Wrecks

In The Bush

Wrecks are an unfortunate byproduct of railroading, and the ACR was no exception. Almost all of the wrecks were caused by washouts or broken rails. Here are a few photos of them. NEW! Click on the link below "182 History" to see 7 photos of the 182, from nearly new to scrapping.

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	This wreck north of Achigan was caused by a broken rail. The end was cut off of this car to get the track open quickly. Nov. 16, 1974.
	This CPR box car was cornered in Steelton yard and later the left end of the car was cut off and the good end was used for a shim shack. Nov. 16, 1974.
	This boarding car at Wabos was burned by an overheated furnace. Sept. 18, 1976.
	These hoppers were at Steelton Aug. 9, 1996 being scrapped for parts.
	This car wasn't much more than a year old when wrecked. At Steelton on Nov. 16, 1974.
	The ACR was very frugal with almost everything, including these parts from one of the SD40's scrapped in 1991. Shown here at Steelton on June 20, 1994.
	This wreck of No. 12 at Searchmont on March 11, 1974 was caused by a drawbar falling out of one of the old 70 ton hoppers as No. 12 was accelerating for a run at Northland Hill.
	No. 12 again at Searchmont on Oct. 30, 1975. This one was supposedly caused by someone leaving the switch to the south spur lined for the hole, and No. 12 could not stop in time, and hit some 61 ft gons spotted for log unloading at the Weldwood Canada veneer mill.
	This wreck at Mile 4 was caused by sabotage. A former sectionman who had been fired by the ACR stole some track tools from the CPR and spent most of one night taking out one 39 ft section of rail. When No. 12 came around the corner (going downhill) they could not stop in time. By luck, the first unit stayed upright, and no one was hurt. The trailing 2 units and the first dozen or so cars derailed. These next two photos taken May 14, 1980.
	Another view of the Mile 4 wreck. The person who did this was caught, but only served 6 months in jail. Not enough, in my opinion.
	This photo shows the 2 big CPR hoists leased from them along with the ACR's one hoist (in the middle) that were required to rerail the 182. The CPR charged $10,000 per day per hoist, and they were on the ACR for about 2 weeks. During this time, all freights ran at night, so the work crews could have track and time all day. May 29, 1980.
	Another view of the 3 big hooks getting the 182 into position to be lifted back onto the rails. May 29, 1980.
	A view of the smaller hoists rerailing hopper cars from the Mile 4 wreck. May 21, 1980.
	This wreck at the north switch Canyon was caused by a broken frog. Quite a few cars of sintered iron ore ended up in the Agawa River. March 9, 1981.
	After 40 years of service. this was the first GP7 wrecked on the ACR (at Mile 111 in 1994 - broken beaver dam caused a washout). Shown here at Steelton on June 14, 1994.

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