On this day in August 1977, SD45 SLSF 926 and an unknown sister await repairs, as they sit outside the Springfield Diesel Shop. I cannot find any information about the circumstances that caused this appearance. There appears to be coal on the roof of SLSD 926; perhaps a clue. The traction motor for the lead axle of the rear truck is missing, and a normal wheel set has been employed to get the unit "home for repairs". Note also, the rubber train line air hose that has been laid on the walkways of both units. Anyone know when and where these units went on the ground?
According to Frisco Diesel Power by Louis A. Marre and John Baskin Harper, SD45 SLSF 926 was involved in an accident at Ravenden, AR on 1/18/1978. It was sold for scrap on 3/20/1978. However, this does not correspond to the date of your photograph.
The Frisco SD45 roster in Diesel Era, July/August 1990, Volume 1, Number 2, page 28 essentially agrees with pensive's report. SD45 SLSF 926, built 10/68, was wrecked and retired on 1/18/1978 and was sold for scrap on 3/20/1978. Ken
Is SD45 SLSF 926 a hoodoo? It is an interesting puzzle. I rechecked the photograph, and it has a Kodak stamp of August 1977. I was living in Springfield at that time, so I am relatively confident of the date. I got married in November 1977, and lived in Denver after the wedding. I was not in Springfield during the time period in which SD45 SLSF 926 wrecked at Ravenden, AR or in which in might have been stored at the West Shops before it was scrapped. It would then appear that SD45 SLSF 926 was involved in a derailment of some sort during the summer of 1977, it was repaired, and then wrecked again. After its second mishap it was deemed uneconomic to repair, and was scrapped per the references cited by Ken and Pensive.
SD45 SLSF 926 And SD45 SLSF 943 Well it is nice to have some photos I can add to the situation for a change! The following are some photographs from a collection that I purchased at the Springfield Ozark Model Railroad Association (OMRA) meet many years ago. I have no idea who took the photographs, but they where developed in 1977. They show both SD45 SLSF 926 and SD45 SLSF 943, I do not know but I would say this is the way you "total" a SD45! Brad
That has got to be the most jinxed engine on the Frisco. I remember the Ravenden, AR wreck. The rear brakeman was one of the two Baker boys out of Thayer, MO. I cannot think of his first name off hand. He was riding in the last engine SD45 SLSF 926 because of work to do at Jonesboro. He survived but never worked for the railroad again. I cannot remember if it was a split switch or an ice-packed frog as the cause of the derailment, but when they started to derail, the lead engine stay relatively upright but was chewing up the ties and spreading the rails in front of it. The SD45 SLSF 926 went sideways and the train behind started piling up on top of it. The last of Brad's photographs show a few clues to the location. 1) Notice the welded rail, at that time it was only used on curves and lines with heavy traffic. 2) It is either late spring or early fall because there are leaves on the trees and the way people are dressed. 3) Looking past the wreck there is not much in the way of hills and it is tangent for quite some distance, it looks like it is running thru some river bottoms. There are only 4 places I can think of that would fit this location. 1) South of Lacygne, KS. 2) North of Pleasanton, KS. 3) Between Bay, AR and Tyronza, AR. 4) Somewhere on the Chaffee Subdivision. My 2 cents worth. Roger
Gee, I modeled the SD45 SLSF 926 using a Rail Power shell with a Cannon Company cab with the L-shaped windshield about 2 years ago. I do not plan on it getting in any wrecks though.
I certainly hope that you have better luck with your locomotive than Frisco did with their locomotive. LOL. Roger
Roger, The brakeman's name that was badly injured was Ronnie Baker. There was another brakeman riding the head end that was killed in the derailment. I am sure that I know you as I lived at Thayer and worked into Thayer from Springfield. I went to high school with Ronnie Baker. Bill
I stumbled across this photograph and caption from the Corsicana, TX Daily Sun that places and gives cause to the first SD45 SLSF 926 derailment. Heavy rains that passed through the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area on Sunday, March 27, 1977. The storms caused damage in the area, and in particular, caused Rawhide Creek to wash-out bridge E703.6 at Farmers Branch, TX. The wash-out explains the new pilings, which are seen on the ground in Brad’s photograph Please see the following. 943 Front End 2.jpg. I also suspect that the wrecker may not be a Frisco wrecker, but one “borrowed” from a neighbor Ft Worth railroad. Fortunately, no one was injured during this mishap.
FRA Accident Report T3A11 3-27-1977 11:25 AM Milepost E-703 Gribble, TX Train No 37 Engine SLSF 943 leading 2 of 2 engines derailed 16 of 59 cars derailed Total Equipment Damage - $652,903 Total Track, Signal, RofW Damage - $43,000 Cause: Washout/rain/slide/flood/snow/ice damage to track
Interesting that information is from the Corsicana, TX Daily Sun. A fer piece from Farmers Branch, TX. Also interesting how much the surrounding area has changed from that date looking at Google Maps!
