What a day and what a mess it turned out to be this past Sunday on Donner. My girlfriend and I decided to head up the mountain for her first railfanning adventure. On I-80 east at Long Ravine we passed under a stacker that turned out to be the fateful IG3OA. It was too late for me to jump off the freeway, so I decided that I was going to continue to Gold Run to shoot the ZG2LT that was hot on the rails behind the IG3. All of that changed when I heard the defect detector squawk that there was a defect and followed almost immediately after by the DS calling the head of the IG3 and advising them that he now had a track indication on MT2 and he feared that they were on the ground somewhere. He was right indeed… They were on the ground and right at the main crossing in downtown Colfax, Ca. I arrived less than five minutes after the derailment and just as first responders were arriving on scene. CalFire was quite concerned that there was a HazMat incident as one of the containers was leaking an unidentified clear solution and began their HazMat procedures just in case (the crew had already verified that there was no HazMat in those containers on their paperwork and with Omaha). The container was filled with animal hides being shipped in brine which was the leaking fluid. Once the HazMat warning was issued, everyone got a quick boot from the area and road closures went into place. 1. PCSO arriving on scene.
2. The unlucky conductor walking back to see exactly how much of a mess there was.
3. Decent size mess.
4. CalFire personnel rush to get an idea of what the HazMat is.
5. The view from the east end of town.
6. Looking east.
After grabbing the shots in town, we headed to Carpenter Road to see just exactly how much of the train was on the ground. After we arrived, we quickly discovered how far back the initial point of derailment was as opposed to where the mess finally piled up. 7. Damage to the concrete crossing pad from the wheelset striking it.
8. Truck springs and other debris litter the ROW. Per a UP Foreman who arrived after I did there were 21 springs located on the ROW between Carpenter Road and the DPU which was 1/4 mile away to the west.
9. Another UP Foreman (not the employee in this photo) stated that "It looks like someone stacked three tie plates on top of the rail 10 ft west of the 80 overpass. After that point is where all the carnage begins. UP SA is on the way." So he was, and he arrived in quick fashion and began the investigation as he walked all the way over to the initial POD.
10. UP employees meet to discuss the damage and what will need to be done to get the railroad up and running asap.
11. Amtrak was very proactive during the whole situation and should be commended for their efforts. #6 was held at the depot in Roseville, and #5 which was at Towle when it happened was brought down to Gold Run on 2 Track where buses were waiting for the passengers to continue westward.
13. UP 7492 has nowhere to go as the crew has tied it down until they get the all clear to move west (which won't come before this crew dies on HOS).
16. I'm not sure this is why the city named it Railroad Street.
19. A view from a hillside overlooking the cleanup.
22. Bring in the heavy equipment.
23. Workers burned through the daylight and into the night as they work to clear the rails.
Thanks for viewing and a commendable job by all those involved from the railroad and first responders. It's good to see that even when things go bad, that these guys (and gals) are still on the ball and getting things done.
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