Aurich, Arkansas was on the Jonesboro Sub-Division at milepost 225.17. It had a 98 car passing siding, about 4410 feet long. It was just north of Ulm, AR at milepost 226.27. And south of Roe, AR at milepost 220.62. The nearest open agencies with Day/Night telegraph were Clarendon (CN), at milepost 214.03 and Stuttgart (Z), at milepost 233.31. Pine Bluff Shops was at milepost 266.72.The L1 powered too long southbound freight had just cleared northbound passenger #6 and had backed up to repeat the maneuver with the diesel powered northbound when the collision occurred. http://www.mx.reocities.com/TheTropics/8199/head_on.htmlThese photos were taken the morning of the accident looking west. Additional accident information is available on page 1 of The Daily Leader and Arkansawyer for November 29th and November 30th, 1949. The local newspaper is on microfiche at the Stuttgart Public Library. As you will see from the linked photos the 921 was destroyed in the wreck. The thing sticking up in the air is the 16V-567A engine from the 921. Does a new frame equal a new unit? I think it does, otherwise you have the roster anomaly of 20 number slots built on 21 frames.
Cotton Belt 921:2 appears to be an F7AM. This particular unit was built as the 920A on EMD Order #663-A. It was renumbered to the 921 by Cotton Belt in April 1949. On a foggy November 29, 1949 morning the 921 led a northbound freight into the Aurich, Arkansas siding and a head on collision with an L1 powered southbound. That was the end of the first 921. The remains of 921 were cut up and sent to Pine Bluff Shops for survey and then sent to LaGrange for either trade in or rebuild. I'm not really sure what transpired between Cotton Belt and EMD. A brand new 921:2 was delivered to the Cotton Belt sometime in 1950, I don't have an exact date. There is an R. S. Plummer photo of 921:2 on pages 40-41 of Steve Goen's Cotton Belt Color Pictorial. The photo shows 921:2 leading a northbound freight through Texarkana on June 3, 1959. I had corresponded some years ago with A. J. Kristopans about the Aurich wreck. It was his belief that Cotton Belt 921 was one of the undocumented EMD Repair Orders in the 7000-7004 sequence. Author Joe Strapac concurred that the Pine Bluff Shops did not have the ability in 1949 to do an extensive diesel rebuild. There was also an unidentified FTB unit that was damaged in the Aurich wreck, that was also likely sent to EMD.The photo of 921:2 shows what appears at first glance to be an FTA. On closer inspection and with the use of an as-built template from Preston Cook it is not a stock unit. Both trucks are mounted forward of the normal position on an FTA. Comments?
Ed in Kentucky
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