CTA charter derailment

[lstone19]

"An elevated CTA train that had been chartered by railroad enthusiasts as a fund-raising effort for a railroad museum derailed today in the South Loop and resulted in 40 people having to walk to the nearest train station, officials said.

The train was chartered by the Illinois Railway Museum as a fundraiser for the McHenry County institution which was hoping to purchase a similar older train car, according to members."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 3163.story

The IRM Snowflake Special was five weeks ago. Was this another IRM trip not advertised to the public? Or did the CTA get two different charters confused in providing details?

[CHTT1]

It was apparently another IRM charter. News reports say the 40 or so on board paid $100 each to ride. This is a lot more expensive ticket with a lot less passengers than the Snowflake.

[CHTT1]

Upon further investigation (i.e. reading newspapers and internet reports) it appears the passengers were mostly railroad professionals, both active and retired.

[byte]

This was NOT an official IRM charter train. It was a four-car set of 2200s privately chartered by an IRM volunteer, with a limited number of attendees, most of whom also happened to be IRM volunteers.

Here's what happened: After visiting lower 63rd yard, the train headed back north with the intention of entering the 14th street middle track, then doubling back and heading to Midway. The "B"-end of the 4th car appears to have picked the switch, leading to a low-speed, relatively minor derailment of only that truck. No injuries but the south side main was stopped entirely for at least two hours while we were evacuated. There appeared to be no wrongdoing on the part of the crew which caused the incident, and all CTA/CFD/CPD personnel we dealt with in the evacuation process were very professional and somewhat amused as to how lighthearted the passengers were about the derailment.

[virtualchuck]

There appeared to be no wrongdoing on the part of the crew which caused the incident, and all CTA/CFD/CPD personnel we dealt with in the evacuation process were very professional and somewhat amused as to how lighthearted the passengers were about the derailment.

What are you trying to say… Didn’t all of these seasoned railroader's complain of "whiplash" after this low speed, minor derailment?

Chuck

[Tadman]

This is the second news-worth switch pick in the month, after the CSS/CSX incident where a CSS coal train picked a switch, derailed, and fouled Q010 leading to the massive derailment. Given the nature of a switch (I point rather than a continuous running surface) does this call for increased inspection standards?

[justalurker66]

What are you trying to say… Didn’t all of these seasoned railroader's complain of "whiplash" after this low speed, minor derailment?

Hey - they got to walk on a section of elevated track! That is worth the price of admission. Talk about rare mileage.

[byte]

Hey - they got to walk on a section of elevated track! That is worth the price of admission. Talk about rare mileage.

The unexpected turn of events on this charter train caused extreme disappointment among the riders:


Untitled by The real David Fullarton, on Flickr

[virtualchuck]

What are you trying to say… Didn’t all of these seasoned railroader's complain of "whiplash" after this low speed, minor derailment?

Hey - they got to walk on a section of elevated track! That is worth the price of admission. Talk about rare mileage.

I would have easily paid $100 for THAT ride!

[Milwaukee_F40C]

"fund-raising effort for a railroad museum derailed today in the South Loop and resulted in 40 people having to walk to the nearest train station"

My mind was going towards "walk to the nearest hospital" before I read "train station".

I don't work for a railroad, but it sounds like it wouldn't be advisable for a railroad employee to claim an injury resulting from railfan things. I think I would rather say I fell down some stairs.

I'm also surprised that people walked down the tracks, rather than CTA making them wait on the train while the fire department brought a ladder. Surprisingly, CTA handled the situation rationally so far. Hopefully they won't get hyper about future business with rail organizations, especially since the media picked up on it. There is some stupid comments on the Tribune article.

[Chicagopcclcars]

CTA management is not hyper about future charters, in fact I turned in a potential future charter yesterday. With a great sense of humor, the manager commented, "Oh no! Not the 14th Middle Move again!"

I asked him would he rather, "Do a Loopy?"

"YES!" came the humorous repsonse.

For the interested, 14th Middle Track south of Roosevelt on the Green/Orange is a convenient place to change directions, like from north to south, and that was what the charter planned to do when it derailed. Travelling around the Loop tracks would accomplish the same change but it could take 20 minutes. Thus my joke about the "Loopy."

David Harrison

[justalurker66]

There is some stupid comments on the Tribune article.

Pick any news site that allows comments and you'll find enough stupid comments to annoy anyone.

[byte]

I don't work for a railroad, but it sounds like it wouldn't be advisable for a railroad employee to claim an injury resulting from railfan things. I think I would rather say I fell down some stairs.

You wouldn't claim injury if you were a railroad employee unless the injury happened on the job. In the eyes of railroad HR (or really ANY company's HR), any off-the-job injury is something you deal with with your own sick time. A charter rider falling off a side ladder on a 2200 in 14th middle and falling down some stairs at home are effectively the same thing in the eyes of their employer, because those things didn't happen on the job.

I'm also surprised that people walked down the tracks, rather than CTA making them wait on the train while the fire department brought a ladder.

CFD and CPD organized the evacuation. CTA personnel on-board the train advised the passengers what was going on, and once on the structure CFD and CTA personnel guided us on the walk to Roosevelt. CPD's presence was not as heavy as CFD, but they were there to ensure the area was secure. Two passengers on the car that derailed were evacuated using an aerial bucket (not a ladder) because they both use canes. In the interest of keeping the evacuation quick and simple, having all able-bodied riders walk a block or so to the station at Roosevelt was clearly the best option (after the 600v was turned off, of course!).

[Milwaukee_F40C]

Of course walking was the simplest, best option. I just expect absurd decisions to be normal.

Hence, my concern about railroad workers encountering additional consequences with their employer if something happens while they are involved with railroad museums. HR holds patents in absurdity!

[Tadman]

Chris, I find newspaper articles of all sorts to have the wildest, dumbest comments. They're typically unmoderated, meaning any idiot with an ax to grind (or brain dead) can make the comments he or she wants, regardless of their relation to the topic or editorial usefulness.