Forest Fire Cameron County (WNYP) 3/25

[kf7strng]

A Forest fire in Cameron County around approx 4PM is being centered on the braking from the DFT on Tuesday night. WJACT tv is speculating that the cause of the fire was a spark from one of the cars or engines. What I saw was burned ground near the area of the tracks where the fire originated. I heard the DFT passing CP Emporium (MP 121.2) at 130pm Tuesday night. the normal schedule and time for the dft has it northbound past CP Emporium a maximum of 2 hours after the southbound passes through. This would make it 330, not 4. The location where the blaze started was near the rails, and it was also close to rt.1 120. While i do realize that it is possible that the train DID give off a "spark" from a hotbox, it is less likely because of the location, and I believe it could have just as easily been caused by a cigarette from a vehicle on the highway.

The actual location on track is very close to CP North Driftwood(MP 134.5) What I would like to know, from ANYONE is, if you know that location like I do, you would know that the train wouldn't be going very fast at that point Northbound, and would have no reason to stop, or apply the brakes, they would be picking up speed after picking up/ dropping off cars at N. Driftwood(134.5). Right? Anyway.. If there is ANYONE besides me familiar with the area, or can tell me how long it takes generally for a loaded traincar to get hot enough to seieze and give off sparks?

[BR&P]

Hotboxes are far less common than in the days of friction bearings. If a roller bearing was having enough problems to start a fire an inspection of the train would likely turn up the culprit.

Composition brake shoes can make sparks but again, way less than the old cast iron shoes.

If the train did start the fire the most likely cause would be glowing carbon chunks from the locomotives. That's a fairly common occurrence, especially if the engines spend a lot of time idling between runs and then get some hard work.

[pugsley720]

I had my suspicions when as I heard the DFT call the signal at CP Emporium the tones dropped for the first alarm for the fire. I've responded to numeous brush fires along the right of way over years, although they are usually along the grade headed up Keating Summit. This is not an unusual occurance in the early spring when the ground is covered with lots of dead, dry foliage from the previous year. The very steep terrain and dry conditions, combined with shifting winds, made this blaze hard to fight.

Seems to me there was a instance a couple of years back when an H4W sparked a number of small fires all the way from Keating to Port Allegany before the train was finally stopped and the offending engine shut down. The local departments chased that train the whole way up the hill, putting out a number of small blazes along the way. I'll have to look through the archives of another group to see if I can find the exact date. Sparks from locomotive exhaust are very common, just as BR&P said. Not pointing fingers at the railroad, just saying it has happend many times before around here...imagine what it may have been like in the days of steam!

[kf7strng]

Nice to hear from you pugsley! Yeah, I was unaware that the exhaust from diesels could start fires. I know steam could, boy oh boy can they. There are a few videos on youtube of diesel locomotives shooting fireballs out their stacks, not just sparks. I was just having a hard time grasping how braking could have sparked the blaze as WJAC TV6 suggested. and now I understand why the Seminole Gulf Railway had such a huge spark arrester on WNYP 550. a blaze in florida could take weeks to put out!