Goin' off the rails (literally)

Have you ever wondered what happens when a train goes off the tracks? I never had until I was headed for work the other day and drove across this. What happens is, it makes a big mess. This event, according to the CSX guy I talked to, involved just two cars and two sets of wheels (on either side of a coupling). This is the spot where Penland road crosses the railroad right near the post office.


Which makes sense, if you think about it. I mean, if the engine went off it would drag the whole train with it and end up in a big pile--it wouldn't keep, um, tracking like this. And I would guess that if three or four whole cars popped off somehow, there wouldn't be nearly this much left. It would probably cut all the way through the ties or mince them to bits.


So now they've got a lot of new ties lying around this section of track. I don't know if they've started repairs yet because the damage extends out of sight in both directions. But they definitely have some work to do. Someone told me that the trains have been running very, very slowly through this section lately.