial Minnesota State Bird.

Still, not as bad as the dragonflies in Japan... sound like Apache gunships or low flying P-51 Mustangs when they buzz ya.


LCJ,

1.) My belated condolences to your family on the death of your cousin.

2.) That Eagle one of the Geep powered ones? Or did it have different power? Just currious. (I ask, because I remember an article in one of the '91 - '92 issues of Model Railroader about how to model one of the 50's era MP Eagles, with a Geep 7 or 9 as power, although a later article showed a PA as the power.)


Terry,

Um, yes... ouch.

The 4402 looks like it took the least of the brunt of wreck damage. New cab, new handrails... but I'm not an engineer (mechanical type), so I just by looking at the pictures I can't tell you what kind of stressed that unit was put under, how much jarring the internal bits got and if they'll still play nice together (bent drive shafts between prime movers and generators are not a desired operating feature). But I would assume it's salvageable.

I think the 6847 is a lost cause, looks like it would be a complete rebuild from the frame up, and it looks like the frame suffered a bit of stress (the bad kind), so more than likely it's going to be stripped for useful parts and then going to the torch... unless they want to make a slug out of it, then who knows.

The 9252 looks alright, couldn't tell you how much internal damage was done, but it looks like it could be made a viable unit again with a little work... but don't quote me on that (don't work in the shops, not a foreman of locomotives, so I don't know how much BNSF is willing to sink into wrecked units to get them in running order again).

Any info. on what caused the wreck? Heat swelling and buckling the rails, maybe?

Still, interesting to see the aftereffects of wrecks, thanks for sharing.


PS, yes, I, too, hope the crew survived with minimal if no injuries.

[LCJ]

1) Thank you.

2) I'm pretty sure there were E7s on the head end of that Eagle -- but then I didn't know a lot about such things at that time. Could have been E8s, too -- but definitely not GPs.

The MP trains were much nicer than the normal Central stuff that we would catch fron StL to Albany. Much cleaner, with light colored walls and nice blue seats. NYC coaches were brownish, maroonish, dirty in the early '60s when we rode them every year or so.

I even got to ride in a dome a couple of times -- really neat at night to look forward and see the mars light rotating back and forth as we progressed through Missouri.

I got to see the Arch as it progressed from two stumps to a complete structure. St Louis Union Station was a great place during that period just before it all went away.

[Komachi]

LCJ,


1.) No prob'.

2.) You know, it's nice when some of the more seasoned veterans come on the boards and share their experiences. It adds that much more to our discussions and allows some of us who are still wet behind the ears to vicariously relive your travels.

I'd love to experience the Rockies from a seat in a dome car, but about the only way to do that is on the American Orient Express... but that's a consideration for a trip if/when I ever get married, me and the new Mrs. Komachi taking a "cruise" across the middle western US en route to Seattle on a luxury train. (I'd also like to take the one in Europe... if it's still in operation.)

On a similar tangent...

I saw a documentary on the construction of the Arch, it's interesting to see how Eero Saarinen and his team designed it to catch the rising and setting sun throughout the year and give the stainless steel body an ever-changing color palate. (Can you tell I spent two years in architectural training?) I've been through St. Louis a couple of time, but unfortunately have been unable to stop and see the arch, and am also very envious that you were fortunate to witness the construction of said edifice.


Anyway, now back to our discussion of Hoxie, AK and/or the wreck there.