Demolishing a Diner We were switching the wreck train around in the small Crawford yard to position things for the return trip to Alliance. I had ahold of the hook, its water car, its tool car, and probably a couple of other cars. We had 2 or 3 SD9s for power on the wreck train. I was drifting back with all this to make a coupling. The headbrakeman was riding the far steps of my 2nd unit passing hand signals from the conductor who was out of my sight. Or at least I THOUGHT he was passing signals. Suddenly the conductor comes running out from around the curve giving me a wash-out. I bigholed the SD9s and the cut of cars. I didn't know it at the time but moving about 5-7 mph and with all brakes released we had slammed into the diner car which was standing by itself.

After a couple of minutes we continued switching. A couple of more minutes and the Road Foreman of Engines, my boss, was in the cab. "What the hell happened back there?" he bellowed. I had to ask what he was talking about. He said "You just creamed the diner. Destroyed it." I said that must have been when the conductor came running out giving me a wash-out. The RFE was calming down a bit. "Tell me what you saw?" he said. So I did.

I told him the brakeman had been passing signals but he didn't pass that one. The 1st thing I knew that we were close to a joint was when the conductor ran out into view. The RFE said that he had been seated at a table in the diner across from the division Master Mechanic (his boss) and they had been eating lunch. When we hit the diner the RFE's hot soup was dumped in his lap and when he looked up the Master Mechanic was crawling out from under the table. Everybody was hopping mad but the cook was ready to kill me he said. The RFE told me "I wouldn't go anywhere near that diner if I was you. The cook has some pretty big knives, if he can find them."

The impact had knocked pots and pans off the stove, dishes out of cupboards (and broke many on the floor), it had knocked over the hotwater heater and shifted the cook stove a couple of feet. The oil line was broken so oil and water were flowing all over the diner floor amongst broken dishes, pans, and food.

The RFE got off after riding with me for a few minutes. I figured oh boy there is going to be a big stink over this. He went and talked with the brakeman & conductor. Perhaps thirty minutes later he was standing outside on the ground when we again made a backup switching move. That dang brakeman DID THE SAME THING again! He didn't pass signals and we ran into a cut of cars. Luckily not the diner or the bighook this time. But the absolute sweetest thing to my eyes was that the RFE saw the whole thing. I was vindicated. It was not my fault!

He made a dash for that brakeman. I couldn't hear what he was saying but his arms were very animated, his face red, and his mouth going so fast the spit was flying.

A few hours later they had gotten the cook settled down enough that he made a cold sandwich for me and the RFE brought it up to the cab. He said, "I still think you'd better keep away from the diner this trip". I wasn't positive I wanted to eat that sandwich but hunger got the better of me so I did.

Train of Visitors

Created 03-01-2002
Updated 03-02-2002