DERAILMENT AND CLEANUP ON THE TEHACHAPI!

[@d2sfavs]

imagine working for a cleanup company like this just have to be ready to roll right away.excellent time lapse video.that was actually fun to watch thank you mark.

[@andywomack3414]

Admirable courage on the part of these people. That looks dangerous.

[@bobpaulino4714]

A nephew travelled with RJ Corman for a while. Described some interesting scenarios.

[@bobpaulino4714]

​@@andywomack3414Basically rerailing what isn't too damaged, packaging what needs repaired by rail if possible (union tank car in Marion Ohio has a spur where damaged cars, some on flatbeds, await repairs or scrapping), and pushing cars too damaged for repair out of the way for scrapping.

[@baileydute1]

It's amazing how quickly these guys respond and clean-up the derailment. Great job!

[@alkennedy1124]

It’s 150.000 dollars an hour for the trains to sit stopped, so when they fall off the track and block it ,the moving crews get big money to clear the tracks, it’s the same,all across the country, thanks BigAl California, p.s. might be more per hour, ,might depend on the freight.

[@jaxithfox]

@@alkennedy1124 Speaking for myself from what I've done for derailment response. A single flatbed truck runs at a $400/hr rate and that's the lowest rate of everyone who responds. It's huge money for those of us who are on railroad emergency response so there's very huge incentives to move fast. One company I haul things for has a good 4 dozen sidebooms sitting around the region in different areas for the sole purpose of derailment response.

[@jimg6476]

@@baileydute1 The SP would clean up their own messes (derailments) with their own crews. After the merger with the UP Hulcher and Jimco were hired to pick up the derailments. These companies stage their equipment at the major terminals throughout the US. Los Angeles Oakland etc.

[@charleshaggard4341]

@@jimg6476 I wonder if those guys sit around playing cards waiting for the next derailment.

[@DaleDix]

​@alkennedy1124 wow!

[@chadwayne165]

Empty center beams in the middle of a train, disaster waiting to happen 😅 Funny observation commentary !

[@peejay1981]

We have a rule in Australia banning unloaded wagons in the front portion of trains for exactly this reason. When a train derails at 60mph and it's a 12 hr drive to the nearest depo that causes all sorts of problems!

[@jaxithfox]

@@peejay1981 Technically all railroads in the US restrict empties to the rear but it's not enforced and they build up trains in very poor ways.

[@andywomack3414]

Called scheduled precision railroading. It take time to properly make-up a train, time that cuts into shareholder value.

[@Bryanja81]

First thing I thought as well. Not enough weight to keep them on the rails in a curve. They wanna take the shortest path.

[@matthewsage6412]

I was thinking the same thing, a lot of empties closer to the front of what is probably a fairly long train. I wonder how money creating trains this way saves them vs the loop being out of action for so long.

[@thomasmitchell7268]

Uphill-downhill, light cars in the middle of a long heavy train are a recipe for derailment. Nice work Mark. Always enjoy your videos.

[@TheSmittenman]

Thank you for spending the day there to keep us informed, and well done to the clean-up crew

[@MarvUSA]

Good Job Mark, thanks for bringing the action to us. !!

[@RobertRidgley]

Thank you for the great coverage Mark. I’m always impressed by the capabilities of the heavy lift equipment used in the cleanup. Talk about effective engineering!

[@andywomack3414]

I'm more impressed by the people managing this risky work.

[@ccrx6700]

Excellent showing Mark. Thank you for sticking around to film this. 👍😊

[@herbpetee75]

Notice how they're empty? Maybe loaded ones behind pushed them over 🤔

[@ccrx6700]

@@herbpetee75 ties typically dont get tore up in stringline derailments. Its just a guess, but my thouhts are a problem with a truck set caused this.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

It's my understanding that they were having issues with surging dynamics, but that has not been confirmed.

[@JohnsKeith]

Excellent job as always Mark. Appreciate the video and information.

[@cadence4527]

I still remember come out to the kitchen for lunch and hearing the typical clang of coupling at the Roseville Rail Yard followed by an literal earth shaking boom, boom, boom, boom and I knew that they had just had a catastrophic derailment at the yard. It was really something pull out my radio app and tuning it to the Union Pacific Railroad and listening to the rapid callout of orders. I guess the derailment had blocked the mainline so the dispatcher was giving orders to move cars to open up the mainline as well as having priority trains call in. They had Amtrak due through, so I heard them call in their location. They ordered workers to head out to check and make sure the signals were showing right (we had an issue with people stealing copper from the signals, I don’t know if that had anything to do with checking the signals). Never a treat to have a derailment, but when they do happen, it’s a treat to watch how quickly the railroad works to clear it.

[@DennisJacobs-lr1vo]

Great video that's got to be a first a derailment exiting tunnel. Thanks for the video

[@bnrailfannz8262]

Thankyou for derailment coverage, No1 Johnny-on- the Spot👍 ( really appreciate the time you spend videoing) 👍👍 Fascinating to watch

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

"Ah...the sound of carnage!" might be one of the best lines I've ever heard in a KZbin video. Nice work on this.

[@bradleyjanes2949]

Wow ,great coverage again mark, thank you have a nice day

[@549BR]

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if Cormen doesn't get it, Hulcher must. 😎

[@vincentcalvelli6452]

Great coverage! Thank you Mark.

[@johnmay2786]

My favourite part of the commentary, 'Ah, the sound of carnage!'

[@markbickelhaupt4414]

Mark, Great work, om your part! Hulcher & Joshua work well together! One track, got to get it open!! Those Cat operators know their business! Always an impressive show of force!!! 👍👍👍👷‍♂️🚂

[@philhurtado7269]

My hats off to train people. I was driving to Grand Canyon a month ago, and couldn’t believe how much traffic is on the rails. It seems like every 10-15 minutes there was a huge train on the tracks going East or West, with somewhere between 75 to 125 cars…massive movement of material. At one location there were three trains parallel to each other…probably waiting for their turn to move.

[@mikepriceup]

BNSF southern transcon

[@garyquelch888]

American workers at their best unbelievable how quick they cleared that line Mark 🇦🇺👍🇺🇸

[@hansgraf5017]

very interesting to see how quickly they clear up derailments. Great work!

[@Firebrand55]

Good vid......excellent narration....successful outcome. Just another incident on the Great Tehachapi Loop....which makes the St.Ives- St.Erth, ( Cornwall), branch line look like a toy railway! Proper job!

[@davesargenti6641]

Thx Mark for the great video...Had my dinner watching it!!!!!!!!!!

[@michaelmorgan7893]

You're better than the news media.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

That's not saying much these days, but thanks! LOL. Thanks for checking it out!

[@michaelmorgan7893]

@@MarkClayMcGowan I've went back to building my live steam scale signals, so whenever i'm building my relay boards to operate them, I reminded of those videos you had out near Mojave, inside the switchboxes.

[@jefffox6243]

Great coverage mark!!! Looks like those will be going to the scrap yard.

[@dzymslizzy3641]

WOW! What a freaking mess! It's amazing how they are able to take care of it with such relative speed.

[@bryce2680]

On my N Scale "mountain" RR, I call this type of derailment a "Squirt" where the weight of the train behind squirts light cars out of the train at the bottom of the hill at the curve. I have to pay attention to train makeup to prevent those things from happening. This looks quite familiar in my world ;-)

[@bradleyjanes2949]

@@bryce2680 very 😎👍Ty for that very intrestig

[@dzymslizzy3641]

LOL A squirt! Good description!

[@johncamp2567]

A smart news-station would ask for your video. Always great derailment coverage!!👍

[@ArtStoneUS]

It would be more useful with the narration removed, especially the I don't know....

[@DesignImpressions]

Awesome video of derailment clean-up. I thought that went pretty quick. Thanks for sharing.

[@SteamCrane]

*Very well done* documentary of how wreck cleanups are done these days. We've watched a lot of cleanups, this was a fairly straightforward one, big empty space with nothing in the way. Out East, wrecks often get weird. They handled it well. It's awful lucky it wasn't inside the tunnel!

[@25vrd48]

Great video Mark . Derailment crews work fast and clear the roadbed so they can get the trains running again . That's the priority , the hell with everything else .

[@CXensation]

Great video ! Thanks for your efforts sharing with us what's going on up there at tunnel 2. Must be in the vicinity of Bealville IIRC ?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

The west (north) switch of Bealville is just the other side of the tunnel

[@randydobson1863]

Hi Mark & it's is Randy and i like yours video is Cool & Thanks Mark & Friends Randy

[@petermccuskey1832]

Thank you for sharing the content. I really enjoyed it.

[@lynnmccurdythehdmmrc2561]

Great coverage, thanks for the video.

[@Mrruneight]

Amazing coverage Mark! Thank You!

[@jeffreygosselin7576]

Hi Mark! Nice camera coverage! Hope you and your family are doing well!

[@jhardman4534]

This use to be one of my favorite spots for shooting pics and video's when I visited Tehachapi many years ago. Sure brings back wonderful memories. JRH Hatboro, PA

[@jeffreylong8809]

You got very good view of everything going on.

[@andywomack3414]

"Up-hill slow, down-hill fast, tonnage first, safety last." A union ditty from the old days. Someone should come up with a ditty for Precision Scheduled Railroading.

[@davidwhiting1761]

"Sick and tired, sick and fired. Less power, more tonnage. Schedule first, safety last."

[@glennfoster2423]

@andywomack3414 I has a friend in Arizona who wrote a bunch of songs about the railroaders who made the SP go. "Number One" song about senority, a very precious commodity on the railroad. The lyrics were inspired by, and used, the little ditty you note. "....It's up hill allowed, and downhill fast; Tonnage first and safety last. but workin' on the 'ray-road' sure is fun! When you're Number One!" "In 'aught-seven it rained cats-and-dogs The Colorado broke its dam, (lost to memory) "Charlie, take the work train out And fix the road for me," 'Cause workin' on the 'ray-road' Sure is fun! When you're Number One!"

[@GeneHutchings]

what do they do with the damaged cars how do they move them

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

They were all scrapped in place and hauled off in trucks

[@stephaniesinger1159]

AWESOME VIDEO....! 👍👍

[@davarph]

That’s only a single track there between Bakersfield and Tehachapi on a main Union Pacific and BNSF rail line. They have to get that cleared quick. All rail traffic coming east from that major shipping area is stopped.

[@pennytill5183]

It amazes me how fast they cleared the track. My dad wa a section fireman. This would have been in late 40s . My dad was on a mutual aid for a train wreck where cars ended up in skunk River in Iowa. We had to cross near there and those cars stayed for a long time. As a very young child ( I am now 81) I was always fasvinated by those wrecked cars

[@bigcasey4143]

Derailments have been happening ever since the birth of the railways.... and they will continue to happen as long as there are still railways for trains to run on... we even have them here in the UK, although we don't have Hulcher and Co to do fast cleanups on this side of the big pond... I have seen the aftermath of numerous derailments: I even witnessed one spectacular derailment myself, where a freight train with all the heavily laden steel and coal products from South Wales were on the back, and empty/unladen wagons on the front... The train stopped dead when entering Eastleigh Yard, but the rear end just kept coming, resulting in a monumental pileup, blocking all lines before my very eyes! I have even been derailed three times myself, fortunately in yards on rickety track and at low speed... Retired train driver... 41 years service.

[@davarph]

That’s a great place for train watching. Right on top of tunnel number two a short distance before Bealville.

[@adeeponionbrah]

Nice color rendition from the camera and videographer. Lovely country.

[@brianporter712]

Those center-beams are a big cause lately

[@Bassotronics]

Those darn centerbeams at it again!

[@GregKenyon-v6i]

Thanks for the bad new and glad that got there quick to clean up.

[@thepubliceye]

I PA at the horseshoe curve derailments happen empty center beams in the middle of the train. They are too light to drag all the cars around the curve.

[@bloqk16]

Mr. McGowan was fortunate to get video of the cleanup work, as I've known times where in other work-crew cleanup scenarios, they'd chase away bystanders with cameras.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

In this particular case, even if they didn't want me there, I was on public land, parked on a public road. I would, however, have not shot footage had they asked me not to. No need to ruffle their feathers!

[@deantrainr]

Looks like you’re enjoying your retirement Mark!👏🏻👍🏻

[@hestheMaster]

Train control failure. The computers onboard may have failed to slow a midtrain unit down or it shut down leading to compression of the cars beyond it and in a curve no less going downhill. Notice the rails are not spread. Concrete ties mostly held up great. Short section may need replacing only. Great coverage Mark!

[@Gfysimpletons]

Centerbeams 100%

[@rhettscal]

Great coverage Mark!

[@railfan1956]

Wonder how many derailments there have been historically of the section of track that includes the loop since its building. Wonder if the number went up with longer trains.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Hundreds, and no, the number has not significantly increased. We just hear about them more because of sovial media and guys like me! Thanks for checking it out!

[@mendyedson1825]

Cool video. I think its interesting how they clean it up.

[@glennfoster2423]

Thanks for the great story of a relatively minor derailment.

[@ferdinandfrancis9673]

Good job Sir!!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@danmathers141]

So they tip the cars over to move them. I don't remember seeing this before. Good coverage Mark. Thank you.

[@robertbailey8444]

Great job it appears that the training and now practice using all the equipment available these guys can get the job done. It’s good to know.

[@steveparker8723]

I remember hearing my dad talk about Hulcher when i was a kid. 38 years on the Illinois Central. I have seen them working in different parts of the state since then.

[@d.mishler1475]

Thank you for the vid. I read about it last night and like to see where it was.

[@christiansnizek8339]

Thanks for sharing, greetings from Germany.

[@roberthaas80]

I've always wondered how they would do this. I like that first tractor that showed up. He just started dragging stuff around by himself. Those things are strong.

[@cstraws]

Great job, Mark!. I always wonder what happens to the contents of the box cars, etc?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

These were all empty, but loads are generally just scrapped or thrown away. Going through the contents would be very time consuming. Thanks for checking it out!

[@michaelodonnell8209]

It would be very interesting to see how much rail traffic has increased on the coast line through San Luis Obispo, since that is the only other north/south rail option in California. That coast line is used by Amtrak but normally dead in terms of freight traffic. In the case of a derailment like this, if the repairs are prolonged, the coast line is at least an option for some freight, albeit, a very slow one. Thanks for the work you do Mark. You are a good man with a good heart.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Even in major incidents like this, the track is usually opened within 24 hours. As there are no crews HQd on the coast, and not nearly enough of them qualified on that line, there would have to be a lengthy shutdown before they considered the coast. It would, however, be cool for the railfans over there! Thanks for checking it out!

[@patmancrowley8509]

Great coverage, thanks.

[@nervousnellyterencemorton]

If this was in the UK people would be stood about doing Risk Assessments, Impact Analysis and talking about weeks not days before everything is back in order. Magnificent job from the clean up crew!

[@phildur]

Totalement exact, seulement en Europe les lignes de chemin de fer sont entretenues correctement, et les trains respectent des normes pour leur composition. Ce type de déraillement est totalement impensable en Europe. C'est parfait de pouvoir dépanner aussi vite, ça prouve que ça arrive suffisamment souvent pour qu'il y ait des investissements lourds pour pouvoir réparer en 16 heures seulement. Bravo pour cet exploit. Les USA et l'Europe ne peuvent être comparés, vous avez vos méthodes et tant que ça vous convient, continuez. Mais évitez de vous moquer de ce qui se passe chez nous. Le jour ou votre chemin de fer fonctionnera comme en Grand Bretagne, Suisse, France, Allemagne, Italie ou Danemark, on écoutera avec attention vos remarques éclairées, pour l'instant, il vous reste une grande marge de manœuvre. Gérez vos trains, on gère les nôtres.

[@FrogandFlangeVideo]

Great coverage, Mark.

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

This is fascinating to watch. I know approximately zero about railroads, which makes it all very interesting. And speaking of my own ignorance... 36:19 "...I'm just a signal guy." What does a "signal guy" do? Since you've worked derailments, what is there about being a signal guy that would get you involved with derailments? Thanks again for this fascinating coverage. Beats the pants off anything I'd be likely to see on Eyewitness News.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

The Signal Department is responsible for the installation, repair, maintenance, and testing of the signal system, highway crossings, and wayside detectors on the railroad. They are needed if any signal equipment is damaged, or possibly involved in the cause of a cause of a derailment, none of which was necessary here. If temporary track panels are installed due to damaged rail (again, not needed here), the signal guys would install railhead bonds for continuity around the bard that connect the rail. Here is the link to a playlist I created about how the signal department works. I also have a "How Things Work On The Railroad" playlist. Thanks for checking it out, and enjoy! kzbin.info/aero/PL6ge3RoxmyvqBUZL-pzdFNCD9ZwWeAxwA

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

@@MarkClayMcGowan - Thanks for that Mark. I'll definitely check out the playlist! - Vito 😎

[@RickH428]

It was the empty center beam that caused this. This is the 3rd derailment I have seen where empty center beams was the cause. Thanks for your time, awesome video.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Unless a car is defective, it never the cause of a derailment. The cause is generally poor train handling or, as I have heard in this case, issues with power. Light cars usually just happen to be the first victims. I have, however, seen plenty of buckle and stringlines that did not involve center beams or any other type of empty cars. Thanks for checking it out!

[@Howoldareweanywayyipes]

wow, what a mess... good job everyone. just be safe around that equipment.

[@David-pn3yp]

Thanks Mark, Very Cool.

[@kyleburkholder6003]

Thank you for your work and speculations

[@Qrail]

Mark. Thank you. Another exciting day in train land.

[@ssweeps]

Hello...will those train cars on their sides be hauled out on flatbed trucks? Or? It would be cool to watch those being loaded! 😊

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

They were all scrapped on-site, which is almost always the case with cars in major derailments. Thanks for checking it out!

[@alkennedy1124]

What date ,did this happen, the first short I seen from you , it had been cleared, so I’m wondering, the date, thanks BigAl California

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

9/22

[@robinroberts3335]

Great job mark . Bad day glad no one was hurt . 👍🏻😎 Robin out .

[@mikeflynn1629]

In 1980 I saw the Santa Fe derailment on the olive cut off. My job was blocks away. What a mess.😮

[@milwaukeeroadjim9253]

Seems like empty center beam cars are involved a lot in derailments, especially on curves

[@bryce2680]

I wonder how many of these cars can be reused or if they will all be scrapped?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

All will be scrapped

[@BrooksMoses]

@@MarkClayMcGowan : No wonder they weren't being too gentle with them. I guess the boxcars must have been empty like the centerbeams.

[@morebassman5860]

nice video. Great on the editing!

[@johnwinden8511]

Hi Mark, any idea why railroads no longer have wreck crews? Good video, thank you.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

I know it seems like there are a lot of derailments, but there really aren't, so it would be impractical to keep them on standby. Also, railroad owned wreckers were rail mounted and that wouldn't work in a situation like this. I worked my first derailment in 1980, and contractors cleared that one as well. Back in the day, there were no companies like Hulcher or Joshua to come work them, so the RR had no choice, especially if locomotives were involved. Both of these companies are grading and excavation outfits who constantly use this equipment in construction projects. The side booms were originally designed for laying pipeline. Thanks for checking it out!

[@fredwilliams6843]

Nice job bud. Appreciated your video.

[@gragor11]

Thanks for covering this. String lining beam cars. Who would of thought.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

This was a buckle, not a stringline. It was pushed off the curves rather than pulled off. Thanks for checking it out!

[@gragor11]

@@MarkClayMcGowan Your're welcome. It's a great video. Nice to be on the ground in that famous place to have a look around and to see how steep it is. Seems pushing or pulling empty beam cars got to jump off the tracks.

[@johnwhatmore163]

Unloaded lumber racks would be heading north, down the hill. Strange place for a derail, maybe a wheel broke? Great action video Mark, those boys are having fun.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

I understand they were having trouble with dynamics on multiple locomotives. Thanks for checking it out!

[@johnwhatmore163]

@@MarkClayMcGowan Interesting, happens on my N scale layout with similar results. Our model locos have worm gear transmissions, when there's a problem they instantly stop dead like they are bolted to the track. When this happens with distributed power it's string line or pile up time. Putting fences in the helix has kept many freight cars falling 800 scale feet to the floor. I was at tunnel 2 summer 2022, a great spot - loving your coverage 👍🇦🇺

[@johnwhatmore163]

missed a word, should say "from falling"

[@KickininMyRv90]

Great commentary on the Derailment.

[@jimg6476]

The RR sometimes just shoves everything out of the way and haul the bo cars later. One year when i worked the hill ( Tehachapi) the SP had 24 derailments one year. I was involved with one at Caliente. Heard this train was the WCRV. Westbound. Hopefully it wasnt too much dynamic braking . Watch out for Rusty Mark ! 😅

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

Most of the time any car that is damaged is scrapped. I tell people all the time that these derailments are nothing new. I heard that there may have been surging dynamics. Rusty retired before I did! We were buddies anyway.

[@oxhog5925]

Rear dpus took the rear of the train to Mojave long hood forward

[@jbrown1248]

Good Stuff Mark. A camera set up for timelapse would have been pretty cool.

[@rsmith.182]

Great video Mark as usual. A derailment sure turns a bunch nice cars into scrap metal. Do they keep those side beam crawlers staged close by? It did not seem long before they arrived. I am curious how they haul those down the road as the booms seem to high or does the cab and winch section pivot on the track portion? Makes for an interesting operation to view but must cost quite a bit in equipment rental and manpower hours. Thanks for sticking with it out there.

[@waggtech4883]

They detach the booms and counterweight for transport

[@rsmith.182]

@@waggtech4883 Thanks for the info.

[@kirklonnquist3265]

Can the trucks be used again or are they damaged to where they can't be used?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

There are companies like Progress Rail, who have a facility in Mojave, who check, test, and repair wheel sets, but I don't know about the trucks themselves. Thanks for checking it out!

[@ronstanek2851]

How do they retrieve tunnel derailments? That I think would be a difficult job?

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

In all my years on the Tehachapi, I've never seen one, but I imagine they would just pull them out with dozers. Thanks for checking it out!

[@snchilders]

Good report, Mark.

[@pretrip24]

Do they just scrap all of those regardless of damage? Or can/will they rerail any? The rolled over ones that is.

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

If the cars are still upright, undamaged, and straddling the rail, they will re-rail them. Everything else will be scrapped onsite. Thanks for checking it out!

[@markhayes6407]

Thank God those centerbeams were not full of wood. Hulcher is always on the scene. Getting it done pretty quick. Those railcars don't look that bad except that one centerbeam so will the others be repaired or scrapped?

[@gdrriley420]

Joshua mostly does grading but seems like UP has started using them on derailments in the last few years.

[@BIGV710]

what will they do with them cars thats pulled to side some looks like there scrap now same as the wheels and bogies

[@MarkClayMcGowan]

All but the wheels will be scrapped.

[@thebops4180]

Straight lining! All Empty Center Beams should be at the end of the consist. Mickey Mouse railways . . . So many derailments of this type . . .