A crane on each side of the railcar has attached a cable to move the car forward off the damaged track area so it can then be lifted back onto the train track safely.
Gail Allen | R-H photos
The crane has the capability to attach a hook to the track and pull on the steel to make sure the gauge distance is correct between the rails for future safety of another train passing on that rail.
Cranes are moved on flatbed semi trailers, but first must be disassembled because of the extreme weight of each. The 13,000-plus pound weight removed can be seen on the right side in the weight-slot. The next piece of equipment is removed and loaded on the transport trailer.
The heavy boom must be removed also and loaded onto the flatbed trailer for transport. For two cranes, it takes four semis to haul the equipment, one for each crane, and one for each of the disassembled parts due to excessive weight of each.
WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — An RJ Corman Railroad Services crew came to the Dayton Avenue train derailment scene to put the five cars back on the tracks. Corman has an office location in London, Ohio, and one of his crews was working in Pittsburgh on another job. After the call-out yesterday from the I&O Railroad, the crew was in town first thing Saturday morning, according to the foreman of the crew.
On Friday afternoon, five cars went off the track as the train heading toward the North North Street and State Route 38 area of town rounded the curve behind the VFW at Veterans Way. The inside track was laying on its side in that area making the recovery harder. All rail cars were upright, according to officials at the scene.
Approximately 8-10 crew members, four flatbed semis, and four red pickup trucks could be seen on Veterans Way Saturday. The cranes were assembled on-site, loading the booms with the lifts, and the 13,000-plus pound weights that are attached to the cranes to keep them on the ground.
According to Kevin Ellison, trainmaster and supervisor at I&O Railroad, the two cranes work to pull a train car forward toward the undamaged track, then lift it up and place the wheels back on the rail. Three cars were removed from the rear and an engine hooked up and transported them in the southerly direction. The last two cars were pulled northward and another engine moved them from the Dayton Avenue crossing.
Ellison said that Corman Services “assists the railroad company in derailment situations and get their job done in an efficient manner because it is very costly for this assistance.”
The I&O Railroad crew was on scene to assess the track damage and prepare for the repairs to be done on Sunday, according to trackmaster and supervisor of the rail system in this area, Dalton Hammond. Ellison said that the crew would be working on Sunday approximately eight hours to repair the damaged track on Dayton Avenue.
Hammond said he has been in contact with Gary Dean, supervisor of the Washington Court House Service Department, to get a paving crew out to the scene on Sunday to repave the crossing area that was damaged, since both Cox and Fillmore paving have trucks and equipment in this area right now.
The derailed cars were hauling corn from Cargill, according to Ellison. The load and cars themselves were not damaged. The wheels and axles will undergo an inspection during the investigation to determine the cause of the derailment, Ellison said.
The crossing is expected to be open to traffic sometime on Monday.
