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 Post subject: Smoky Mountain Railroad Derailment (Oct 11, 2021)
PostPosted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:01 pm 

Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2007 12:45 am
Posts: 1010
An excerpt of an October 11, 2021 article from the ABC affiliate in Asheville, NC:
Quote:
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (GSMR) train derailed Saturday, Oct. 9 on its way from the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) to the main depot in Bryson City.

The trains are busy this time of year, with thousands coming to enjoy the fall season. One passenger onboard at the time of the derailment tells News 13 hundreds of people were onboard the steam engine excursion.

Another passenger wrote to News 13, “The tracks underneath the cars folded over causing them to the derail. It took hours for them to get us back to Bryson.”

In a statement to News 13, Railroad Vice President and General Manager Kim Albritton, said, "No major damage occurred and GSMR is hopeful that all repairs and inspections will be completed by the end of day on Tuesday. The exact cause of the derailment is still being investigated. GSMR is still currently operating a train from Bryson City to Dillsboro which is unaffected and departing daily.”
Link to the full story:
Cause of train derailment in Great Smoky Mountains under investigation


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 Post subject: Re: Smoky Mountain Railroad Derailment (Oct 11, 2021)
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 1:00 pm 

Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 2:06 pm
Posts: 126
Surprised we aren't hearing more about this. Sounded like a pretty typical low speed derailment (not to be confused with train wreck), but 5 days later they still aren't running that route. That tells me there was either equipment damage or something else going on. Cancelling trains during the peak Fall season can't be good. Seems like American Heritage Railways (Also owns Durango & Silverton) just can't catch a break.


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 Post subject: Re: Smoky Mountain Railroad Derailment (Oct 11, 2021)
PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 6:51 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm
Posts: 1182
I am told that 12 of 18 cars were on the ties by the time everything got stopped. Since 1702 was the only motive power on that end of the railroad, it was tasked with rerailing everything. Then they had to move the cars several miles to the nearest siding before returning for more. And everything was on a ledge above a large lake, which made things difficult for the workers. Once they got the railroad clear, they would have had to get in there and replace at least some ties and perhaps some rails that were damaged. No wonder it took a few days to do all that.


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 Post subject: Re: Smoky Mountain Railroad Derailment (Oct 11, 2021)
PostPosted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:29 am 

Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2004 4:02 pm
Posts: 1742
Location: Back in NE Ohio
Sounds like a possibly a rail turned over under the train.


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