Pocahontas Division/1956 wreck

[NW Mailing List]

According to the ICC report, the fireman stated that the engineer on No. 3 
applied the brake in approach to the curve at Cedar -- but not in emergency.

The wreck of No. 3 at Cedar in January 1956 has been the subject of much 
discussion -- and speculation based on rumors and various "conspiracy 
theories" -- for more than half a century.  I have little more to say about 
it other than to doubt that the speed of the train was 60-65 MPH prior to 
the wreck.  If it had been that fast on that portion of the railroad, 
someone would have known it.  Also, a light snow was reported to have been 
falling at the time but there were no reports of fog.  And the fireman 
stated that he observed that the last signal the train passed displayed a 
"Clear" indication, thus implying that visibility was not a problem.

 Louis Newton

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Subject: NW-Mailing-List Digest, Vol 85, Issue 23


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>   1. Re: Railcam not working? (NW Mailing List)

>   2. Lyndhurst, Virginia depot (NW Mailing List)

>   3. RE: Pocahontas Division Book/ January 1956 wreck (NW Mailing List)

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> Message: 1

> Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:06:26 -0400 (EDT)

> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: Re: Railcam not working?

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Message-ID: <8CF5018C90813D4-E2C-B7C6 at webmail-d089.sysops.aol.com>

> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

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> My connectivity to Roanoke railca. is still out. y computer is clean and 

> maintained daily. Anyone have any more ideas?

>

>

> Thanks,

>

>

> JB Farley

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> To: nw-mailing-list <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Sent: Fri, Aug 24, 2012 3:52 am

> Subject: RE: Railcam not working?

>

>

>

> Hi List Members,

>

> To Kim in Huntsville.  I always delete the cookies and add-on?s every day. 

> Nothing I tried seemed to make a difference.  I was ready to do a restore 

> to an earlier date this morning but tried Roanokerailcam.com and it 

> worked.  The message would say: Internet Explorer has quit working and 

> need to shut down.  I would have to click the close button several times 

> before the diagnostic page would come up.  I?d get another message that 

> the website was having a problem and to try back later.

>

> To Cal Reynolds.  Please contact me off list.  nwrlinemp72 at ca.rr.com

>

> NWHS members are the best?Thanks!

>

> John Hecker

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> Message: 2

> Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:20:42 -0700 (PDT)

> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: Lyndhurst, Virginia depot

> To: N&W_List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

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> http://www.newsleader.com/article/20120823/NEWS01/308230023/Tickets-two-an-old-train-station-Lyndhurst

>

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> Message: 3

> Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2012 20:57:42 +0000

> From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

> Subject: RE: Pocahontas Division Book/ January 1956 wreck

> To: "nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>

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>

> A little more on the subject. According to the fireman's testimony in the 

> ICC report on the wreck, the engineer closed the throttle and applied the 

> brakes (to full emergency) upon sight of the speed-restriction sign, which 

> was 1,771 feet before the site of the wreck. My husband, a former 

> engineer, thinks there was time for the brakes to fully apply before the 

> wreck. With the train speed estimated at 53.6 mph (which is about the 

> estimated overturning speed for a Class J locomotive) I can only wonder 

> what the speed of the train was before the brakes were put in emergency 

> and the throttle closed. With the fact that the engine slid down the bank 

> some 300 feet away from the wreck point and took quite a few cars with 

> her, the speed of the train may have been even higher, maybe up to 60-65 

> mph. I'm curious to see what former N&W employees and old engineers have 

> to say about this. There is one more factor: that I have heard that there 

> was fog providing difficulty in vision, which I'd

>  like to confirm. Do any of you have anything to say on this?

> Lois J. Ponton

> ljpli at hotmail.com

>

>

>

>

>

> To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

> Subject: Pocahontas Division Book/ January 1956 wreck

> Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 02:05:21 +0000

> From: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org

>

>

>

>

> I will note on a few items in the new book on the Pocahontas Division by 

> Mason Cooper. First, is that there was a source that said that 611 

> derailed her trailing truck in Roanoke not once, but three times. Noted 

> also was the Willard family's suit against the N&W, but doubt that the 

> family got anything from it, due to the high speed of the train at the 

> time of the wreck.  I am curious whether there is any record of any 

> proceedings on this case, or was it settled out of court? I am also 

> curious who in the Willard family who could have presented the suit, 

> unless it was Walter's widow, Carrie Willard, as all three of Walter's 

> brothers (Jim, John and J.W. (known as Spot)) were employed by the N&W. I 

> would also welcome any discussion on the speed of the train at the time of 

> the wreck (estimated as 53.6 mph by then-Pocahontas Division 

> superintendent P. C. Wingo for the few miles between Devon and 

> Cedar. )This all I am using for the final work on my book, Midnight on the 

> Pocahontas,

> the first chapter of which I plan to preview in parts in the Arrow.

> Lois J. Ponton

> Friends of the 611

> ljpli at hotmail.com

>

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