NP 855 on the ground at Rice's Point in 1961
It's July 26, 1961 at precisely 7:45 AM. Northern Pacific 855 and 911 find themselves derailed at the north end of Rice's Point in Duluth, Minnesota. While officials (wearing the fancy fedoras) are on the scene trying to figure out how to solve this problem without spending too much money. The very curious fellow who is taking the closest look at the carnage is likely the engineer—hoping that he won't get the blame for today's little mishap. When the lead wheels of the locomotive pick a switch (go the wrong direction) this is the result nearly 100% of the time. It is with good reason why yard speed limits are limited to 10 m.p.h. With so many train movements in the yard and so many switches to navigate—the slower you go—the less damage there will be when things go wrong. NP 855 is an Alco RS-3 built in December of 1953. NP 911 is an Alco RS-11 built in July of 1958. Both will recover after a trip to the roundhouse to put their equalizers back on. the trucks on Alco road switchers had a nasty habit of falling apart if the engine came off the track. An arguably flawed design that Alco's competitors simply didn't have to deal with. Alco went out of business in 1969. FYI, most of the ground between the men in the photo and the turntable is now under the I-35 expressway. The turntable (background-right) belonged to the Soo Line and it would have been located along where Lower Michigan Street is now.
NP 855 on the ground at Rice's Point in 1961
It's July 26, 1961 at precisely 7:45 AM. Northern Pacific 855 and 911 find themselves derailed at the north end of Rice's Point in Duluth, Minnesota. While officials (wearing the fancy fedoras) are on the scene trying to figure out how to solve this problem without spending too much money. The very curious fellow who is taking the closest look at the carnage is likely the engineer—hoping that he won't get the blame for today's little mishap. When the lead wheels of the locomotive pick a switch (go the wrong direction) this is the result nearly 100% of the time. It is with good reason why yard speed limits are limited to 10 m.p.h. With so many train movements in the yard and so many switches to navigate—the slower you go—the less damage there will be when things go wrong. NP 855 is an Alco RS-3 built in December of 1953. NP 911 is an Alco RS-11 built in July of 1958. Both will recover after a trip to the roundhouse to put their equalizers back on. the trucks on Alco road switchers had a nasty habit of falling apart if the engine came off the track. An arguably flawed design that Alco's competitors simply didn't have to deal with. Alco went out of business in 1969. FYI, most of the ground between the men in the photo and the turntable is now under the I-35 expressway. The turntable (background-right) belonged to the Soo Line and it would have been located along where Lower Michigan Street is now.