[Flag_This]

"Either CN trackage needs attention badly or there may be an effort to cause trouble by the environmental types by tampering with the tracks, signals, switches or all of the above."

I would be much less suspicious if we had one or two trains derail carrying grain, or something.

[thackney]

I would be much less suspicious if we had one or two trains derail carrying grain, or something.

Based upon your comment, you would likely be amazed at how oftern that happens. It just doesn't catch fire and make the news.

[hlmencken3]

This has been discussed on FR before. There are several derailments a day in the US, and many more “reportable incidents.”

[woodbutcher1963]

Derailment of grain, lumber, and other assorted goods happen all the time too. They just do not make national or international news because they don’t go boom and “catch fire”.
What is even worse is when some highly volatile chemical tanker carrying something like chlorine hydroxide derails and ruptures.

Accidents happen.

[woodbutcher1963]

I remember a derailment about ten years back where about twenty cars went off an overpass and tumbled to the valley about a hundred feet below. I had sold the lumber on one of the cars involved. It had come from one of West Fraser’s sawmill in BC. It was going to a lumber dealer in Chicago. The derailment happened outside of Duluth, MN. It made the national news because it was such a spectacular crash. They had to build about a mile of roadway to get the salvage equipment to the site. We had a picture of the wreck that had been taken by a helicopter up on the wall of our office for years. We also sent a framed copy of it to the customers involved. The mill reshipped a new car to the customer promptly. Eventually, the insurance company salvaged the material and put it out for bid to be sold “as is, no claims”.