Watching all the events with weather-related problems on the D&S has reminded me of 2 years ago on the Georgetown Loop. It was our photographers day, July 16, 2004. We had all 3 locomotives running that day, with #40 on the Extra Train for the photographers special, and shays #12 & #14 doubleheaded on the regular passenger.
The morning started off just fine, with fairly nice weather and comforatble temperatures. However, sometime around 1-2pm, the Biblical rain from the story of Noah's Ark drenched the valley. IT POURED!!!!!!!! So much water in such a short time.....well.....needless to say we had some problems. On the regular train, the passengers all squeezed into the covered cars, packing them like sardine cans. Drifting downgrade ahead of the regular passenger train, shay #12 hit a fairly large boulder in the cut between Pin Truss and Lebanon bridges. It didn't derail the locomotive, but took a good chunk out of the rear footboard. Because of the #12 striking the rock, this halted all movement on the line. The Extra Train stayed at Devil's Gate Station, while the regular train was stopped at Morningstar Spur. Some quick thinking on behalf of the crews resulted in some loose ties being loaded onto shay #14, taken down to shay #12 in the cut, where the boulder was pushed, rolled, and pried out of the way. Movement resumed, but on the Extra Train, we stopped a total of ~4 times going back up the hill to move rocks from the tracks. Coming up the Palisades into the Silver Plume Yards (where the tracks parallel I-70), you couldn't see the groung, or the ties; just 2 rails running through a small river that had formed along the track. That is the point at which you think to yourself "I sure hope there is solid ground under there!"
It was quite an adventurous day on the railroad.
~Shane
