Derailment in Nashua 02-18-2014

From WMUR:

WMUR wrote:A train got stuck on Main Street in Nashua on Tuesday, causing major traffic problems.

Witnesses said the train came off the rails near Canal Street. They said there was a lot of snow on the tracks.

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/train- ... a/24545198" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Surprised they didn't say it slipped off the rails.

Railroads often have to apply salt on the flangeways at crossings,
as an ice buildup can derail a train. Might have been the issue
in Nashua.


Piece on TV9 tonight that both salt suppliers at Portsmouth are
low on salt. One supplier had a shipload due, but it was diverted
elsewhere. The other supplier is hoping for a ship delivery on
February 23rd. One supplier is restricting sales to the state of
NH, while the other supplier is restricting sales to state and local
governments.

I believe that PAR buys large bags of salt, that they can throw on
the track patrol trucks. I have no idea where they buy their salt,
but a piece on Boston TV said most hardware and home depot type
stores are also out of salt. If PAR and the other New England
railroads cannot get salt, the track crews will be busy with pick
axes.

I am over her in Germany, heading home the the good old USA soon, but i heard on German radio over here that since we have basicly no snow (Im looking out the window and everything is brown and green, like early spring), over here and a massive supply of salt has been loaded on a freighter and is on its way to the States, I believe they said New England specifically and its already on its way across the pond.

There is a story in today's Nashua Telegraph with the
headline that PAR is "bringing in huge crane" to rerail
the locomotives. Nashua Telegraph is a pay site, with
a few freebies each month. I have previously used up
my freebies for February, Maybe another poster here
could access the story,

Presumably the "huge crane" is either the RC75 or
the RC130, the over the road rail cranes. Maybe
because of the snow and track conditions, the usual
blocking and jacking are not able to do the job.

Here you go.. courtesy http://www.nashuatelegraph.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NASHUA – Pan Am Railways is bringing in a large crane in to lift a pair of derailed 100-ton locomotives and put them back on the tracks in downtown Nashua.

The two locomotives went off the rails at Main Street around 3 p.m. Tuesday. One was blocking the northbound lane of Main Street for about an hour until the two were pushed back by a bulldozer.

Pan Am Executive Vice-President Cynthia Scarano said a 44-foot long mobile crane, capable of lifting 130 tons, will be driven to the scene from the company’s Billerica, Mass., headquarters this morning. The Kershaw RC-130 crane can travel by road or by rail.

“They should be re-railed by 1 or 2 p.m.,” she said.

The locomotives were not pulling any cars at the time as they travelled at low speed along what is formally known as the Hillsborough Branch line. Nobody was injured in the accident and no obvious property damage occurred.

New Hampshire railroad safety inspector John Robinson said the train apparently was derailed by ice built up along the rails.

“The ice builds up along the flangeway, which keeps the wheel tracking ... to the point where the wheels steer off the rail,” he said. “It’s not completely unknown.”

The flangeway is a groove that allows the lips, or flange, of the wheels to fit alongside the rail and keep the wheels in place. Ice in the flangeway can lift the wheel up above the rail to the point that it can slip sideways.

Robinson said no formal investigation had been launched.

Dick H wrote:Railroads often have to apply salt on the flangeways at crossings,
as an ice buildup can derail a train. Might have been the issue
in Nashua.


Piece on TV9 tonight that both salt suppliers at Portsmouth are
low on salt. One supplier had a shipload due, but it was diverted
elsewhere. The other supplier is hoping for a ship delivery on
February 23rd. One supplier is restricting sales to the state of
NH, while the other supplier is restricting sales to state and local
governments.

I believe that PAR buys large bags of salt, that they can throw on
the track patrol trucks. I have no idea where they buy their salt,
but a piece on Boston TV said most hardware and home depot type
stores are also out of salt. If PAR and the other New England
railroads cannot get salt, the track crews will be busy with pick
axes.

The local Home Depot and Lowes here stopped carrying salt a few weeks ago, as well as any snow related items, and are filling the shelves with spring items....
Go figure...

JoeF