Removing a Norfolk Southern Locomotive from the Lehigh River, Lower Saucon, Pennsylvania - 3.3.24

[@bobwickes1380]

Absolutely fascinating drone footage of how easy it is to lift a 400,000 lb locomotive uphill out of a river.

[@ellisjackson336]

Through the mud

[@scootertrash911]

with the right equipment @ a million dollars an hour.

[@jasonboche]

Yes it is amazing.

[@chris4321das]

@@scootertrash911 If it was a million dollars an hour they'd just let the loco swim with the fishes 🐟🐟🐟

[@ryanfields5181]

They cut out the best part! It's fascinating how they flip a locomotive upright with all the people and machines working together.

[@Harrison2253]

Unfortunately they missed or edited out a lot

[@bobwickes1380]

It was almost 2.5 hours. I'm assuming they had to change drone batts at that moment. I was annoyed also that they missed it but it's still a very professionally done video.

[@BlackMan614]

The best part? The best part is how NS Dispatching could have 2 trains running on the same track!

[@bobwickes1380]

@@BlackMan614 BILLIONS FOR PTC and this is what humans do. RUN a red signal. Luckily no deaths but two guys are out of a high paying job.

[@wesc.8061]

This is an impressive display of skills and teamwork as this locomotive is maneuvered back onto the ROW. Superb filming by the drone operators to share this operation with all of us desk jockeys. Thanks!

[@mec4703]

Those Mantis cranes are amazing.

[@henryparker1882]

The "TEAM" from Cranemasters never cease to amaze...These men and women are known for the professionalism and capabilities!!! Another amazing job done without incident, under extenuating circumstances, at a moments notice...Well Done Team!!! Well Done!!!

[@courtneallen9990]

This !!!!

[@philbob99]

Yes! Thanks for the name. Did not know who this outfit was. Have seen Hulcher many times.

[@backho12]

Well done and well paid!

[@jasonrackawack9369]

What a wreck....3 trains....Gomez Adams would be proud of that.

[@PaulSurguy]

I will see if I can find a picture of Gomez Adams handy work,

[@falconseyeaerialservicesll8176]

It happened in December 1995 on the now CSX, an Conrail line in Effingham, IL., between Indianapolis, IN., and St. Louis, IL. A westbound Conrail extra 6437 train stopped on a signal on a two track main while waiting for the eastbound to go by. The second westbound Conrail extra 5012 operating on a "restricting" signal indication which permitted a maximum speed of 15 mph, collided with the rear of extra 6437 west at an estimated speed of 27 mph. Conrail extra 6437 west was stopped at a stop signal. Neither crew gave warning to the approaching Conrail extra 6259 east that a collision had occurred. The eastbound train exited a right-hand curve and collided with the derailed cars of extra 5012 west resulting in a derailment and fire. The engineer and the conductor of extra 5012 west were fatally injured in the collision and fire. The conductor of the extra 6259 east was fatally injured and the engineer sustained minor injuries. Transcripts of radio conversations that occurred shortly before the accident indicated that the crewmen of extra 5012 west were awake prior to the collision. However they may have thought that extra 6737 west was stopped further to the west than it actually was.

[@DieCastoms]

look up the Great East Thompson Railway Wreck of 1891. VERY similar to this wreck. two freight trains collided head on. A third Express train on an adjacent track hit debris from the first wreck, and a -fourth- Express train on the adjacent track rear ended the third. Hundreds of people were injured. TWO died. The house my father grew up in was struck b nd subsequently repaired with pieces of a boxcar from the wreck.

[@eddieweigel9490]

LMFAO 😂 😂 😂

[@ThisPartIsAndrew]

😂

[@kens.3729]

Thanks for filming the Recovery of the Locomotive. Several pieces of Equipment and Plenty of Workers can get the Job Done and Line re-Opened. 👍🙏

[@michaellavric5097]

Now that was some amazing coordinated efforts, the way the machines worked together. Impressive, very impressive!

[@haroldreardon1407]

The people worked together, NOT the machines.

[@davidarnovitz628]

They do it almost daily………

[@duotronic6451]

Guys standing next to those under tension cables have huge manly balls. ❤❤❤

[@Charlesbjtown]

Or an unlimited supply of stupidity.

[@thekingsilverado3266]

Just figure it this way if one breaks its over pretty quickly and when they snap it is usually either a clean amputation or death. But the newer cable retrieval systems have dead fall design to them. I don't rightly understand how it works. My brother was a Trackman for Conrail he now woks for a smaller RR in Tennessee. Over the years he told me uprighting a fallen engine is some feat.. I know years ago they used to hook other weighted cables to the retrieval cable lines. The Navy used to do that on moor lines as well. That I know I am Navy & Marines. In some instances like this one that probably is not possible.

[@Charles-um5hd]

like Big Daddy Sacks

[@dennisb-trains23]

Hairy ones too!

[@tomt9543]

Big balls or small brains!

[@jeanacarter872]

I agree with the great videography! And what a fantastic feat to witness.

[@donnabarnes2115]

fantastic video coverage. thank you for taking the time and effort to do that.

[@richgaulin3633]

I just pick mine up and put it back on the track. 😂

[@wrayds]

Yeah, but this is more prototypical!😄

[@Redcatplayz1255]

@@MD76MAC 💀💀💀💀

[@Bethanyview]

Hahahaha

[@bill90405]

Yes but you dont run one train into another and then another head on. Way Pugsley Addams!

[@jonredd650]

Fr!

[@vrmntthb]

Besides this fabulous footage,I’m amazed at how long the battery draw has been on the marker and headlight to be still lit…

[@davidarnovitz628]

the batteries are huge and last for days without charging

[@lancelane217]

Great job getting the recovery on video! Thank you!

[@DougGrinbergs]

If I was a TV news director, I'd want to license some of this drone footage 👍

[@davidpulaski5628]

Excellent videography , ' must have required multiple battery changes for your quadcopter! Kudos to the heavy equipment guys also. Was that RJ Corman & Co. doing the heavy lifting ??? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[@railseast]

A company called Cranemasters is on this scene. They do a lot of RR cleanup in the Pa and NJ area.

[@ethanmcdowell9677]

Looked like Cranemasters and Hulcher on scene. That wasn't a cheap recovery....

[@Mike44460]

​@ethanmcdowell9677 Money is no object in this situation. Get the trains through here ASAP.

[@jeffrosen8237]

I think they just plugged into a current bush! 😊 Those electric people need to go back to the drawing board!

[@cromagnon305]

nice cut, how did it end up completely on its side?

[@bethweber9398]

I hope the conductor & engineer are both alright!

[@stevenhufschmidt9848]

All ok

[@jonredd650]

​@@stevenhufschmidt9848dummies

[@Bernard32]

The locomotive now deserves nose art. The River Dweller!

[@robertstevens9656]

looks like the opening scene of Harrison Ford's "The Fugitive!"

[@dustinredding4897]

Leg shackles with no legs in them, care to change your bullshit story sir 😂

[@solo2r]

Amazing Work! And then lights are still on the Loco!

[@a-fl-man640]

i'm impressed by the lifting power of those final 2 cranes. also talented riggers.

[@michaelmartin8036]

As a retired paramedic who has seen his fare share of life ending trauma, I can't believe how many people were standing, in what would be called the killing zone, so close to where if the cable were to snap that they would be dead before the top half of there body hit the ground. OSHA would have a field day with this!

[@rickprobst7555]

bc it's Norfolk Southern That's Why they don't give a F**k about safety fr fr that's no lie they Legit were heard saying at meetings saying they are More Worried about the dollar bill instead

[@rickprobst7555]

ik this bc I worked for them at one time

[@SteamCrane]

I was thinking the same thing. Cut in half.

[@SupremeRuleroftheWorld]

not just that, but pulling on the bogie wich they almost ripped off completly. its a shitshow from a safety and technical perspective. way too much yee-hawing going on.

[@michaelmartin8036]

@@SupremeRuleroftheWorldI really wonder exactly how many people were doing the job versus how many management persons were involved.

[@Carolb66]

That was a very complicated scene. Recovery was a very good job well done. What a way for that loco to end up, such a shame. Wish everyone well affected by this. ❤

[@JimBaldwin-x3t]

That locomotive will be fixed and back to running again.

[@Carolb66]

@@JimBaldwin-x3t that would be great to see! 👍🥰

[@SupremeRuleroftheWorld]

it was not a good job. if someone from osha was standing there he would have aneurysm.

[@Carolb66]

@@SupremeRuleroftheWorld I don't know who Osha is. Many people thought it was a good job & I did too just from what I saw, though I'm not in the industry just a railfan. 🥰

[@Harrison2253]

The head and number lights still on

[@JohnReall]

One of the ditch lights were on under water yesterday too.

[@1STGeneral]

John Bodett special

[@Harrison2253]

@@1STGeneral no room though

[@kennethwood2089]

Great Teamwork! Those "Mantis" lifters--amazing.

[@SteamCrane]

It looks like the workers are close to the wreck while rigging, then back off for the pull. You need to be further away than the length of the cable in use. A reason to keep the machines close to the engine, to minimize cable length exposed.

[@Kylejeepadventures]

Its gonna be fun seeing these locomotives at the General Electric plant in for rebuild where I work.

[@RockinRavenVA]

So they can be rebuilt? Good to know.

[@mt5144]

Anything is rebuildable as long as you got a massive pot of cash.@@RockinRavenVA

[@ILSRWY4]

Amazing there were no injuries... glad the crew made it out ok!

[@Peter-xo6bn]

The average person has NO clue as to how heavy these locomotives are or the energy released when they derail. This crew was fantastic at removing those units from the river. Wrecks are a special breed of people.

[@neilwilliams5173]

Great job by the recovery crews my hat is off to them.

[@25vrd48]

Damn FOOLS for being that close to the winch cables . Guess they haven't ever seen anyone cut in two by a broke cable ?

[@rosiemcnaughton9933]

Amazing footage of an amazing job done by these people!

[@paulne1514]

Does this mean RR’s will have to put the third rail for all tracks alongside a waterway?

[@revvyhevvy]

I could watch stuff like this all effing day!! Oh, the existential questions....

[@edogle8163]

Thxs good video on the clean up.....

[@glashoppah]

The tracked cranes are incredibly powerful. I've never seen their like before. Incredible.

[@Deploracle]

Imagine only having battery-powered heavy equipment? This job would take two months.

[@megatrains]

EPIC footage buddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mrknotthall]

Does something like this get repaired and put back in use or does the whole thing get scrapped? And if it gets repaired, or even scrapped, how do they move it there? Isn’t it too heavy to put on a train and move it?

[@6t9chargerse]

I've seen a few dead engines in the middle of a freight train being taken somewhere for either service or scrapping. One train had 3 non-running engines in the line of cars just free wheeling along with the rest.

[@baddriversoflittlerock8359]

Am I seeing correct that the loco still had lights on when they started dragging it out the river?

[@WideWorldofTrains]

The power of those Block and Tackle cranes

[@bpp325]

Choreography only the Rockettes dream of. This was phenomenal to watch the crews do it like it was an everyday occurrence. Kudos to them all. 👍👍👏👏

[@sed6]

Absolutely incredible! The teamwork and coordination and the massive equipment involved is amazing. Those guys scrambling down the hill, they are real risk takers, real men! The video really needs to be played at a faster speed to appreciate the coordinated movements of that heavy equipment.

[@ernestimken6969]

It's amazing how small the crains are next to the loco, but they get the job done.

[@BOBXFILES2374a]

Some of the most amazing footage!!!

[@AndyfromG]

Sad to see 8157 in that position, but the guys did a great job to get her out of this mess

[@brendanpowell6613]

R.I.P. NS 8157

[@JC-dt4jq]

This video ranks right up there with showing the Indy 500 and NOT SHOWING THE LAST LAP.

[@Toesmack1]

Nice job all around. Never would have expected those 2 crawler cranes would be able to lift and walk away with that load. Now what happens? Does this engine get loaded onto a railcar or do mechanics come to the site to get it towable?

[@weldmachine]

It's pretty cool having an Excavator with a Winch on the back. Obviously these guys have done this sort of work before 👍👍

[@gragor11]

What? Didn't show the uprighting of the locomotive? Really?

[@richarddrum9970]

Great work by the wreck salvage crew, but yes those guys were too close to those tension cables, ask any carrier flight crew member that has seen arresting cables snap on a landing, not pretty. Good work guys.

[@highplainsdrifter8034]

Great coverage. What caused the wreck? A broken rail?

[@andrewtaylor940]

Am I imagining it, or are the number plate lights and headlights still on?

[@eddieafterburner]

This is precisely why we can’t allow one person crews and always need at least two alert and on-the-ball crew members in the cab having a social hou…erm, I mean, vigilantly monitoring the track ahead and maintaining each other’s situational awareness.

[@treydogg77]

There’s a lot of counter balance going on here

[@ThisPartIsAndrew]

All I want to know is: how many block and tackles they used between all the cranes and excavators

[@rennethjarrett4580]

Great work and getting it done. I do have a few concerns, questions. Why did they not have the cranes back farther especially after they got it out of the river. It was like they moved it 3 feet and then all the machines had to move back again. Would the cables break it they were out farther? Also hooking on to the wheel trucks to pull it up was not the best place, since from what I know the trucks just set under frame with no attachment other then the weight of it all and the power cables to the motors in the trucks is the only physical connection.

[@piannyplayer]

Not sure as to why they hooked onto the wheel trucks...I had the same question... My guess is they were so close to the cab in order to have a safe balance for the cranes. The farther away a load gets, the higher the risk of a crane tipping over.

[@garychaney5484]

How big are the chains to lift such a load? Like to see them close up attaching engine to the hook on the crain!

[@fredcsensits4476]

By noon on Monday 3/4/24track was repaired and trains running again. About 48 hrs repair time

[@grahamjones4888]

Great job but too many people in the firing line of the cables and blocks??

[@Mike44460]

The proper application of force.

[@hifijohn]

Why are the double stacks still there you would think they would have moved them out by now.

[@user-nz6jb4xu2v]

Tracks are not safe. They don’t want any more derailments

[@davidarnovitz628]

Delayed until NTSB was done

[@rickkearn7100]

Surgical. Nice work by recovery folks.

[@WildWildWeasel]

Wonder if they're gonna be able to repair it or if it's a hull loss

[@markchapman3021]

That just can't keep them on the track can thay?

[@RaceIsOpen]

Wow, the power of the cranes and strength of the cables

[@michtarragon4665]

Did they just put wheels back on it and roll it out, or did they put it on a flat car?

[@bryanshoemaker6120]

$1,000 per minute. That's how much a derailment cost according to a Canadian locomotive company. I'm sure there's lots of variables to that as well.

[@wjchesla]

I live about a mile or two from this, and heard t he crash. Fascinating to see how this is getting cleaned up.

[@MrPeerum]

😅mine compliment to save the trains,and the people there,amazing to see. greetings from the Netherlands from the NS and Prorail.😅greetz:🍐Peer.😅👍👍👍👍

[@KPMACHINE1]

They made that look easy! Awesome job!

[@pavelow235]

And the cause of derailment was?

[@tylersebring8045]

Great video but some of the guys that were near the machine if say a little to close ik it's hard to see lucky nothing went wrong great work for these guys they did a great job

[@JustMeB729]

Did the engineer live?

[@revvyhevvy]

Those guys are some good operators!

[@Peter-pv8xx]

Did they set on the tracks and was it able to be towed and what caused the derailment i wonder.

[@billhillyer334]

Standing close to those cables is awful dangerous wouldn't you think

[@raymondszybowicz7597]

Those cranes have unbelievable power

[@RFMCabooseNP1713]

Very cool. Nice work.

[@SugarmanWelding_Repair]

CRANEMASTERS! These guys are local to me and I always wondered what they do! So cool!

[@robertkurycki2915]

10 pieces of lift equipment and all the support vehicles , cool. In the old days they would bring out the 250 ton Railroad wrecker/crane and pull it out. But like they are saying great footage. Wow!

[@OutdoorsSC]

So Sad. We have these come through Clemson everyday and to see one wrecked is not a good feeling. Hope no one was really hurt.

[@PatrickGarrison-y2y]

Wonder if was destroyed or still useable ?

[@ryankruchowski1951]

I hate to be the one who has to clean up this mess.

[@thomaskerley1388]

What was the purpose of the white fabric the right crane was on?

[@JTTTTx]

Petroleum mitigation

[@brokenmotorwagen1328]

Great job. Looks like everyone knew what they were doing. It's rare these days.

[@tucker2082]

BUT what about the engineer?

[@curtchase3730]

Yes, amazing work! Wow. The good folks on "Highway Thru Hell" (TV drama series) could use one of those super cool telescoping track cranes! They could pick up anything! They got all the RR cars out of the way in a hurry. I thought it would take weeks and the customers of the freight would not get their stuff for a month!

[@DougGrinbergs]

1:51 dragging locomotive uphill

[@Charlesbjtown]

Unbelievable pulling power, especially considering they are pulling on its side..... in the mud.

[@joeyjamison5772]

Watching those guys down there, all I could think is what would happen if one of those cables snaps. It would kill 12 of them in a half second.

[@jameslist7385]

WOW the power of the equipment now a days

[@MikeyDunn]

That seemed to move fairly easily, those are impressive crane conversions on some big excavators there. So many "safety supervisors" standing right behind the machinery that needs to move in their direction, but I guess at least they weren't stood where a snapped cable could whip right through them.

[@whiteknightcat]

The headlight and number boards have been on the whole time. That's gonna run the battery down!

[@chipsrafferty8362]

They will just jump start it,not you worry genius.

[@whiteknightcat]

@@chipsrafferty8362 🤣

[@charlietanner6211]

excellent video clean up would go a long way towards track maintence though

[@sams2960]

NS wrecks so much they have had lots of recovery practice.

[@nstrains4001]

how many trains were there?

[@dougwatterson6738]

3 in total. 1 ran into the back of a stopped train. That knocked one into a 3rd heading the opposite direction on the adjacent track.

[@nstrains4001]

@@dougwatterson6738 ok who’s fault is this

[@HuntOfficial1776]

@@nstrains4001this would be train 1 crews fault. They had to have not seen the red signals and therefore the inevitable happened. And train 3 did nothing wrong. They couldn’t see the cars flipped over into their track until it was too late. Train 2 likely wasn’t doing anything wrong but it’s possible they shouldn’t have been stopped.

[@dougwatterson6738]

Honestly, I don't have all the details and don't want to point / blame anyone unjustly. I only have a quick "brief" of what happened tho I do like the explanation from piedmontProductionsOfficial. @@nstrains4001

[@THR33STEP]

@PiedmontProductionsOfficial - WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The fault lays with the crew of the train who failed to stop before striking the stopped train ahead of them.

[@TheRoyalHabibah]

amazing white cranes vs Black locomotive

[@davidortiz4570]

I was almost killed by a locomotive on November 4th early at 5 in the morning due to negativity and negligence on the part of the "safety first" people who were not there to supervise the crossing. No railguard at the crossing and the accident happened at 5:04 a.m. the crossing guard was supposed to be there at 5:00 a lot of negativity a lot of racism a lot of abuse I was supposed to be making $14.90 an hour when I looked at the stub it said $11.70. most of them are not truthful most of them are unfair it's a very dangerous job and the pain needs to go up.

[@sophiaherschel567]

There´s a lot of footage missing.