NEWLY CORELATED: A ROLL OUT AND A FIRE AT THE CNR IN 1969 OR EARLY 1970

 

I HAVE DOCUMENTED THE ROLL OUT OF A PASSENGER TRAIN FROM THE RAILWAY STATION IN VANCOUVER IN 1969 AND THE ROLL AWAY ENGINE AT RAMSES STATION, CAIRO EGYPT.  WHEN ROLLAWAYS ARE NOT STOPPED BEFORE COLLISION OCCURS THE RESULT IS DESTRUCTIVE AND DEADLY. I AM NOW SUSPICIOUS OF VANDALISM CAUSING RUNAWAY TRAINS. 

The Chemical Plant siding event in East Vancouver at Venables  and Clark was loose Boxcars gliding downhill at a Factory. I was a crew member on a Transfer. We unhooked and ran after the loose Boxcars and caught them and stopped the Runaway Accident from happening right in the densely populated and business area. That area would be on the left of this photograph.

The event which has come to mind involved an empty passenger train, all my crew and I knew was there was a TRAIN ON FIRE. The train was rolling out of Glen Yard along the "Y" where passenger trains were turned around to return back to the East. 

We broke in to the train and applied handbrakes and made sure no one was on the train. The fire which was small was extinguished. Had this loose twelve passenger car train rolled further it would impinge on the CNR Main Line and a one hundred car one hundred thousand ton each car train could be coming down the hill not planning to stop for two miles.

IF THERE HAD BEEN COLLISION WITH A MAIN LINE FRIEGHT IT WOULD OCCUR AT TOP CENTER OT THIS PHOTOGRAPH

IT DID NOT OCCUR TO ME UNTIL JUST NOW: WERE THOSE INCIDENTS NOT JUST ACCIDENTS WHICH WERE AVERTED, DID SOMEONE DELIBERATELY SET THOSE TRAINS LOOSE RATHER THAN BARAKES BLEEDING OFF AND A LACK OF CHOCKS?