This looks worse than it actually was. BNSF train B-BIRLAC3-12A, a baretable train (empty intermodal cars), heading from Birmingham AL to Los Angeles, was going to set some of these cars out on a storage track in Fullerton. Upon entering the siding, all three of the train’s engines derailed, possibly from picking a switch. This blocked Main 1 (of three), and this train’s 64 cars were picked up by train S-ALTLHW (Intermodal Stacks; Alliance TX to Los Angeles Harbor’s West Basin) and ferried them westward. With the cars out of the way, Hulcher Services’ employees were able to begin the process of rerailing the derailed engines. By the time I arrived on the scene, BNSF 8236 was in the process of being placed back upon the rails. This train was operating at a very slow speed when the accident occurred – most likely a walking pace of about 3 miles-per-hour – and the power remained upright. But in order to separate 8236 from lead engine 5807, the 5807 ended up being tipped 10º on its left side more than it had been to separate these two. (Hulcher’s version of spraying them with a cold hose?) Once separated, BNSF 5807 was straightened once again, and work to place 8236 back on the rails continued. Then it was on to gently placing 5807 back on the track, too. I was impressed with the speed of the Hulcher crew, and the gentleness of this procedure. These guys know what they are doing! Main 1 was blocked by one of the vehicles that lifts the locomotives, but fortunately for BNSF’s dispatchers in San Bernardino, there were still two mains available to keep rail traffic flowing. (Fullerton, California – March 17, 2021)
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
