B&P derails in East Aurora Here are some pics- 5-19-2020

Here are several pictures taken by relatives who live just across the street from the ROW.

Picture from Rileys. Can you imagine being seated in the dining room and watching this happen?




Great aerial shot. Riley's restaurant is in the lower left out of view:

At least Winters did not have very far to travel.

It was kinda comical on my way out to the derailment because as I drove down the 400 expressway I noticed piles of new ties. I could Only see from roughly GJ to Gravity.

A little more detail for people who may not be completely familiar with the area: The green "East Aurora" bridge is over Rt20A/78/16. This is the NS Buffalo Line (nee Conrail, nee PRR) which is leased exclusively to B&P between MP BR8.8 (just south of CP GRAVITY) and CP MACHIAS (MP BR44.5). The train was headed TT North, roughly at MP BR17.4

It appears that the train took the diverge at the switch to what little remains of the old Fisher-Price siding.
(Google Earth image, 9/22/2018)

I'd like to see the head end camera shots for this one. If they split the switch, you'd have a different kind of mess. Indeed, it looks like they took the diverging route, and that implies the switch was thrown.

Thanks for the pics.

No, it wasn't southbound

I left the site about 3:15p today. I watched them remove the first two tank cars. Both are on the rails and rolling with random modifications to the bent structures. I was surprised at how well the locomotives looked. They appeared in good condition. The only time I saw any paint scratched was on the lead unit being lifted. The lifting cables on the passenger side kept scraping the paint so that one will need some "touch up" work. I also did see one puncture in the fuel tank. About half way up and about half way back. But thousands of scratches on both sides of the fuel tank.

Lead unit and last unit to be put back on the rails:



Tank puncture:


All three back on the rails. None were running. Do they get a temporary ferry permit to move them under their own power or do they all get towed?


Second tank car now rolling. I thought they would pull it by chain but he stuck his claw into the coupler and pulled it along. Several more to go.
https://youtu.be/WEsX5AGXL9Q

CPSmith wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 1:14 pm I'd like to see the head end camera shots for this one. If they split the switch, you'd have a different kind of mess. Indeed, it looks like they took the diverging route, and that implies the switch was thrown.

I was thinking the same - This doesn't look like a switch pick, this looks like someone managed to break the lock if there was one and flip the switch. The group of three tank cars that looks to be pretty clearly on the rails just north of the switch (towards the camera in the aerial photo) is telling in this case.

I don't know exactly what time this happened (ie, how dark it was), and I don't know what TT speed is on this line anymore (the last NS ETT I have access to from 2001 shows 50 MPH, the next ETT I can access doesn't show TT speeds for either of the leased sections of the Buffalo line in 2008), but I'm sure coming around the bend towards the Oakwood Ave bridge, the last thing the crew was expecting was to take the siding. The fact that they cleared through the end stop of the track and continued straight for a while is a good bit of luck too, certainly better than the alternative of getting knocked off course by the stops and dropping down onto Main St.

For anyone wondering, the PRR signal system has been OOS for a number of years now, with many removed and those still extant turned sideways. In Google Earth using the 3D Terrain view there is a relay box visible adjacent to the switch mentioned above, I presume at one time this relayed switch information to the signalling system?

SST wrote: All three back on the rails. None were running. Do they get a temporary ferry permit to move them under their own power or do they all get towed?

Those will have to be inspected for all sorts on things first, then towed to where they can be worked on. Lots of potential damage - gear cases, support bearings, axle journals, brake rigging, etc, etc. It's not like putting an HO back on the track and away you go.

Here is some drone footage of the scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=famb0Znci1o

Don

CPSmith wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 1:14 pm I'd like to see the head end camera shots for this one. If they split the switch, you'd have a different kind of mess. Indeed, it looks like they took the diverging route, and that implies the switch was thrown.

Exactly right.

Derailment happened at 1100pm last night. Track was inspected that day in morning. The switch was tampered with, track speed through here is 30mph

Why does this siding even exist?