A steam locomotive damaged in a crash last week at the Strasburg Rail Road is already back on the tracks, according to an official with the historic railroad.
Brendan Zeigler, vice president and chief mechanical officer of the Strasburg Rail Road, said repairs on the steam engine No. 475 were completed over the weekend, and the engine was back in service as of Monday morning.
The steam locomotive, which was built in 1906 and is the oldest in operation at Strasburg, was damaged on Nov. 2 when it slammed into a piece of equipment on the tracks. But crews were able to repair the damage within days.
“It’s running as good as it ever has,” Zeigler said.
The Crash
In a post made on social media last week, Zeigler said around 11:30 a.m. on Nov. 2 steam locomotive No. 475 was conducting a “runaround” maneuver, where the engine moves from one end of the train to the other, at Leaman Place Junction in the rail yard.
A rail-mounted excavator was placed on a “stub siding track” in the yard on the evening of Nov. 1 by Strasburg Rail Road’s Maintenance of Way (MOW) crew working in the area. Zeigler said an internal investigation found that after placing the excavator on the stub track for storage, a MOW crew member “failed to realign the track switch and to secure it in normal position.”
As the crew of locomotive No. 475 conducted the runaround of the passenger train sitting on the main track, Zeigler said, they did not notice the misaligned switch. The locomotive entered the stub track at about 10 m.p.h., striking the stationary MOW equipment and came to a stop after a short distance.
Zeigler said both the locomotive and the excavator suffered “moderate damage.” The arm of the excavator punctured the front of the smoke box of the locomotive, pushing in its front cover.
There were no passengers on the train or on the excavator at the time of the crash. No injuries occurred to the crew of the locomotive.
Zeigler said as many as 75 employees are working in the railroad operations on workdays as several thousand guests ride the trains.
The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating the crash. Zeigler said the railroad is cooperating in the investigation and “will comply with their requirements and recommendations.”
Zeigler said the railroad is also performing a “root cause analysis” of the incident and to identify any training gaps or other factors contributing to the crash.
“We take seriously the safety of everyone who interacts with us in any capacity, every single day,” Zeigler said in his statement. “Our decades long history indicates that despite the unique and complex nature of our operation, we have an outstanding safety record when taken in context of the number of employee hours worked, trains operated, and passengers and freight hauled each year. We also take seriously the rules and regulations that apply to our operations.”
By Thursday after the crash, members of the railroad’s mechanical team began repairs to locomotive No. 475’s smoke box door and headlight on the front of the train, posting videos on social media of crews of three workers conducting “braze welding” at the same time on the front plate of the boiler.
With the repairs complete, the locomotive is fully operational for Strasburg’s annual Christmas Trains events running from Nov. 19 through Dec. 24.
According to Strasburg’s website, the Baldwin Locomotive Works built No. 475 in June of 1906 and was in operation on the Norfolk & Western Railroad as a mixed-use engine until 1962. The locomotive came to Strasburg in 1991 and pulled its first passenger train in the fall of 1993 after going through nearly $650,000 in restorations.
Railroad Community Reaction
Last week’s incident stirred up social media and message boards devoted to the historical train community around the country.
Two different videos showing the crash went viral online, with one angle captured in real time by a livestreaming camera placed by the website Virtual Railfan close to the accident site. Another angle of the crash was filmed by a train enthusiast standing in the railyard.
Online commentators began making posts and videos of the incident, some criticizing the crew for not following correct procedures.
Zeigler praised the work done by the Strasburg staff for their professionalism and their care for the people who ride the trains. He said the staff acknowledges mistakes when they occur and that the “front-line staff enjoys the full support and backing of our management team.”
“We do not excuse mistakes, but we acknowledge the humanity of those who make them, as we all do. We live in a world where people are judged too quickly and dismissed by many employers over minor mistakes. We intend to lead by example, helping the valuable, committed members of our team who were involved in this incident learn and grow from their actions. We ask for your consideration before joining the mob mentality of ignorant or irrational criticism. Instead, we welcome continued support from our community, railroad and otherwise.”
Staff writer Michael Yoder is an award-winning journalist who has been honored with several Keystone Press Awards for his investigative pieces.
