Collision Derailment Kills Four - Run Away Cars On Main Track - Olustee, OK - 1:45 AM - 6/3/1970

This was in a post of mine some time ago.

I took pictures of these pictures at the Hardeman County Historical Museums in Quanah, TX. Sorry for the poor quality of my images, I just wanted these pictures to be seen.

"DERAILMENT KILLS FRISCO CREW MEN"

Olustee, OK.

Four crew members of a Frisco freight train were killed early today when the train derailed near this southwestern Oklahoma community.

The Highway Patrol reported the 86-car train rounded a curve and smashed into seven freight cars that escaped a sidetrack in Olustee sometime during the night and rolled about 1-1/2 miles northward down the track.

The Highway Patrol identified the victims as James Willard Heahth, 60, of Oklahoma City, the engineer; Robert Ray Thornton, 30, of Moore, the fireman; Jerry Arthur Howard, 23, Oklahoma City, a brakeman, and Terry L. Lober, 23, Harrah, also a brakeman.

All four were in the front engine of three diesels pulling the mile-long train.

Altus police reported the train was en route from Quanah, Tex., to Oklahoma City. About 25 of the 86 cars were derailed, and some overturned.

The accident occurred about 1-1/2 miles north of Olustee about 1:45 a.m.

The crash knocked out telephone service to the small towns of Olustee and Eldorado, about 14 miles to the southwest.

"It looked like the boxcars on the siding polled downhill about a mile and a half," a trooper said. "The cars broke through a derail and went into the main line.

"The freight train hit them as it rounded a curve and the lead engine was completely demolished."

A six-inch segment was sliced out of one rail "like two karate chops had cut it " at the point of the collision, one person at the scene reported."

(Ada Evening News ~ June 3, 1970)

This is a post from Terry Jankowski on the same wreck.

"The sad thing about the Olustee wreck was that all four, I think it was four, were killed. All of the crew were riding in the lead unit at the time. Some kids had released handbrakes on some loaded grain hoppers which rolled out, knocked the derail off, ran through the mainline switch, and sat on the main for several hours.

Since it was dark territory, there was no warning to the crew. No one reported these cars to the railroad which if done would have prevented this tragedy. Two of those killed were part time workers which the Frisco would hire in the summer back then.

I was in the army in Lawton and remember the wreck. I hired out in June of 1971 and talked to diesel shop workers who saw the lead unit, SD45 912, I think, and they told me the toilet was still sitting in place even though the nose had been sheared off. The engineer's glove was still on the brake valve. Terry"

A couple of these were marked as the wreck mentioned and the other was with them but not labeled.

Please provide corrections as needed.

What was left of the cab of SD45 SLSF 912



SD45 SLSF 912





If I run across anymore like these I will post them.

 

Yea Paul, a sad story for sure, they did not suffer though.

I will never ever forget that day my Grandpa took me to see it, the destruction was just astounding. Just utter destruction.

I wonder if they ever caught whom ever knocked those hand brakes off?

If equipped, those flop over derails have failed more than once. The split point derails do not fail. There was another wreck around Olustee, OK in 1966 I was told, but very little information on that.

I told the curator that I would be back one day and make a donation as long as I could take the photographs out of the binders and copy them with my scanner which I would take with me.

I could not get away from the glare from the lights in the museum, so I am afraid some of these images will be compromised, but hey it more than we have had right?

 

This reminds me of the one that happened down in Texas on the Ft. Worth and Denver (FW&D), only it was in reverse.

The kids lined a switch off the main into a cut of hoppers on a siding in dark territory. I think the video of it is on U-tube, but the crew walked away from it.

Hard to believe but the standard cabs did not offer much protection like the wide cabs do.

I have seen many SD40-2s with the cab completely torn off from the nose all the way back to the main generator.

Roger

 

Steve,

Federal Railroad Administration reports are public records that can be distributed and published.

The report is old enough that is should be finalized with conclusions, results and recommendations and not a work in process.

Unless marked as not for release, not for publication, for your eyes only, secret, top secret, or some other notation restricting the use they can be widely and freely distributed.

The intent of the reports is to provide documentation of what happened, an impartial analysis of the cause(s), and specific recommendation(s) on how to prevent it from occurring again.

The reports are shared within the industry, local, state and federal entities and citizens. Ultimately, they serve as an educational opportunity, a spur to adapt or change practices and in some cases the basis of regulatory changes.

Please upload the document as a pdf file.

Hope this helps.

Thanks!

Mark

 

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I can take care of most any issues.