Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Old photograph. Chicago & NorthWestern Railroad train wreck. Geneva Illinois USA. 1976.

My cousin Allen took this wreck scene photo, in Geneva Illinois back in 1976. Even though this is an old faded pocket camera photo, it still shows a behind the scenes view of a derailment accident, and the cleanup from the aftermath of it all. The C&NW Maintenance of Way Department had to utilize this large heavy duty diesel wrecker crane to re-rail the large EMD roadswitcher. Cranes like this were referred to by railroad crews as a "Big Hook", and were called on when needed.

2 comments:

Tom Gill said...

wow, interesting photo. Did your cousin work for the railroad or perhaps a company involved in the recovery, or police?

Eddie said...

Hi Tom!
My cousin Allen is now retired.
He was a police officer in the suburb of Wheaton Illinois when this photo was taken. He eventually became a Sergent, and later an Instructor before He retired from the Wheaton Police.

Thank You.
Eddie.