Accidents
In 1951, engine No. 70 caught a guardrail with its snowplow and rolled over on its side. The locomotive is still in operation at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
In 1994, during rock removal operations, a backhoe operator accidentally struck a petroleum pipeline near the railroad tracks. The operator’s mistake caused the pipeline to rupture and spill between 1,000 and 5,000 US gallons (830 and 4,200 imp gal; 3,800 and 19,000 L) of heating oil into the Skagway river. Roadmaster Edward Hanousek, Jr. and President Paul Taylor were later both convicted of violating the Clean Water Act and lying to investigators as a result of the accident.
A serious derailment on 3 September 2006 resulted in the death of one section worker. A work train, Engine 114 pulling eight gravel cars, derailed approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Bennett, injuring all four train crew, two Canadian and two American; one died at the scene and the others had to be airlifted to a hospital. Passenger operations on the blocked section had ended for the season just before the accident. In February 2007, Engine 114 was taken for repair to the Coast Engine and Equipment Company (CEECO) in Tacoma, Washington.
Read more about this topic: White Pass And Yukon Route
Famous quotes containing the word accidents:
“We are the men of intrinsic value, who can strike our fortunes out of ourselves, whose worth is independent of accidents in life, or revolutions in government: we have heads to get money, and hearts to spend it.”
—George Farquhar (1678–1707)
“Depression moods lead, almost invariably, to accidents. But, when they occur, our mood changes again, since the accident shows we can draw the world in our wake, and that we still retain some degree of power even when our spirits are low. A series of accidents creates a positively light-hearted state, out of consideration for this strange power.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)