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Oregon & Northwestern Railroad The Wreck of the #26 |
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In the early morning hours of Wednesday, 29 January 1947, a southbound loaded train eased to a stop at the summit station at the top of the grade between the Trout and Poison Creek watersheds. The train was led by locomotive #26 and consisted of three loads of lumber from the Seneca planing mill, 20 loads of logs destined for the Hines mill, and a caboose. The train crew, which consisted of E.J. Dick, Engineer; A. J. Miller, Fireman; Charles Pierce, Brakeman; Charles Clark, Brakeman; Dave Jones, Rear Brakeman; and Benny Cottrell, Conductor, tested and inspected the train brakes before starting down into the Poison Creek canyon. All appeared to be in order, and the train began its decent down the 2.6% grade. However, the brakes failed to take hold when the train started downhill. Engineer Dick, Fireman Miller, and Brakeman Pierce, who were all riding on the #26, tried everything they could to stop the train with no success, and all three bailed off the runaway about a mile downhill from Summit station. The train was traveling approximately 45 miles per hour when the three me jumped. Conductor Cottrell and Brakeman Jones in the caboose were alerted to what was happening by Brakeman Clark, who yelled out a warning as he was unable to grab onto the caboose at the end of the train as it moved past him, and they saved themselves by uncoupling the caboose from the runaway train and then stopping their car with the handbrake. The #26 and 23 freight cars went about two miles down from the summit before wrecking. Accident investigators estimated that the train was going 80 miles per hour when it left the rails. Locomotive #26 was a total loss, and it was scrapped upon arrival back in Hines. Estimated damages caused by the wreck were pegged at $150,000. Charles Pierce was the only member of the train crew seriously injured in the wreck, and he spent several days in the Burns hospital receiving treatment for painful bruises on his head, face, and body. The following photographs are from the Harney County Historical Society collection and are courtesy of Martin Morisette. |
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The wreck scene. |
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Another shot of the wreck site. |
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The #26 resting where it fell. |
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The following are all photos of the #26 taken after it had been righted and towed to Hines. The locomotive was scrapped shortly after these pictures were taken. |
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