MoPac Wrecks & Derailments - Screaming Eagles Over the Prairie

MoPac Wrecks & Derailments

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Wrecks on the rails are a fact of life.

We'd like to stress that this small section is NOT intended to trivialize such disastors. People get hurt and killed and we find no fascination in the subject. We do however hope to make you more aware of the very real dangers that go hand-in-hand with controlling "millions of tons of hurtling steel."

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Click on the thumbnails for a larger image

Lincoln, NE 1911

Unit: Missouri Pacific unknown steam	Location/Date of Photo: Lincoln, NE 1911
Locomotive No. -	Photographer: Courtesy of Jim McKee, Lincoln Journal-Star. Used with permission.

Pictured is a MoPac locomotive that crashed through the wall of the Lincoln depot into the ticket office in 1911. Story courtesy of Jim McKee, Lincoln Journal-Star. Used with permission.

Greenwood, LA 1973

Unit: Missouri Pacific -	Location/Date of Photo: Greenwood, Louisiana 1973
Rollingstock No. -	Photographer: Russell Higginbotham Photo

Some shots of a derailment on the T&P line near Greenwood, Louisiana (W. 70th St. at Flournoy-Lucas Rd.) sometime around 1973. I was a young teen at the time and rode my bike several miles to photograph the wreck. The crew allowed me to wander freely among the wreckage and photograph the proceedings. The photos were taken with an Instamatic camera.
See more from this series at http://www.marshallshops.com/derailment

Unit: Missouri Pacific Bulldozers	Location/Date of Photo: Greenwood, Louisiana 1973
Rollingstock No. -	Photographer: Russell Higginbotham Photo

Bulldozers clearing up derailment on the T&P line near Greenwood, Louisiana.
See more from this series at http://www.marshallshops.com/derailment

Unit: Missouri Pacific Crane	Location/Date of Photo: Greenwood, Louisiana 1973
Rollingstock No. X152	Photographer: Russell Higginbotham Photo

Detail of crane at derailment on the T&P line near Greenwood, Louisiana.
See more from this series at http://www.marshallshops.com/derailment

Unit: Missouri Pacific Crane Boomcar	Location/Date of Photo: Greenwood, Louisiana 1973
Rollingstock No. -	Photographer: Russell Higginbotham Photo

Detail of crane and boom car at derailment on the T&P line near Greenwood, Louisiana.
See more from this series at http://www.marshallshops.com/derailment

Unit: Missouri Pacific Boomcar	Location/Date of Photo: Greenwood, Louisiana 1973
Rollingstock No. -	Photographer: Russell Higginbotham Photo

Detail of boom car with spare wheelsets painted in MoW orange at derailment on the T&P line near Greenwood, Louisiana.
See more from this series at http://www.marshallshops.com/derailment

Unit: Missouri Pacific EMD GP7	Location/Date of Photo: Greenwood, Louisiana 1973
Locomotive No. MP 304	Photographer: Russell Higginbotham Photo

Picking up the pieces - GP7 #304 and work equipment at a derailment on the T&P line near Greenwood, Louisiana sometime around 1973. MP 304 would itself be involved in a wreck on 2/3/76 at Ward AR resulting in its retirement.
See more from this series at http://www.marshallshops.com/derailment

Cotulla, Texas 1973

Unit: Missouri Pacific EMD GP18's	Location/Date of Photo: Cotulla, TX 1973
Locomotive No. -	Photographer: Jay Glenewinkel Collection

A derrick crane attempts to move one of the GP18s involved in the collision.
Exclusive Photo Series: Missouri Pacific Disaster in Cotulla, Texas 1973

Texas 1988

Unit: Missouri Pacific -	Location/Date of Photo: TX June 1988
Locomotive No. -	Photographer: Jay Glenewinkel Photo

Aftermath of 11 cars on a MoPac train derailed in Texas, 1988. The wreck took place an hour before this photo was taken

Unit: Missouri Pacific -	Location/Date of Photo: TX June 1988
Locomotive No. -	Photographer: Jay Glenewinkel Photo

Crews clean up after a chemical train derailment on the MoPac in Texas, 1988

Devine, Texas 1997

Unit: Missouri Pacific -	Location/Date of Photo: Devine, TX June 1997
Locomotive No. -	Photographer: Jay Glenewinkel Photo

Exclusive Photo Series: Devine, Texas

In June of 1997, two freights collided head on in the small town of Devine, Texas, approximatley 36 miles south of San Antonio. The incident was a result of a dispatcher error, in which he permitted the two trains to occupy the same section of track. The Northbound was running at 19 MPH, while the Southbound had accelerated to over 40 MPH. Two crewmen and two illegal riders were killed and one additional crewman was critically injured. A fourth crewman was able to walk away from the wreckage with only minor injuries.

Miscellaneous

Unit: Missouri Pacific GE U30C	Location/Date of Photo: E. St. Louis, MO October 3 1976
Locomotive No. MP 3319	Photographer: Rider photo/Brian Paul Ehni Collection

Back on the line again - MP 3319 is a curious site after losing it's cab in an accident. TheMoPac ran the unfortunate U30C as a cabless "B" unit until it could be fully repaired at the shops.

MoPac Wrecks - related topics on this site

Dark Territory

Cotulla Wreck of '73

SD40-2 - MP #3211/ Life and Death of a Locomotive

Featuring the Photography of:

Russell Higginbotham, Jay Glenewinkel, Rider Photo/Brian Paul Ehni Collection


	trainweb.org/screamingeagle l Last Update to this page: 20 June, 2008

	All images & text © 2000-2008 T. Greuter / Screaming Eagles, unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.