Mishap at Union Station, Utica, NY

If it wasn't for the bumper, it would had been much worse.

I guess that hopper flew into 6710 after hitting bumper. Yet, it still have enough force to push loco 20-30 some feet into building

hopper was empty too, imagine if it was fully loaded the damage it would've caused.

Steve F45 wrote:hopper was empty too, imagine if it was fully loaded the damage it would've caused.

2 people posted saying that it's loaded with plastic pellets

The damage caused wouldn't happen with an empty car. This car had some significant potential energy built up at the point of collision, which was not from just rolling downhill at speed. Same reason using a heavier ball at the bowling alley creates more chaos with the pins.

It's lucky there were no significant injuries or fatalities from this, but a shame the old NYC 0-6-0 took the brunt of the incident. I hope they can repair it. If not, well then the vandals of today never really deserved one of the few remaining pieces of NY RR history we left for their generation.

Editorial in today's Utica Observer Dispatch:

"If it is determined that a youth playing atop a 265,000-pound rail car was somehow able to send it careening through the city during rush hour, then officials need to take immediate steps to tighten safety procedures to make sure something like this can never happen again."

Read the entire editorial here:

http://www.uticaod.com/article/20150724 ... 3/?Start=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Flat-Wheeler wrote:The damage caused wouldn't happen with an empty car. This car had some significant potential energy built up at the point of collision, which was not from just rolling downhill at speed. Same reason using a heavier ball at the bowling alley creates more chaos with the pins.

It's lucky there were no significant injuries or fatalities from this, but a shame the old NYC 0-6-0 took the brunt of the incident. I hope they can repair it. If not, well then the vandals of today never really deserved one of the few remaining pieces of NY RR history we left for their generation.

The railroad insurance should be required to fund a full restoration to running condition for that engine

I wonder how many of these types of things are going to happen before we have to start locking brake release handles with switch locks ....

(and yes, I know that would require modifications ....)

ut-1 wrote:Editorial in today's Utica Observer Dispatch:

"If it is determined that a youth playing atop a 265,000-pound rail car was somehow able to send it careening through the city during rush hour, then officials need to take immediate steps to tighten safety procedures to make sure something like this can never happen again."

Read the entire editorial here:

http://www.uticaod.com/article/20150724 ... 3/?Start=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Most likely that the youth had turned the brake wheel..

litz wrote:I wonder how many of these types of things are going to happen before we have to start locking brake release handles with switch locks ....

(and yes, I know that would require modifications ....)

I believe that all sidings that are used for setting out the cars purpose, not for trains bypassing each other, should be bowled like the yards with some kind of calculated % of climb toward to switch that cars cannot power by itself to get up and through switch. The "bottom out" bowl should be set at middle of siding. And all cars should be set out at that bottom out portion of siding.

That's a darned good idea.

Remove gravity from the equation, and you remove the ability for a free-rolling car to "escape".

Nobody's ever going to be able to remove gravity, silly bloggers. And Railroad's are never going to pay the expense to regrade/ re-level industrial sidings and the infinite places to spot RR equipment. That'd be insane. They'd go bankrupt paying the expenses for doing even just half the sidings. Instead, they'd use strategically placed derails, in a multitude of places. This would offer them the flexibility to park cars anywhere they needed between derails, instead of requiring they place cars only "Here" and only "There."

But at say.... $2,500 apiece or so, that also costs alot of money. In addition to the fact now you have a bunch of damaged equipment, or at least a cleanup expense, each and everytime after a derail does it's job.

Here is a very short video update showing the scene of the collision as of this morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03_IX1AURv8" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here are a few pics from tonight:

Of special interest to Rochester area readers here, I have a timebook given to me by a friend who hired out in 1943. The 6721 was on the third trick Car Shop job, CS-3, May 17, 1948, and on the midnight West Base, WB-3 on October 25, 1948.

It no doubt worked many other jobs here around that time, but would not show up on his book unless he happened to have that engine on whatever job he happened to be working.

Closer views of damage to 6721 & its tender plus a view from the overhead passenger walkway:

https://youtu.be/b2k7EBYzrvM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;