AUGUSTTRACKSFREIGHT152022#14 How Corona changed logistics COLAS SEES WOOD FOR THE TRAFFIC 'JAKOB' LOCO GIVEN GREEN LIGHT The Holiday Issue Holiday Reading
CONTENTS AUGUST152022 #14 Cover photo: GB Railfreight (GBRf) has commenced a new service to move aggregates from Shap Summit Quarry to Battleship Wharf in North Blyth, in the North East of IfEngland.youhave any stunning photos of freight trains you might like to see on the cover, send them freighttracksto@gmail.com Publisher & Editor: James Graham editor@ freighttracksDesigner:Editorialfreight-tracks.comsupport:KimSmithAlexBrown @gmail.com Sales Manager: Martin Kingswell Sales Executive: Peter Dolan Webmaster: Natasha Antony Contributors: Neil Madden, Chris Lewis, Stuart Flitton, Johnathan Webb. Will Huskisson All rights reserved, No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the copyright owner. Multiple copying of the contents of the magazine without prior written consent is forbidden. Material sent to the editor, whether commissioned or freely submitted, is provided at the contributor’s own risk. Freight Tracks cannot be held responsible for loss of damage however cause. The opinions and views expressed by authors and contributors within Freight Tracks are not necessarily those of the editor or Freight Tracks. We are unable to guarantee the bona ideas of any advertisers. Copyright: 1435 Media London 2022 1435 Media London 259 Sydenham Road UnitedCR0Croydon2ETKingdom Press releases: editor@freight-tracks.com RIO SOUTH TEXAS: AT THE NEXUS IRISH RAIL: UNION MISFIRES LOCO PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL HOLIDAY READING SURREY IRON RAILWAY THE TRAGIC END OF JUMBO LIFE AND DEATH OF CASEY JONES JOHN AXON GC HERO OF WARTIMEPERSONALHUMANITYRISKNIGHTMARE IN SOHAM CRAZY 8 Keep the Date Railway industry events HEADLINE NEWS 27442 www.freight-tracks.com AUGUST 15 2022 n 5
headline newsheadline news TAPA-BUILT LOCO 'JAKOB' GREEN LIGHT BY FINNISH 4 n AUGUST 15 2022 @freighttracks
The C30-MF 1570, nicknamed Jakob, arrived in Finland al most a year ago. To transport it across the bay, the locomotive was partially dismantled, such as the bogies were removed and lifted on board the ship. Over the past year, the locomotive has undergone testing and setup and drivers have been trained in Finland on the basis of a driving practice permit.
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Operail Finland will initially operate one C30-MF locomo tive, but the Finns have also shown interest in a remote-con trolled version of the locomotive.
The C30-M is a modern modular lo comotive that is significantly more envi ronmentally friendly than previous loco motives and is suitable for both shunting and freight transport. The locomotive is assembled using the body frame and running gear of С30-7Ai locomotive by General Electric and modules designed by the European manufacturer CZ Loko.
'JAKOB' FINNISHGIVENRAILWAY
After nearly a year of test drives and administrative processes, the Finnish Transport and Communica tion Agency Traficom has granted the permission for the first C30-MF locomotive constructed in Operail’s depot in Tapa, Estonia, to operate on the Finnish public railway. Until now, Operail Finland, the Finnish subsidiary of the Estonian railway company AS Operail, performed shunting op erations with Wabtec PowerHaul freight locomotives.
Operail started the C30-M project in 2016 and presented the first C30-M locomotive built in Tapa in autumn 2018. To date, 12 locomotives have been built. The Tapa depot of Op erail is the only place in Estonia where lo comotives are built.
Each C30-M locomotive built at the Tapa depot is named after former Tapa station masters. Jakob, which operates in Finland, was named after Jakob Roplik, who was the manager of Tapa station from 1940 to 1941.The six-axle C30-MF weighs 135 tonnes, has an axle load of 22.5 tonnes, and is AC/DC electrically powered. The locomotive is powered by a Caterpillar 3512C HD diesel engine rated at 1,550 kW (2,079 hp) and a top speed of 100 kph.
From now on, these operations will be performed in the Kotka harbour with the C30-MF locomotive Jakob, constructed by Operail Accordingitself.to Raul Toomsalu, Chairman of the Board of Op erail, adopting the C30-MF makes things considerably easier because, unlike PowerHaul, the C30-MF is specifically designed for shunting work: “PowerHaul has a cab at both ends, so to change direction, the locomotive driver needs to cross the cor ridor each time to go to the other cab. The C30-MF, however, can be operated in both directions from the same cab. In addi tion, the C30-MF has more suitable transmission for shunting operations and is considerably shorter,” Toomsalu listed the advantages of the C30-MF. To put the C30-M, which was built in Estonia, into service in Finland, the locomotive had to undergo a number of modi fications, including re-turning the profile of the wheelsets, as the track gauge of the Finnish railway is 4 mm wider than in Estonia. Modifications also had to be made to the refuelling and radio systems, for example. The C30-M adapted for Finnish railways was renamed C30-MF.
headline newsheadline news COLAS SEES THE WOOD 6 n AUGUST 15 2022 @freighttracks
In April., Colas Rail UK’s Freight team trialled an expansion of their delivery portfolio with longtime clients, Kronospan with the tira; of a new environmentally friendly service from Aberystwyth to Chirk in North Wales, with support from Network Rail in a first for locomotives utilising the Cambrian rail route in over 25 years. The decision has now been taking by managers to make the service permanent.
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The service was rolled out after a successful trial in late April, with Network Rail’s Class 97 fleet oper ated by with support from Colas Rail's Class 37s to haul approximately 700 tonnes of timber from Ab erystwyth to the Kronospan manufacturing plant in Chirk on a weekly basis. The service removes 16 heavy goods vehicles from the road, saving a quarter of a tonne in carbon.
WOOD FOR THE TRAFFIC
Rio South Texas offers a robust inter national Class 1 railway infrastructure
Rio South Texas, located at the heart of the North American supply chain, has been hailed for its multimodality.
In addition, the region's connec tion to the North American Class 1 Rail Network is responsible for the export and import of hundreds of millions of products annually. This North American railway access, in combination with the opportunities provided by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), further optimizes the logis tical advantages that Rio South Texas offers manufacturers and logistics pro viders located in the region.
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Rio theTexas:SouthAtnexus
Major US-Mexico border crossings, international airports, deep-water sea ports and interstate highways have made the region the ultimate inter modal trade hub for businesses with North American operations.
The Rio South Texas region's rail ways also offer intermodal connections to interstate highway transport as well as air cargo, connecting the region to the world, with Rio South Texas' Valley International Airport ranking in the top 80 US for air cargo.
headline newsheadline news www.freight-tracks.com AUGUST 15 2022 n 9 with US services through Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF. Mexico service via Kansas City Southern de Mexico, and local short line services via Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railroad (BRG), Border Pacific Railroad, as well as Rio Valley ThousandsSwitching.ofcarloads are reported via the BRG annually (more than 40,000 in 2019).Furthermore, the pending merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will take Rio South Tex as' railway logistics to the next level by providing streamlined services across the US, Mexico and Canada, meaning trade volumes will likely continue to grow with Canadian Pacific's and Kan sas City Southern's commitment to the region.Freight rail also serves as the major connector to the rest of the logistics options in the Short-lineregion.railservices connect to local seaports, facilitating waterborne transport via the Gulf Intracoastal Wa terway (which itself channels more than 500 million tons of cargo) and the global seas via the Gulf of Mexico.
However, Irish Rail, in a statement, corrected the misfire on the part of union regarding the potential line re-open ing.It said some of the commentary on this issue has been very speculative, way ahead of the actual situation. The statement said: “Re-establishing rail links to Tier 1 ports in cluding Foynes is a key part of Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail’s freight strategy and we are engaging with the Department of Transport on this. “We are seeking to establish prequalification interest for Track and Civil works needed for freight operations, to ensure that should there be funding available, we would be in a position to proceed quickly to procurement. “We would stress that this is for freight operations only, and Mr Cortes is not correct in his reference to a railway order for passenger services. The National Transport Au thority are in the process of finalising the Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy, and this process will decide what role rail will play in the public transport net work for the region.”
“The reopening of this historic line, with the boost to local and regional economies it will provide, is absolutely the right thing to do as we know rail is the very best way of moving goods and people around our country as we tackle our escalating climate crisis. “However, it’s important that the future of the Limer ick to Foynes line is as much about passenger services and building the capacity of the network as it is freight. So, let’s make sure we have a clear commitment from Iarnród Éire ann on that score.”
The union suggests that Irish Rail has also indicated they are likely to seek a railway order to allow the restoration of passenger services, with the power to build new stations.
The TSSA (Transport Salaried Staffs' Association) General Secretary Manuel Cortes, has welcomed as “absolutely the right thing” a call for expres sions of interest to rebuild the mothballed Limer ick to Foynes railway line in Ireland.
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Irish Rail: Union misfires as it welcomes plans for Limerick to Foynes rail line
The line was closed in 2001 and there has been a long campaign to reopen the 42km (26 miles) stretch of the Irish rail network, in the first instance to freight. Irish Rail has now put the rebuilding work out to tender for track and civil engineering infrastructure. The aim is to reopen the historic line by 2027, connecting the Shannon Foynes Port to the rest of the network.
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Sign of progress Cortes said: “This is great news and a sure sign of progress because it places rail at the heart of Ireland’s future.
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Inland Rail unveils new solar powered signalling system at Coolleearlee, NSW T
he Australian Rail Track Cor poration (ARTC) has turned to environmentally friendly solar power to provide elec tricity to its new Inland Rail signalling system at Coolleearlee, NSW, the first time Inland Rail has used a solar solu tion on the network. This will eliminate the need for a 2.2km trench through local proper ties to install and deliver mains pow er services to the new signalling site that will operate on the Narromine to North Star (N2NS) section of the In land Rail network. Using solar power rather than mains power for the signalling system will deliver an environmentally friend ly and sustainable solution to power ing the 24-hour signalling system.
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The Australian Rail Track Corpo ration estimates that using the so lar-powered signalling system will save nearly 7 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually and over $10,000 per year in operational electricity cost savings. Solar power Using solar power also saved ARTC around $300,000 in costs, mostly sav ings from not building new trenching to connect to the electricity network, as well as associated hardware costs. In addition, using solar power on the signalling system also reduces Inland Rail’s ongoing maintenance costs as the solar system allows our engineers to remotely monitor system performance and efficiency without visiting the site. The solar system is fitted with bat tery back-up that provides for ten days of back-up operation. The signalling system at Coollee arlee, around 50kms from Moree, will be used to support the crossing-loop that will operate in the area, THis will allow freight trains going in opposing directions to pass each other, allowing a more efficient rail service.Peter Borrelli, Project Director for N2NS at Inland Rail, said: “Delivering power to rural signalling systems can be a real challenge so the success ful completion of this solar powered system in Coolleearlee is a great out come.“We always seek to minimise dis ruption to local communities so using solar rather than mains power with all the construction work that would involve is a great result for the local community too.”
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team hailing from University of Toronto, MIT, Princeton, University of Sheffield, business, and industry set their sights on design ing DAC technology that used less energy, less lan and at a cost that the world could afford. Their plan is to operate DAC equipment already running trains in regular service and integration within the global rail network would the cover and in a peer reviewed paper entitled ture” published in the Future Energy section on July 20 2022. These DAC rail cars work by using large of the moving train to move ambient air chamber and eliminate the need for energy-intensive essary with stationary DAC operations. The air then moves through a chemical air and the carbon dioxide free air then travels car and returns to the atmosphere. After a chamber is closed and the harvested CO2
Could modified rail cars capture this team says “yes” and they even have a plan to bring
What if rail systems around the world could be harnessed to help miti gate climate change and clean our air of CO2? It is a question that the founders of a US-based startup, CO2Rail Company, have been pon dering for several years. Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology for removing carbon dioxide from the air with special machines and compressing it for utilisation or permanent geological sequestration, promises to reduce overall CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and help mitigate global climate change. The IPCC has reported that deep net-negative CO2 mitigation is almost certainly neces sary to stay within 2°C of warming. However, despite its promise, the process of car bon removal straight from the air can be energy and land intensive and often very, very CO2Railexpensive.andaworld-renowned
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equipment within special rail cars placed with and take advantage of many synergies that would provide. Their effort is spotlighted on entitled “Rail-Based Direct Air Carbon Cap section of the prestigious journal Joule released intakes that extend up into the slipstream into the large cylindrical CO2 collection energy-intensive fan systems that are nec chemical process that separates the CO2 from the travels out of the back or underside of the a sufficient amount has been captured, the is collected, concentrated and stored in a liquid reservoir until it can be emptied from the train at crew change or fueling stops into normal CO2 rail tank cars for direct transportation into the circular carbon economy as value-added feedstock or to nearby geological sequestration sites.
“On average, each complete braking maneuver generates enough energy to pow er 20 average homes for an entire day so it is not a trivial amount of energy. Multiply this by every stop or deceleration for nearly every train in the world and you have about 105 times more energy than the Hoover Dam produces within that same period, and that was a hydro-electric construction project that took six years and cost $760 million in today’s dollars.”
Notably, each of these processes are powered exclusively by on-board generated, sustainable energy sources that require no external energy input or off-duty charging cycles.When a train pumps the brakes, its energy braking system converts the train’s for ward momentum into electrical energy in much the same way as an electric vehicle. Currently, this energy is dissipated on trains in the form of heat and discharged out of the top of the locomotive during every braking maneouver. The energy, suggests E. Bachman of CO2Rail, should be captured, stored, and used for productive purposes. “For many decades, this enormous amount of sustainable energy has been completely wasted,” says Bachman.
Besides energy, there are also land issues that surround wide-spread DAC de ployment. Stationary DAC operations at any meaningful scale will require large areas of land to build their equipment and even more to construct renewable sources of energy to power them. Moreover, even with efforts to save the world, obtaining the necessary permits, conducting surveys, meeting zoning requirements, and achieving community acceptance is necessary and takes both time and money. Obtaining the proper permits to build these industrial-looking operations can be difficult and many residents would be opposed to these large facilities being built near their towns and cities or on land that is important to them. “It’s a huge problem because most every body wants to fix the climate crisis, but few are happy to have it done in their proverbial ‘backyard’. CO2Rail does not require special zoning, surveys, or building permits and would be transient and generally unseen by the public,” says Geoffrey Ozin, a nano and materials chemist and Albert Einstein World Award of Science med al recipient at The University of Toronto.
“By increasing rail utilization, you increase the efficiency of the entire trans portation system and, additionally, you increase CO2Rail’s ability to remove CO2 from the air because there are now more trains to which DAC cars can be attached.”
The authors argue that rail-based direct air capture becomes an even more attractive climate solution because much of the required infrastructure is already in place and the energy is there, just waiting to be utilised. “The infrastructure and energy already exist,” says Ozin. “That's the bottom line. All you need to do is take advantage of what is already available.” With rail being 3x – 5x more efficient than truck, increased rail utilisation and greater CO2Rail deployments will have a positive impact beyond the carbon it removes from the atmosphere. “We could get a positive feedback loop where the increased utilisation of rail not only reduces transportation emissions but also increases CO2 capture potential which then encourages even more utilisation of rail,” says Bachman.
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news review The Art of PublishingRailway infowww.chimewhistle.com @ chimewhistle.com
The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce estimates that every fourth company in Germa ny has had to accept a drop in sales of more than 50% due to the Corona cri sis. More than 90% of the companies clearly felt and still feel the negative consequences. At the time, the au diting company PricewaterhouseCoo pers (PwC) assumed that gross value added in European freight traffic and logistics would collapse by 8.6%. No wonder that logisticians were not very optimistic in 2021 either. According to Statista, almost 70% of those surveyed in January 2021 were of the opinion that the effects of coro navirus on their logistics company will be strong or very strong in the next three months. And yet the industry has coped surprisingly well with the pandemic.Todayit is clear: the supply chains defied the coronavirus, logisticians found clever solutions to ensure the supply. DB Cargo organised addition al “pasta trains” from Italy, and air freight converted passenger planes to transport masks and medicines. The vaccine supply also worked. Many companies are even pointing to growth again. Different effects COVID-19 was a shock wave for many logistic systems, the many border clo sures were an enormous challenge. It was improvised and the freight train became the number one alternative to the truck. "In the future, supply chains will have to demonstrate even more resilience," says Pierre Timmermans,
Cargo
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Pasta express: HowCorona logisticschangedByDB
In 2020, the logistics industry was suddenly faced with complete ly new challenges. Supply chains and flows of goods as we knew them suddenly stopped working. For example, because factories in China were closed and production was shut down. Many industries had difficul ties in sourcing their goods and sup plier parts as usual. The automotive industry in particular, which relies on just-in-time deliveries, had to scale back production due to the disrupted supply chains. Border controls caused traffic jams and delays in most Europe an countries. Sales losses for many logisticians
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headline newsheadline news Pasta Express:
Board Member for Sales at DB Cargo. The burdens and consequences are and were different for each branch of logis tics. DB Cargo set up a hotline right from the start and organized the shift to rail in an uncom plicated way for every one - and that's exactly what worked. This is how the much-described “pas ta train” came about, with which DB Cargo drove pasta from Italy to Germany. Impact of COVID-19 on road transport Road freight transport was partic ularly hard hit by the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. There were delays due to traffic jams at border controls - trucks had to wait up to 15 hours at the Polish-Ger man borders. Many truck drivers also had to spend 14 days in quarantine on their pri vate return to Poland, for example, and were therefore unable to work for German com panies. In general, truck drivers were often not allowed to drive onto the factory prem ises and had to improvise when unloading. In the second half of 2020, the Internation al Road Transport Union (IRU), an advocacy group for global road transport, forecast a loss of €550 billion. Now the signs point to growth again. The Federal Association of Forwarders expects an increase this year compared to 2020. Be cause of the pandemic, a prognosis is still dif ficult. An important adjustment screw that forwarders and road logisticians will have to turn in the future: remedy the driver short age. Impact of COVID-19 on air and sea freight Although air freight has benefited in part from increased demand for masks and vaccines, the impact of border closures, declining de freight costs and the inability to transport urgently needed goods over long distances and in a short time. Also, many ports could not be controlled. Many Italian ports were closed after the widespread outbreak of the pandemic. The Hamburg-based service provider Container XChange also reported a shortage of freight containers in Europe, while Chinese shipping companies were pil ing up containers. Rising transport prices and a lack of empty containers were not uncom mon here either. Impact of COVID-19 on rail freight Rail, on the other hand, was relatively unaf fected by the pandemic. Initially, the effects were mitigated by special transport: where trucks got stuck in traffic, Deutsche Bahn helped to transport the groceries needed by supermarkets.Becausewhen the borders were closed across Europe, rail was able to show its strengths: for example thanks to DB Cargo's single-wagon transport, which is unique in Europe and with which even small quanti ties can be transported by rail. Another ad vantage is the contactless transport of large quantities - even over long distances with a significantly lower deployment of personnel and stable relations across Europe. Nevertheless, Europe's largest freight railway has also clearly Many of the shippers motive and steel industries. These are two industrial experienced a dramatic which has had an impact business - if you don't don't have to transport of all DB Cargo freight one border - completely jams at the borders due ities and the corona tests. This is where the system comes into play. A freight place up to 52 trucks. That means: a corona 52. And if necessary, DB organise a change of engine quickly at the borders. that rail supply chains ble. Sixty percent of all trains cross at least one pletely without traffic ders due to entry formalities corona tests. The future Regardless of the individual rona pandemic will result that will be important nies in the future. Many How Corona
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Experts also largely agree that the pandemic will bring a boost to digitiza tion in logistics. As cost pressure increas es, internal company processes must be even more efficient. Investments in digital technologies for tracking supply chains, digital inventory forecasting and planning, and comprehensive capacity planning can make companies' logistics moreHowever,crisis-proof.Timmermans sees another aspect that needs to be considered in the future: “Companies must make their logistics and supply chain more sustain able. In the medium term, this will lead to further cost savings, for example by lower energy costs.”
clearly felt the pandemic. come from the auto industries.industrial sectors that dramatic slump last spring, impact on the logistics produce anything, you transport anything. Some 60% freight trains cross at least completely without traffic due to entry formal tests.system advantage freight train can re corona test and not DB Cargo can also engine driver very borders. This has meant chains have been sta all DB Cargo freight one border - com jams at the bor formalities and the individual effects, the co result in developments for all logistics compa Many companies became aware that their supply chains are not cri sis-proof - and dependent on individual sup pliers, for example from China. “We are noticing that large companies are increasingly shifting their production to the European fringes, preferring the Middle East rather than the Far East. I therefore see nearshoring as a clear trend that is emerging for logistics from the corona pandemic," says Timmermans.Diversified supply chains with a mix of global and local suppliers with shorter value chains can create more resilience. "In this way, basic services were ensured even during the crisis - because in every crisis there is also an opportunity: In the last few months we have transported a lot of things that we hav en't seen on the rails for a long time. "And we're working hard to keep it that way. In the meantime, we continue to pre pare for growth in rail freight. For example, we are still hiring new employees.”
However, sustainability is not a ques tion of want, but a necessity, regardless of the effects of the pandemic. The European Green Deal and laws like the CO2-Pricing ask for it. So it is high time to rethink supply chains.
story started in Brazil when GE built the first factory in Campinas (SP) in 1962 and quickly accelerated when the company signed a contract with the Government of São Paulo in 1964 for the manufacture of 40 small loco motives – the first completely manufactured in Brazil. That is when things really started to roll for Wabtec, as it built momentum in Brazil’s rail market.
The company opened (MG) in 1972. The team locomotives, engines, equipment, ized labor for the Carajás nects the states of Pará and Growth in locomotive in the country from 1988 2000s, as Brazil’s industrial
The year was 1962. It marked a milestone in Latin America’s railroad industry: the launch of Wabtec’s operations in Brazil. For the next 60 years, Wabtec would help modernize and grow the region’s rail indus try, delivering more than 1,800 locomotives in the Wabtec’sprocess.
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CELEBRATING SIX DECADES LOCOMOTIVE PRODUCTION
“Wabtec started working with the Brazilian Development Bank on its Nationalisation Pro gram and the government of the State of Minas Gerais,” said Danilo Miyasato, president and CEO of Wabtec LATAM. “We became the first compa ny in the rail sector to obtain credit approval to support the nationalisation plan and advance
DECADES OF PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL
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opened its Contagem factory started supplying small equipment, and special Carajás Railroad, which con and Maranhão. locomotive manufacturing stalled 1988 through the midindustrial focus shifted from the rail industry to agricultural machinery and automobiles. During this period – known as the “dead years” – the Contagem plant adjusted to the changing market and focused on providing repair and maintenance services for the rail in dustry.In2005, the Contagem team reinvented itself once again. It began producing small locomo tives for export and established itself as the leading man ufacturer in Latin America. The team also dedicating itself to modernising Bra zil’s aging locomotive fleets – delivering advanced technolo gy and performance to the National Rail waySoon,market.the rail in dustry in Brazil expe rienced a transfor mation with a wave of privatisations and concessions. To sup port the changing rail industry, Wabtec began developing and producing large locomotives above 4400HP, leveraging an motivetoFederalpartnershipunprecedentedwiththeGovernmentnationalizelocoproduction.
headline newsheadline news 60 years of LOCOMOTIVE PRODUCTION IN BRAZIL 20 n AUGUST 15 2022 @freighttracks
the country’s rail infrastructure. The process of nationalising heavy-haul locomotives in Brazil was launched successfully by the leadership of then Wabtec LATAM president Rafael Santana, now Global CEO of Wabtec Corporation. Then, in 2011, Contagem attracted approximately R$ 28 million in new investment to double its installed capacity and increase production to 100 locomotives per year. And in 2012, it celebrated 50 years of manufacturing locomo tives in Brazil, surpassing 1300 locomotives delivered in country. At the Vanguard of Change “Throughout Wabtec’s history in the region, the company has been at the forefront of change, always pushing the railroad industry forward,” said Miyasato. “When Brazil nationalised the local production of the first AC44 locomo tives in early 2008, Wabtec was pioneering a new local mar ket for large, technologically advanced locomotives. Today, Wabtec has more than 500 of those locomotives in opera tion, providing a significant productivity boost for national railroads.”Wabtec’s Contagem team continued to drive innova tion, not only for the country, but for the entire industry. The plant unveiled a new approach to manufacturing lo comotives in 2018 with a mixed model moving assembly line. This
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headline newsheadline news 22 n AUGUST 15 2022 @freighttracks 1962: 1st plant opens in Campinas 1966: Model 100-Ton delivered to COSIGUA 1972: Contagem plant opens 1996: Model U18c delivered to Drummond 2005: Contagem plant expands 2008: 1st AC44i delivered to MRS 2010: Contagem plant expands again 2011: 100 locomotives produced in one year sets a new record
headline newsheadline news www.freight-tracks.com AUGUST 15 2022 n 23 2012: 50 Year Anniversary Event 2012: 1st MSA contract in Brazil 2016: 1st BBI delivered to Rumo 2018: 1st ES58 produced for Vale 2018: Mix Moving Line Inauguration 2019: DAY ONE "We Are Wabtec" 2021: Celebrating the 500th AC44 2022: 1st ES44ACi's delivered to MRS, Rumo and Suzano
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August is traditionally the get away month for many workers across the world. Railways are no different: after working very hard for eleven months, many look forward to the trip abroad, loading the SUV for the mountains or just idling by a poolside with a cold beer. Freight Tracks has dug up some interesting freight rail-related events over the years that we hope will be an enjoyable read as you soak up the sun. For those readers who remain in place during this month, we trust this holiday read ing will be just as enjoyable. We look at the death of a famous creature, freight train drivers' heroism, a runaway freight train and the death of an American icon among other stories. Just sit back and enjoy. selection of readingforstoriesrailwayfreightsummer
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The railway therefROm up to croydon and charfhalton is now open for the uFe of the public
If it was being laid today, the Surrey Iron Rail way (SIR) would run through suburban outer London. Instead, when the line was being con structed from Wandsworth on the Thames to Croydon, the line ran through England's green and pleasant land. The Surrey Iron Railway was a horse-drawn plateway that linked Wandsworth and Croydon via Mitcham, all then in Surrey but now suburbs of south London. It was established by Act of Parliament in 1801, and opened partly in 1802 and partly in 1803. It was a toll railway on which carriers used horse traction. The chief goods transported were coal, building materials, lime, manure, corn and seeds.
In general, the long s fell out of use in Roman and italic typefaces in professional printing well before the middle of the 19th century.
Holiday Reading
While most of the poster is easy to comprehend by the modern reader, there are interesting spelling and typographical anachronisms.
The first 8.25 miles (13.3 km) to Croydon opened on July 26 1803, with a branch line off from Mit cham to ThereHackbridge.werenolocomotives operating on the SIR nor did it officially carry passengers. Essentially, anyone with a horse and cart could travel along the line which operated as a common carrier. Pounds, shillings and pence From the start, the purpose of the line was to re turn profits to the line's investors. Less than a year after the launch, this poster was printed for the attention of possible users of the line. To the modern eye it might look quaint some 218 years after publication but at the time it was a valid and working document that laid out what it cost to use the SIR. At the time, Britain used its medieval system of currency that was not to be replaced for another 170Dubbedyears. 'pounds, shillings and pence', it was shortened to L.S.D, which originates from the Latin currency denominations librae, solidi and denarii. Under this system, there were 12 pence in a shil ling and 20 shillings, or 240 pence, in a pound. To put these prices into perspective, when Mr Luttly penned the tariff, a labourer would be earning £12 a year, a pound a month or 5 shillings a week, while a woman would earn £8 a year and a boy £6. It is likely that as an officer of the compa ny, Mr Luttly was earning something north of £12 a year.Aquick calculation would suggest that a ton of manure to move from Croydon to Wandsworth for shipping to London, it would cost 8.5d to get it to Wandsworth and 3d for access to the bason (sic), for a total of 11.5d - just under 5p in modern currency.Coal,being much more valuable than dung, at tracted a much higher tariff. A ton of coal brought from the Thames to Croydon would be charged 25.5d and 3d bason charge, for a total of 28.5djust around 12p in modern currency.
Spelling anachronisms
The docks at Wandsworth would now be re ferred to as a Interestingly,basin.being outside of London, Mr Luttly was a little behind the times in continuing in the use of the 'long' s. Note the spelling of 'Ufe'.
The long s, also known as the medial s or initial s, was already an archaic form of the lowercase letter s. It replaced the single s, or one or both of the letters s in a 'double s' sequence (such as "ſin fulneſs" for "sinfulness").
It rarely appears in good-quality London print ing after 1800, though it lingered provincially until 1824.Achaldron (also chauldron or chalder) was an English measure of dry volume, mostly used for coal; the word itself is an obsolete spelling of caul dron. It was used from the 13th century onwards, nominally until 1963, when it was abolished by the Weights and Measures Act 1963, but in practice until the end of 1835, when the Weights and Mea sures Act of that year specified that thenceforth coal could only be sold by weight.
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THE TRAGIC END OF JUMBO
Jumbo the Elephant, also known as Jumbo the Circus Elephant, was a 19th-century male African bush ele phant born in Sudan who has come down the years as one of the most famous creatures in history. What is less well known is haw a freight train played an unlikely role in the poor creature's death. Jumbo was born in Africa around 1860 and met his fate ini a railroad yard in Canada in 1885. Jumbo was exported to Jardin des Plantes, a zoo in Paris, and then in 1865 to London Zoo in England. Despite public protest, Jumbo was sold to PT Bar num, who took him to the United States for exhibition in March 1882. The giant elephant's name spawned the common word "jumbo," meaning large in size. Examples of his lexical impact are phrases like jumbo jet, jumbo shrimp, jum bo marshmallows and jumbotron. Jumbo's shoulder height has been estimated to have been 3.23 metres (10 ft 7 in) at the time of his death yet it was claimed to be about 4 m (13 ft 1 in) by Barnum. His life Jumbo was born around December 25, 1860 in Sudan and after his mother was killed by hunters, the infant Jumbo was captured by Sudanese elephant hunter Taher Sheriff and German big-game hunter Johann Schmidt. The calf was sold to Lorenzo Casanova, an Italian animal dealer and explorer. Casanova transported the animals that he had bought from Sudan north to Suez, and then across the Mediterranean Sea to Trieste. This collection was sold to Gottlieb Chris tian Kreutzberg's "Menagerie Kreutzberg" in Germany. Soon after, the elephant was shipped to France and kept in the Paris zoo Jardin des Plantes. In 1865, he was trans ferred to the London Zoo and arrived on 26 June. In the following years, Jumbo became a crowd favourite due to his size and would give rides to children on his back, including those of Queen Victoria. While in London, Jumbo broke both tusks, and when they regrew, he ground them down against the stonework of his enclo sure. His keeper in London was Matthew
Scott, whose 1885 autobiography details his life with Jumbo. In 1882, Abraham Bartlett, superintendent of the London zoo, sparked a national contro versy with his decision to sell Jumbo to the American entertainer Phineas T. Barnum of the Barnum & Bailey Circus for £2,000 ($10,000). This decision came as a result of concern surrounding Jumbo's growing aggression and potential to cause a public disaster. The sale of Jumbo, however, sent the citizens of London into a panic, because they viewed the transac tion as an enormous loss for the British empire. 100,000 school children wrote to Queen Victo ria begging her not to sell the elephant. In New York, Barnum exhibited Jumbo at Madison Square Garden, earning enough in three weeks from the enormous crowds to recoup the money he spent to buy the animal. In the 31-week season, the circus earned $1.75 million, largely due to its star attraction. On May 17 1884, Jumbo was one of Barnum's 21 ele phants that crossed the Brooklyn Bridge to prove that it was safe after 12 people died during a stampede caused by mass panic over collapse fears a year earlier. His death Jumbo died at a railway classification yard in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, on September 15 1885. In those days the circus crisscrossed North America by train. St Thomas was the perfect location for a circus because many rail lines converged there. Jumbo and the other animals had finished their performances that night, and as they were being led to their box car, a freight train came down the track. Jumbo was hit and mortally wounded, dying withinBarnumminutes.told the story that Tom Thumb, a young circus elephant, was walking on the railroad tracks and Jumbo was attempting to lead him to safety. Barnum claimed that the locomotive hit and killed Tom Thumb before it derailed and hit Jumbo and other witnesses supported Barnum's account. According to newspapers, the freight train hit Jumbo di rectly, killing him, while Tom Thumb suffered a brokenManyleg.metallic objects were found in the elephant's stomach, including English pennies, keys, rivets, and a police whistle.
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JUMBO THE ELEPHANT
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DEAD UNDER HIS CAB
It was a fatal collision with a freight train that catapulted John Luther "Casey" Jones into the railroading Hall of Fame, becoming one of the most famous American railroaders ever. He was killed when his passenger train collided with a stalled freight train at Vaughan, Mississippi. Jones was a locomotive engineer for the Illinois Central Railroad (IC), based in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi. He was noted for his ex ceptionally punctual schedules, which sometimes required a degree of risk, though this was not a factor on his fa tal last journey. However, there is some disagreement about the sequence of events on that night, April 29–30, 1900. He was due to run the southbound passenger service from Memphis to Canton, Mississippi, departing 11:35pm.
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Owing to engineer absence, he had had to take over another service through the day, which may have deprived him of sleep. He eventually departed 75 minutes late, but was confident of making up the time, with the powerful ten-wheeler Engine No. 382, known as "Cannonball".Approaching Vaughan at high speed, he was unaware that three trains were occupying the station, one of them broken down and directly on his line. Some claim that he ignored a flagman signalling to him, though this person may have been out of sight on a tight bend or obscured by fog. All are agreed, however, that Jones managed to avert a potentially disastrous crash through his exceptional skill at slowing the engine and saving the lives of the passengers
A GALLERY OF RAIL Sticks to his post
The sad end of Engineer Casey Jones HEROIC ENGINEER Terrible Fatality Prevented by Engineer's Loyalty to Duty John Luther "Casey" Jones
RAIL FREIGHT HEROISM post at cost of life Holiday Reading March 14 1863 – April 30 1900 at the cost of his own. He had been was born near Cayce, Kentucky, from where he acquired the nickname of "Cayce", which he chose to spell as "Casey". On March 1 1888, Jones switched to Illinois Central (IC), firing a freight loco motive between Jackson, Tennessee, and Water Valley, Mississippi. He was promoted to engineer, his lifelong goal, in 1891. Railroading was a talent, and Jones was recognised by his peers as one of the best engineers in the business. He was known for his insistence that he "get her there on the advertised [time]" and that he never "fall down", meaning he never arrived at his destination behind schedule. He was so punctual, it was said that people set their watches by him. His work in Jackson primarily in volved freight service between Jackson and Water Valley, Mississippi. Both lo cations were busy and important stops for IC. Fatal accident There is disagreement over the circum stances of Jones's fatal last run. In one account given in the book Railroad Av enue by Freeman H. Hubbard, fireman Sim Webb and Casey had been used ex tra on trains 3 and 2 to cover for engineer Sam Tate, who was ill. They returned to Memphis at 6:25 a.m. on the morning of April 29, giving them adequate time to be rested for number 1 that night, which was their regular assigned run. Another story sees them arrive on No. 4 at 9 p.m. on the evening of April 29 then asked to turn right around and take number 1 back to Canton to fill in for Tate.They departed Memphis on the fatal run at 12:50 a.m., 75 minutes behind schedule owing to the late arrival of No. 1. The weather was foggy that night, reducing visibility, and the run was well known for its tricky curves. By the time he got to Durant, Missis sippi Jones was almost on time. He was quite happy, saying at one point: "Sim, the old girl's got her dancing slippers on tonight!".AtDurant, he received new orders to take to the siding at Goodman, Missis sippi (8 miles (13 km) south of Durant), wait for the No. 2 passenger train to pass and then continue on to Vaughan. Unbeknownst to Jones, three separate trains were in the station at Vaughan.
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The No. 83, a double-headed freight train (located to the north and headed south), which had been delayed and the No. 72, a long freight train (located to the south and headed north), were both on the passing track to the east of the main line. The combined length of the two trains was ten cars longer than the length of the east passing track, causing some of the cars to be stopped on the main line. The two sections of No. 26 had arrived from Canton earlier, and re quired a saw-by maneuver to get to the house track west of the main line. The saw-by maneuver required that No. 83 back up onto the main line in order to al low No. 72 to move northward and pull its overlapping cars off the main line and onto the east side track from the south switch, thus allowing the two sections of No. 26 to gain access to the house track.
The saw-by, however, left the rear cars of No. 83 overlapping above the north switch and on the main line, directly in Jones' path. As workers prepared a second sawby to let Jones pass, an air hose broke on No. 72, locking its brakes and leaving the last four cars of No. 83 on the main line. At the same time, Jones, who was almost back on schedule, was run ning at about 75 mph (121 km/h) to ward Vaughan. As Jones and Webb ap proached the station, they went through a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) left-hand curve that blocked Jones' view from the engine's right side. Webb's view from the left side was better, and he was first to see the red lights of the caboose on the main line. He alerted Jones, who ordered him to jump from the train. Webb leapt out about 300 feet (91 m) before impact, and was knocked unconscious. The last thing he heard as he jumped was the long, piercing whistle used by Jones to warn anyone still in the freight train looming ahead. At that point, Jones was only two minutes behind schedule. Jones reversed the throttle and slammed the airbrakes into emergen cy stop but the engine quickly plowed through several loaded train cars before derailing. He had been able to reduce his speed to about 40 mph (64 km/h) before impact. It is believed Jones' ac tions prevented any other serious injury and death; Jones was the only fatality of the collision. His watch stopped at the time of impact, 3:52 a.m. Popular legend holds his hands still clutched the whis tle cord and brake when his body was pulled from the wreckage.
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A GALLERY OF RAIL
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John Axon GC (December 4 1900 – February 9 1957) was an English train driver from Stock port (Edgeley Depot) who died while trying to stop a runaway freight train on a 1-in-58 gradient at Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, England after a brake failure. The train consisted of an ex-LMS Stanier Class 8F 2-8-0 No. 48188 hauling 33 wagons and a brake van. On the outward trip from Stockport to Buxton on February 9 1957, Driver Axon had noticed a leak from the supply to the locomotive steam brake and had requested and received fitter's attention at the Buxton depot. On the return trip from Buxton to Stockport, the repair did not hold and the brake pipe fractured, disabling the locomotive steam brake and filling the cab with scalding steam, making it very difficult and painful for Axon and the fireman, Ron Scanlon, to reach the controls. Despite this, Axon and Scanlon managed to partly close the regulator and screw down the engine's tender brakes to neg ligible effect. The inability to use the locomotive's whistle meant that the crew of the banking engine at the rear of Axon's train remained unaware of the problems at the front and kept pushing the train to wards Dove Holes summit. Axon told Scanlon to jump off and attempt to ap ply the wagon brakes of the loose-coupled train. Due to the speed the train was travelling, Scanlon only managed to apply a few before the train reached the summit and began accelerating down the 1-in-58 gradient towards Chapel-en-le-Frith. As the crew of the banking engine reached the summit to let the train continue under its own pow er, they were alarmed to see the train accelerating away from them and the guard frantically applying the brakes to his van. George Cross and its ribbon bar At the time of the locomotive failure, Axon could have jumped clear of the then slow-moving train. However, aware of the danger that his train posed to life further down the line, he stayed at his post despite the scalding steam on the footplate. Axon waved a warning to the signalman at Dove Holes, who enabled a DMU at Chapel-en-le-Frith to be moved to safety, but had no time to warn the crew of a passing Rowsley-to-Stockport freight service to accelerate.. The runaway smashed into the rear of it, killing John Axon and John Cream er, the other freight train's guard. The signalman barely escaped as the 8F's tender sideswiped his box, destroying it.
John Axon GC 1900-1957
Recognition Axon was posthumously awarded the George Cross on May 7 1957, which was donated to the National Railway Museum in York in 1978. He was also awarded the Order of In dustrial Heroism by the Daily Herald news paper.The citation for the George Cross notes it is " granted in recognition of “acts of the greatest heroism or of the most courage in circumstances of extreme danger.” It recognises actions by civilians and mil itary personnel not in the face of the enemy.Hewas the subject of a 1957 radio ballad (The Ballad of John Axon), the first of the series, written by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and produced by Charles Parker. A CD released in June 2008, 'Primary Trans mission' by the artist Broadcaster on Red Grape Records, included the song 'Johnny' which is based on samples from the Ballad of John Axon and set to new music. On February 19 1981, a British Rail Class 86 electric locomotive no. 86261 was named Driv er John Axon, GC at a ceremony at Euston Station, London.Aplaque commemorating the events was un veiled, to be mounted at Chapel-en-le Frith station. The plaque is now mounted on the station buildings at Chapel-en-le-Frith facing onto the southbound platform.
"in circumstances of
RAIL FREIGHT HEROISM of extreme danger" Holiday Reading George Cross holder Plaque mounted at Chapel-en-le-Frith railway station commemorating John Axon and John Creamer LMS Stanier 8F locomotive www.freight-tracks.com AUGUST 15 2022 n 35
Jesus Garcia 1881-1907
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Arriving at the station a whistle blew shrill. The wagon with dynamite menaced with its roof afire. The fireman says, "Jesús, let's scram! that wagon behind will burn us to hell." Jesús replies, "That I cannot own-this conflagration will kill the whole town!" So he throws it in reverse to escape downhill and by the sixth mile into God's hands he'd arrived. From that unforgettable day you've earned the holy cross you've earned our applause. Jesús, you're our hero. Engine 501 rolls through Sonora. And the brakeman who won't sigh will cry.
A GALLERY OF RAIL
Hero of Humanity Jesús García Corona (November 13 1881 – November 7 1907) was a Mexican railroad brakeman who died while preventing a train loaded with dynamite from ex ploding near Nacozari, Sonora, in 1907. As "el héroe de Nacozari", he is revered as a national hero and many streets, plazas, and schools across Mexico are named after him. García was born in Hermosillo, Sonora. He was one of eight children. At the age of 17 he got a job with Moctezuma Copper Company, but due to his age, he was made a waterboy. He was promoted to switchman, then to brakeman and eventually to fireman. Career Jesús García was the railroad brakeman for the train that covered the line between Na cozari, Sonora, and Douglas, Arizona. On November 7 1907 the train was stopped in the town and, as he was resting, he saw that some hay on the roof of a car containing dynamite had caught fire. The cause of the fire was that the locomotive's smokebox was failing and sparks were going out from the smokestack. The wind blew them and got into the dynamite cars. García drove the train in reverse downhill at full-steam six kilome ters (4 miles) out of the town before the dynamite exploded, killing him and sparing the population of the mining town. In his honour a statue was raised and the name of the town of Nacozari was changed to Nacozari de García. He was declared Hero of Humanity by the American Red Cross, many streets in Mexico carry his name, and the Estadio Héroe de Nacozari sports stadium in Hermosillo is also named after him.García's sacrifice is remembered in the corrido (ballad) "Máquina 501", sung by Pancho "el Charro" Avitia, and Mex ican railroad workers commemorate 7 November every year as the Día del Ferrocarrilero (Railroader's Day). His heroism is also recounted in the ballad, "Jesus Garcia" sung by Arizo na State's official balladeer, Dolan Ellis, who wanted to let the world know of the "Casey Jones of Mexico" who saved the town. García was awarded, posthumously, the American Cross of Honor.
Máquina 501
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Engine 501 rolls through Sonora. And the brakeman who won't sigh will cry. One fine Sunday, gentlemen, 'round three o'clock, Jesús Garcia sweetly caressed his mother. "Soon I must depart, kind mother, the train whistle draws the future near."
RAIL FREIGHT HEROISM Holiday Reading Norman Tunna GC 1908-1970
Norman Tunna GC, a shunter for the Great Western Railway in Birkenhead was award ed the George Cross in 1941 for extreme heroism during World War 2. On September 26 1940, Tunna was at work at Mor peth Dock, Birkenhead when an air raid commenced. Ignoring the bombing, Tunna continued his work, marshalling a goods train where the main freight be ing carried was high explosive bombs for use by the Royal Air Force. While making a final inspection of the train before it departed, he came across one wagon laden with 250 pounds (110 kg) bombs alight due to a number of incendiary bombs having landed upon it.
"A large number goodsandbombsincendiaryoffellonaboutthestation and"Insidings. the course of these events Shunter Tunna dis covered bombsincendiarytwoburning in a sheeted open wagon, containing 250-lb bombs. With complete disregard for personal risk, Tunna removed the sheet, extinguished the incendiary bombs and removed them from the truck. The top layer of these heavy bombs was hot. "Tunna's action displayed courage in a very high degree and eliminated the risk of serious explosions, the result of which it would be difficult to measure."
Memorials Between November 15 1982 and July 1996, British Rail named Class 47 locomotive, 47471, after Tunna. The locomotive was named in a ceremony at Liver pool Lime Street railway station. In September 2010 a plaque was unveiled at Birkenhead Central railway station by Merseyrail on the 70th anniversary of the heroic action. An older memorial stands in the gardens at Wood side Ferry and Bus terminal, comprising a stone plinth bearing a plaque with the George Cross citation from the London Gazette engraved on it. complete disregard for personal risk"
Fetching a bucket of water in an attempt to extin guish the fire, he was joined by the engine crew of the train and while they fetched more water, Tunna removed the wagonsheet hoping that this would also drag the incendiaries off the wagon. It did dislodge one but another fell into the wagon between some of the bombs. Tunna climbed into the wagon and prised the incendiary out, throwing it away from the wagon. He then joined the enginemen in pumping water over the wagon until they consid ered the bombs to have been cooled to a safe tem perature.Tunna's bravery in preventing what would have been a large explosion was rewarded by the award of the George Cross. The citation He was awarded the medal on January 24 1941. The citation"Thereads:-KINGhas been graciously pleased to award the GEORGE CROSS to:- Norman Tunna, Shunter, Great Western Railway, Birkenhead. "Enemy action over Liverpool Port Area resulted in a number of serious fires involving railway and dock properties.warehouse
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"With
Guard Clarke, although stunned by the blast and suffering from shock, managed to walk to the next signal box to warn the signalman there what had happened. Apart from these four men, five others suffered severe injuries and another 22 minor injuries. The explosion created a crater 66 feet (20.1 m) in diameter and 15 feet (4.6 m) deep, the station buildings were almost demolished and there was damage severe or moderate to over 700 properties within 900 yards (823 m). Despite the severity of the explosion, emergency re pairs meant that the line was open to freight traffic within eighteen hours and passenger traffic resumed the next day. Locomotive 7337 was extensively damaged by the explosion but was repaired and returned to service. It later served on the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire as No. 400 Sir Guy Williams, and was scrapped in 1967. Cause The cause of the fire was never fully explained. The wagon had previously been used to carry a load of bulk sulphur powder and although it would have been cleaned in between loads, the possibility remained that some of the powder was still present. Although the wagon was sheeted, the theory advanced was that a cinder from the engine had landed in the wagon and had ignited some sulphur which
Soham rail disaster memorial: Bob Jones
The Soham rail disaster occurred on June 2 1944, during the Second World War, when a fire developed on the leading wagon of a heavy ammunition train in England being moved by the London North Eastern Railway (LNER). The wagon contained a quantity of high explosive bombs. The train crew had detached the wagon from the rest of the train and were drawing it away when the cargo exploded. The fireman of the train and the signalman at Soham signalbox were killed and several other people injured. The driver, Benjamin Gimbert, and fireman, James Nightall, were both awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest ci vilian gallantry award for preventing further damage which would have occurred if the rest of the train had exploded.
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A GALLERY OF RAIL
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Danger At 12.15 am on June 2 1944 a heavy freight train left Whitemoor marshalling yard, near March in Cam bridgeshire. The train comprised WD (War Department) Austerity 2-8-0 engine No. 7337, 51 wagons and brake van heading for Ipswich. The cargo on the train consisted of 44 wagons containing a total weight of 400 tons of bombs and a further seven wagons containing other components such as tail fins. On board the engine were 41-year-old driver Benjamin Gimbert and 22-year-old fireman James Nightall; the train guard was Herbert Clarke. About 90 minutes later, the train was approaching Soham station when the driver looked back to see flames coming from the leading wagon which contained 44 gener al purpose 500 pounds (227 kg) bombs - a total weight of 9 long tons 16 cwt (22,000 lb or 10 t). Gimbert brought the train to a stop and, rather than running for safety, instructed Nightall to uncouple the first wagon from the rest of the train. Nightall managed this quickly although the fire was now quite serious. Gimbert started to draw the wagon away and had moved it about 140 yards (128 m) and was still alongside the platforms at Soham station when the bombs went off. A much more severe explosion was averted by the men's actions. The resulting blast killed Nightall immediately. Signal man Frank Bridges, who was on the opposite platform, died the next day. Gimbert, though badly injured, survived.
SOHAM: A WARTIME NIGHTMARE
Gimbert and Nightall were fully aware of the contents of the wagon which was on fire and displayed outstanding courage and resource in endeavouring to isolate it. When they discovered that the wagon was on fire they could easily have left the train and sought shelter, but realising that if they did not remove the burning vehicle the whole of the train, which consisted of 51 wagons of explosives, would have blown up, they risked their lives in order to mini mise the effect of the fire.
The conduct of the driver and fireman in attempting, and suc ceeding, in reducing the result of the incident was recognised by the award in July 1944 of the George Cross to both men. A permanent memorial was unveiled on June 2 2007 by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester followed by a service in St Andrew's Church, Soham. The memorial is constructed of Portland stone with a bronze inlay depicting interpretive artwork of the damaged train as well as text detailing the incident.Both Gimbert and Nightall had Class 47 locomotives named after them, although the nameplates have since been transferred to Class 66 locomotives. However, 47579 also retains its name in preservation. Soham station was closed to passengers in 1965. After over 50 years it was reopened in December 2021. A plaque in memory of the four railwaymen involved was unveiled at the reopening.
As an ammunition train was pulling into a station in Cambridgeshire, the driver, Gimbert, discovered that the wagon next to the engine was on fire. He immediate ly drew Nightall's attention to the fire and brought the train to a standstill. By the time the train had stopped the whole of the truck was enveloped in flames and, realising the danger, the driver instructed the fireman to try to uncouple the truck immediately be hind the blazing vehicle. Without the slight est hesitation Nightall, although he knew that the truck contained explosives, uncou pled the vehicle and rejoined his driver on theThefootplate.blazing van was close to the sta tion buildings and was obviously liable to endanger life in the village. The driver and fireman realised that it was essential to separate the truck from the remainder of the train and run it into the open. Driver Gimbert set the engine in motion and as he approached a signal box he warned the sig nalman to stop any trains which were likely to be involved and indicated what he in tended to do. Almost immediately the vehi cle blew up. Nightall was killed and Gimbert was very severely injured.
There is no doubt that if the whole train had been involved, as it would have been but for the gallant action of the men con cerned, there would have been serious loss of life and property. Their citation
Bravery award
Benjamin Gimbert GC Class 66 66077 James Nightall GC 1922-1944 www.freight-tracks.com AUGUST 15 2022 n 39
in turn set alight the wooden body of the wagon. Although this was still a sizeable explosion, the effect and damage was little compared to what would have happened if the entire train load of bombs had exploded.
RAIL FREIGHT HEROISM NIGHTMARE Holiday Reading
The engineer noticed a misaligned switch and con cluded that his train, although moving slowly, would not be able to stop short of it. He decided to climb down from the train, correctly align the switch and reboard the loco motive.Before leaving the cab, the engineer applied the loco motive's independent air brake. During mainline opera tion, he would also have applied the automatic air brake, which would set the brakes in each of the train's cars. But, as is normal for intra-yard movements, the air brakes of the train were disconnected from the locomotive and thus were not Furthermore,functional.applying the locomotive's brakes dis abled the train's dead man's switch, which would oth erwise have applied the train brakes and cut the engine power. crazy
eight
CSX locomotive No. 8888, an EMD SD40-2, was pulling a train of 47 cars. Some of the vehicles were loaded with hazardous chemicals. It ran un controlled for just under two hours at up to 51 mph (82 km/h) before being halted by a railroad crew in a second locomotive which caught up with the runaway train and coupled to the rear car. On the day, a CSX locomotive engineer was using Lo comotive #8888 to move a string of freight cars from track K12 to track D10 for departure on another train at Stanley Yard in Walbridge, Ohio, CSX's primary classification yard for Toledo.Thestring consisted of 47 freight cars; 25 of them were empty but 22 of them were fully loaded, including two tank cars containing thousands of gallons of molten phenol, a toxic ingredient used in paints, glues, and dyes that is harmful when inhaled, ingested, or when it comes into contact with the skin.
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40 n AUGUST 15 2022 @freighttracks The
The CSX 8888 incident, also known as the Crazy Eights incident, was a runaway train event involving a CSX Transportation freight train in the US state of Ohio on May 15 2001.
The engineer also attempted to apply the locomotive's dynamic brake to slow the train to a crawl; dynamic brakes dissipate momentum (kinetic energy) by using the momentum of the train to drive the traction motors, generating electricity exactly like a regenerative braking system does in a hybrid/electric automobile, which slows the However,train.
the engineer "inadvertently failed to com plete the selection process", meaning that he in effect set the train to accelerate, not to brake. Using the power throttle handle, the throttle for the traction motors was set at notch 8. If the dynamic brakes had been properly engaged as intended, the locomotive would have used the motors against the momentum of the train as generators, causing it to slow down. Instead, the train began to accelerate. Therefore, the only functioning brake was the air brakes on the locomotive and this was not enough to counteract its power. CSX No. 8392
The engineer climbed down from the cab, aligned the switch, and then attempted to reboard the accelerating locomotive. However, he was unable to do so and was dragged by No. 8888 for about 80 feet (24 m), receiving minor cuts and abrasions. The train rolled out of the yard and began a 65-mile (105 km) journey south through northwest Ohio unmanned. Attempts to derail the train using a portable derailer failed; the portable derailer was thrown clear of the track by the force of the train when the latter ran over it. Police officers attempted to engage the red fuel cutoff button by shooting at it; after three shots mistakenly hit the larger red fuel cap, this ultimately had no effect because the but ton on former Conrail SD40-2s like CSX No. 8888 must be pressed for several seconds before the switch is activated and the engine starved of fuel and shut down. A northbound freight train, Q636-15, was directed onto a siding where the crew uncoupled its locomotive, CSX #8392 (another EMD SD40-2), and waited for the run away train to pass. #8392 had a crew of two: Jesse Knowl ton, an engineer with 31 years of service; and Terry L. For son, a conductor with one year's experience.[8] Together they chased the runaway train. An EMD GP40-2, CSX locomotive #6008, was prepared farther down the line to couple to the front of the run away to slow it further, if necessary. Knowlton and Forson successfully coupled onto the rear car and slowed the train by applying the dynamic brakes on the chase locomotive. Once the runaway had slowed to 11 mph (18 km/h), decorated Vietnam War veteran and CSX trainmaster Jon Hosfeld ran alongside the train, climbed aboard and shut down the engine. The train was stopped at the Ohio State Route 31 crossing, just southeast of Kenton, Ohio before reaching locomo tive No. 6008. All the brake shoes on #8888 had been de stroyed by the heat caused by being applied throughout the runaway trip. CSX never made public the name of the 35-year vet eran engineer whose error caused the runaway nor what disciplinary action was taken. Unstoppable In 2010, almost a decade after the runaway, Twentieth Century Fox released the movie Unstoppable which was about a runaway train inspired by the incident. Unsurpris ingly while most rail enthusiasts are certainly privy to this film the movie received mixed reviews in the railroad/rail fan Thiscommunity.wasmainly due to prototypical discrepancies re lating to operations and railroad employees. Being that it is Hollywood, which has often been a stranger to histori cal or detailed accuracies, the film should, like many rail way films, be taken at face value simply as entertainment.
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