| PURCELL OK Nov 27 1978 -- Santa Fe GP7 2878 has just been derailed at the north end of the Purcell yard. The unit took off unattended from Oklahoma City and kept gaining speed. I heard a train in Moore told to get on the siding immediately which alerted me to the event. Police and sheriffs responded quickly and guarded crossings as the runaway accelerated south. When I saw it at the Indian Hills crossing north of Norman it was traveling about 50 mph. I beat it to Purcell but was not allowed down to the tracks so only saw the event from far away. Santa Fe officials decided to switch the unit onto the outer yard track in hopes it would derail. The plan worked to perfection and this is the result. I dont recall if the covered hopper was already there or was positioned but it did a good job of stopping the locomotive as it wallowed down the track. EMD built the 2878 (s/n 18895) in October-November 1953 and delivered it in zebra stripe. It was repainted to yellow warbonnet sometime before February 1980 when the Cleburne TX shops rebuilt it as a GP7u with an angled Topeka cab roof and renumbered it 2183. It was transferred to BNSF in 1999, patched and renumbered 1349. It is now off the roster. (Roster information from http://atsfrr.net/resources/CrossetGene/master_diesel_roster/GP7/reference.htm#2878, http://www.thedieselshop.us/BNSF.HTML) |