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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!ihuxl!essachs
From: essachs@ihuxl.UUCP (Ed Sachs)
Newsgroups: net.railroad
Subject: Anyone want some free coal?
Message-ID: <1519@ihuxl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Mar-85 09:52:45 EST
Article-I.D.: ihuxl.1519
Posted: Thu Mar 21 09:52:45 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 22-Mar-85 02:02:25 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 23

I've always enjoyed living with a railroad in my backyard (our
lot, in Elmhurst, IL (Chicago area), backs up on the single track
Illinois Central Gulf line to Rockford and Dubuque).
However, on Tuesday, 3/19, at approximately 2:30 pm, a coal train
derailed behind our house (12-15 100 ton coal hoppers off the tracks,
about 200 feet of track ripped up).  We now have about 100 tons of
coal in our backyard (I'm sure that ICG will clean it up eventually).
One of the hoppers came within 15 or 20 feet of a neighbor's house
two houses down from us.

It was interesting watching the clean up efforts.  The crew got there
around dinner time with 5 small but powerful bulldozer/tractor/crane
machines.  Each dereailed car was overturned and dumped (hence all
the coal in the yards), then righted, carried to the intact track
and set on a new set of wheels.  New pre-fab (like HO) sections of
track were laid, and trains started moving again about 5:00 pm
on 3/20 (very slowly).  Unfortunately, the noise didn't let us
get much sleep the night of the 19th, but it was fun to watch.
-- 
				Ed Sachs
				AT&T Bell Laboratories
				Naperville, IL
				ihnp4!ihuxl!essachs