On this day in Aug 1977, 926 and an unknown sister await repairs, as they sit outside the Springfield diesel shop. I can't find any information about the circumstances that caused this appearance. There appears to be coal on the roof of 926; perhaps a clue. The traction motor to 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 926 was involved in an accident on 1-18-78 at Ravenden, AR. and sold for scrap on 3-20-78. However, this does not correspond to the date of your photograph.
The Frisco SD45 roster in Diesel Era, Volume 1, Number 2, July/August 1990, p28 essentially agrees with pensive's report. SLSF 926 (built 10/68) was wrecked and retired on 1/18/78 and was sold for scrap on 3/20/78. Ken
Is number 926 a hoodoo? It's an interesting puzzle. I rechecked the photo, and it has a Kodak stamp of Aug 1977. I was living in Springfield at that time, so I am relatively confident of the date. I got married in Nov 1977, and lived in Denver after the wedding. I wasn't in Springfield during the time period in which 926 wrecked at Ravenden or in which in might have been stored at the West Shops before it was scrapped. It would then appear that 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.
Well its nice to have some photos I can add to the situation for a change! The following are some photos from a collection that I purchased at the Springfield OMRA meet many years ago. I have no idea who took the photos, but they where developed in 1977. They show both 926 and 943, I don't know but I'd 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 wreck, the rear brakeman was one of the two Baker boys out of Thayer, I can't think of his first name off hand. He was riding in the last engine (926) because of work to do at Jonesboro, he survived but never worked for the railroad again. I can't 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 926 went sideways and the train behind started piling up on top of it. The last of Brad's photos 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's 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 is only 4 places I can think of that would fit this location- 1) South of Lacyne, KS. 2) North of Pleasanton, KS. 3) Between Bay & Tyronza, AR. 4) Somewhere on the River Sub My 2 cents, Roger
Gee, I modeled the 926 using a railpower shell with a cannon cab with the L-shaped windshield about 2 years ago, I don"t plan on it getting in any wrecks though.
Roger, The brakeman's name that was badly injured was Ronnie Baker. There was another brakeman ridding 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 photo and caption from the Corsicana, TX Daily Sun that places and gives cause to the first 926 derailment. Heavy rains that passed through the DFW area on Sunday, March 27, 1977 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 photo, 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 #37 Eng 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 from the Corsicana, TX Daily Sun - a fer piece from Farmers Branch. Also interesting how much the surrounding area has changed from that date - looking at Google Maps!
