Wesley and Bessie MacDonald are my grandparents. I was 2 and a half years old when the derailment occurred. Thank you so much for sharing my Grampie's story and keeping his memory alive. I love reading all of the comments. He really was a legend. ❤
You have a very lucky and good grandfather especially since he stayed on the train and helped by slow/stop the train and letting people know he's on a runaway and after that he survived
The engineer showed bravery where most would have bailed. He went down with his ship and lived to tell about it. He gave all the warnings and held on til the final moment. That man did the most honorable thing in that situation he could have ever done. As far as train wrecks go, this went about as well as it could have. No one on board but him and no deaths; just damage that can be fixed with labor and money. I'm glad he was cleared of the fault. We need more men like him.
Unlike the engineer and conductor from the Ferromex that hit the Roswell local in the Roswell train collision by Cameraman Railfan and the engineer died
Not to mention if you jump out of a moving locomotive at that rate of speed there would be a slim chance that you would be alive The conductor of santa fe 157 jumped out of his engine at about 60 mph and he didn't make it
Wierd that this wreck is similar to the 1996 cajon pass runaway Somebody didnt bail out ✓ The train derailed on a curve ✓ It was a runaway ✓ Had a locomotive that had a wide cab ✓ The one who stayed in the engine survived ✓ Something was wrong about the air brake hoses ✓ Both railroads used a red cab ✓ So they are practicaly the same wrecks.
When the engineer said "GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY" and the dispatcher said "Well get the hell out of the way then Palmer" I randomly started cracking up. Maybe because of the way they speak with an accent. But in all seriousness, I gotta give mass respect for the engineer who kept going until the end. He helped avoid a disaster
Probably a funnier line which was unused was Wesley going "When I get done with this they can put me on my f****** pension!" When I first heard that it got a good laugh out of me.
He survived and took a picture next to his derailed locomotive. He’s a true legend as many others said. The fact he stayed on and saved multiple lives. Good on him May that legend Rest In Peace
@@ridingwithdavid739 false.... The company is at fault for not developing and properly enforcing new legislature that would prohibit the act of waiting until assembly to charge the mainline train brakes..... You have to remember just how long ago this happened.... The regulations in place then were nowhere near what they are today. Today's rules and regs come from yesterday's accidents. The engineer was also falsely informed as to how long his train was. 8 cars may not seem like much, but when you realize that those 8 cars weigh alot by themselves and they were fully loaded with ore, it makes a pretty significant difference. Not only that, but you can further blame the company for placing non-dynamic brake units to operate a line that has grades. I'm going to be polite and assume you didn't watch the same video the rest of us did in order to construct such an ignorant statement. The man was legally cleared of blame. Wasn't aware you were God and oversaw the judiciary system. Thanks for the reminder though.
@@ridingwithdavid739 He exercised poor judgement in spite if not being aware it was 31 cars and not 23. With his experience he had to be aware of the grade and should have erred on the side of caution.
Probably the soil it landed in, had a point.. Any part of construction could have failed under specific circumstances. Or a beam or pole could have penetrated the cab.. Pure luck.. A truck trailer is loose on a flatbed, travelling on the a busy line, making it stick a little out over the side.... it takes out the side of 3,5 cars of passenger train going by. Why? Why not the whole train, why not just the first car...? Why isn't everyone killed in first compartment hit, but more in the 3rd and 4th? Why isn't the train derailed and crashed by the impact, killing everyone? Again, pure lucky circumstances
@@ridingwithdavid739 How? He was told he had less cars than he actually had. If anything, it's the trainman's fault for telling him he had 23 cars, not 31.
@@barrydheil As an engineer for 3 decades, I can assert that any hogger worth his salt knows how heavy you are at first pull. If they insisted on no air, he should have slowed the pull, and heated the brakes ,a lot, before coming to a controlled stop.
I was a conductor for CSX for 6 years, and I always thought I would probably try to bail off if I knew we had lost control of our train soon enough, maybe 30 mph or slower... I ran on the line between Nashville and Chattanooga and we had some pretty steep grades, my worst nightmare was loosing our brakes going down the mountain into Chattanooga.
CSX is known for being mean and nasty to its conductors and locomotive engineers. it sent a train Down Sand Patch grade with out helpers in to a big snow storm and the train became a run way and derailed. then helpers if they went down the grade with the train could have sure save the day
Why did I cracked up when the Dispatch guy said "Well get the hell out of the way then Palmer" 💀 Also huge respect to the engineer for trying everything he could to stop it
We have a saying in the Railroad Business....you are as good as your last move! Much Respect & Many Blessings to this Brave Engineer & let me add that 42 YEARS OF SERVICE & BEING 60 YEARS OLD at the the time of the crash is Amazing. Cutthroat companies will do anything to blame employees.
The engineer survived not because of any miracle. He knew full well what was going to happen, and he knew just where he needed to be in order to survive.
That’s about as well as a gravity runaway could ever dream to go. Engineer survived without serious injuries, no collateral damage to nearby structures, no people or animals near the tracks killed, no locos damaged beyond repair. Even the ore was probably recovered. All they lost were the hoppers and some money on the repair costs.
@@svendabs1200 a million is nothing when you put it up against a few million in replacement locos, a million or 2 in track repairs, a few hundred thousand at least in replacement for the hoppers and ore, and the unquantifiable value of loss of life that often results from gravity runaways. On this channel alone, just look at the 3 Cajon Pass incidents and the Lac Megantic disaster. Gravity runaways are REALLY bad news. Unmanned powered runaways are bad but not as bad. Gravity runaways almost always result in a major disaster. This one did not. Also the lost hoppers were probably not worth a million.
Wauv.. you must have been Wesley's lawyer back then, so well you're downsizing the enormity of the accident and cost. I would definitely have fired everyone involved in such a cock-up
I hope they invested some money in preventing it from happening it again. A safe, level place to switch cars around would be my first choice. Just write "Don't do it" in the manual is not solving the problem.
My Dad says he was friends with him from union meetings etc. Said he was a very calm person. Also said when they were in Ottawa he liked to go over to Quebec every night to watch peelers 🤣
@@grabasandwich Of course he'd go for peelers in Quebec XD honestly I would of loved to meet him in person to talk about trains and other things. Now he's up above in a place where PRR T1s and NYC Niagaras still race each other to Chicago
Thunderbolt, you do a great service. I wish we had someone like you in the trucking industry. There is nothing like the scrunching in your gut when you come off a long grade and find out your trailer brakes dont work, or you cannot stop on the ice. Gravity is in control now, you are not. The pressure is always on to deliver on time, but sometimes you have to refuse and take whatever comes. I have been fired a couple of times, but I never killed anybody in 40 years. There is always another trucking job.
Annoying as fuck that trucking and rail apparently aren’t like aviation. No safety culture, by comparison. Hell, airlines have gotten in hot water with regulators for laying blame on pilots when they weren’t at fault. When accidents happen, it’s because the system (of which humans are a part) failed. Fix it and move on.
Thank you brother, for doing a derailment from the Atlantic provinces. It's nice to see our local heroes being remembered I really appreciate it. Love your videos.
Railroads in Canada use the imperial system as well given how closely linked we are to the US system. So even though on my drive home I have to abide by the metric system, at work we work in miles and feet just the same. Confusing but pertinent when talking about Canadian RRs..
Hey, I've seen NECR 3015 pulling freight through my town, noticed the wide cab as they're rare around here. Interesting that it's not only Canadian, but also flight qualified.
Sounds like the trainmaster was more concerned about investigating and finding fault with the engineer than concern for his employees. "Make sure nothing moves after he gets it stopped " . Typical
My dad worked as dispatcher in Moncton during that time wasn’t the line he was responsible for but remember that like it was yesterday,my dad worked for CN for 38 1/2 years and as been retired for 31 years now at 85 years old.
Thanks for pulling together these elements to tell a good story that should be better known. Worth noting that the Nepisguit branch to Brunswick Mines had a lot of rural level crossings without automatic gates. Staying aboard to blow the crossings was a brave thing to do as locals, used to the slow moving ore trains, could easily have been caught off guard by this runaway.
Exactly. That's something I have a huge amount of respect for. A true engineer stays with his train to the very end and goes down with it like the captain of a ship. If I was trapped on a runaway like that I'd do the very same. Didn't know the branch had lots of rural crossings. I'm quite surprised no videos covering this exist as the dispatch audio is kinda well known but I always love bringing forgotten tales to light especially since the engineer in question is now up above in a place where PRR T1s and NYC Hudsons still race each other out to Chicago (heaven).
That dispatcher sounds almost exactly like my grandfather... He was working for CN as a dispatcher during this time but he worked out of Bellevile ON on the kingston subdivision. He never told me much about his years working for CN but he'd have certainly known about this. I wish I could have asked him more about his work before he passed in 2016.
Wow, that actually made me feel emotion, coming from a CN family. Staying on the engine, blowing the horn at crossings and in towns, that's fairly heroic. Great Video man!
Railroad: You don't need to connect the air hoses when moving the cars... Also Railroad: Why didn't you connect the air hoses then moving the cars?! But you _told_ me-- Railroad: I don't care! 6 months suspension and you lose your pension! This is why I've always hated having to work for a living. No matter where you work, the people in charge are cowardly little shits that'll use you as a shield to deflect the blame whenever _they_ allowed you to do something that resulted in bad press. There isn't a single good person in the higher ups. I've had jobs where I followed all the rules and _still_ got fired because "it just wasn't working out." I'd like someone to fire _them_ because "it just wasn't working out" so they can know how it feels.
That is very true. The engineer was an honourable one and may he live for ever in the after life. And you're pretty right. The higher ups aren't fair back then and they are still are today. McDonalds was certainly right. He was probably being used as scape goat for the accident as CN saw a spike in derailments like the one at Hinton.
This is one of the best features you've ever done. I remember listening to that whole radio conversation a couple of years ago when I did a random RUclips search for runaway trains. Wesley was a damn hero. May he RIP.
I never expected to hear the full story about this famous accident. In the early days of the internet there circulated a link to the audio and I believe it was used in railroad safety education. Thank you for the catch-up story. RIP Wesley, you will forever remain a legend of the 'steel road'.
Damn legend, taking a picture with his derailed train! If at all possible, can you do a video about the Jeannettes Creek Train Wreck that occurred in Ontario on October 27 1854?
As the examples of the _Oceanos_ and the _Costa Concordia_ demonstrate, that tradition is no longer observed. On the _Oceanos,_ the captain and crew fled immediately and the evacuation had to be organized by the entertainers. Captain Schettino of the _Costa Concordia,_ on the other hand, "fell into the lifeboat."
@@florjanbrudar692 People are less beholden to tradition, and less disciplined, than they once were. Also, it was largely an English tradition, practiced by England and countries significantly affected by England during the 19th century. Other nations, like France and the Mediterranean countries, aren’t such avid practitioners. Both these ships were from Mediterranean countries.
At 6:46 I tried making out what Wes says, from what I can make out he says: "I'm 'bout to come off the rails boss!" or something, but its hard to make it out with the horn blowing
This train wreck recording was used as a training aid at CN. We had to listen to the recording when we trained as hoggers. If you have ever worked on the railway then you'd know how easily this can happen. Complacency in any aspect of working with rail equipment always puts your life at risk. Any weight change will change how your equipment handles.
I mentioned this to my Dad and he says this guy was an old friend of his. Dad, if you see this, I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your nickname years ago 😂 Glad you've been able to enjoy many years of retirement. I know you couldn't wait to get the hell out.
Hey if you want to make the train gameplay footage more smooth, you can install cheat engine. It allows to virtually slowdown your game so it takes 2 real live seconds for 1 program second (or any other vallue you set) which means you can record on half speed and then speed it up in post. And because the program has "more" time it will run in higher FPS and thus you will get smoother animations! The audio is something else tho.
Wesley survived the wreck but did suffer a fairly severe concussion, which I understand contributed to his death not long after. The practice of blaming rail crews continues to this day. To ride that runaway knowing he was unlikely to survive and yet remain as controlled as he did took raw courage. Another nicely produced video
@ACE 99 There was an interview with his daughter attached to this video. She talked about the head injury he suffered being thrown into the cab wall during the crash. He apparently downplayed the severity of his injury because of the subsequent investigation and not wishing to lose his pension. She said he had very long-term issues resulting
He managed to live an additional nine years as a retired railroader. That's around 8.5 years longer than he could of expected. It takes a toll on the body.
Cheers to the engineer for ' staying with his ship" to try & do as much humanely possible in an hopeless situation. Also thank you for presenting this video about a hair raising incident l didn't know about before.
It makes me wonder what if more engineers were like that stayed with their train and atleast tried to stop it and then escaped with their lives if they knew they couldn't stop it
I just discovered your channel a couple of hours or so. This is my 4th video. You describe things very well without lots of screaming and yelling like most documentaries of this type. You have a new subscriber.
Thunderbolt my friend, I gotta tell yeh. A WWII veteran friend of mine passed away last year at the ripe old age of 99. He was also a 41-year veteran of the rails. Starting with the DL&W in 1941 before going to war, then going to the Erie Lackawanna, then hitching with Conrail. He was the conductor of the trains - including the famous Phoebe Snow. In the 1970’s, he brought his train into the Buffalo yards in Blasdell south of Buffalo. He told me, “We came in that night and the tower master had us park in a siding. The engineer and I asked what to do with it, and they said, “Just leave it there. The next crew will pick it up in the morning”. So, we went home for the night. But the people left the switch open. And during the night, another train came speeding into the yard, and went into the switch. The next day, we came back to the yard, and we saw the damage. If you could imagine it, the cars were strewn across the tracks, and were piled 50 feet high. It was the worst wreck I had ever seen”. Now, at the time, he was one for seniority because he had worked with the road for so long. However, the CEO of Norfolk & Western did not like him. When they heard about the wreck, they immediately put blame on him for it. He was immediately fired. But during this time following the incident, New York State, the City of Buffalo, his union, and the NFTA began investigations into the wreck. Two years later, the State of New York came back and BLASTED Norfolk & Western for their actions, demanding that he be reinstated and paid him for EVERY SINGLE DAY he was out of work. That is what you call justice served. This was when he was still with the Erie Lackawanna. If you are wanting to put this into a video, you will need PERSONAL PERMISSION from both ME and HIS DAUGHTER. I am the only one he told about this, and his daughter is very protective of his legacy. So, if you are interested in making a video of this, contact me on either Facebook, Discord, or any other way. I await to STILL get a chance to meet you here in Western New York. -The Tank Commander
Damn Thomas the train really desensitized me to these train crashes as a kid, but now these videos are making me see the true horrors of these accidents.
An excellent recounting of this incident. Thank you. Corrections: 1. Wide NOSE, not wide cab. The cab is the same width as a standard model; 2. Canadian Transport COMMISSION, not Committee.
I heard the audio 20+ years ago. IIRC, shortly before the derailment, the engineer said over the radio "if I get out of this, they can put me on the fuckin pension."
In a 30 year career runnning, I never derailed{Thank Christ!} had EVERYTHING else though. I did lose the air and my brakes,but my dynamic saved me until I could pump up again.Wesley is one of my heroes!
The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. [beep] A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. [ding] Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start.
Wesley and Bessie MacDonald are my grandparents. I was 2 and a half years old when the derailment occurred. Thank you so much for sharing my Grampie's story and keeping his memory alive. I love reading all of the comments. He really was a legend. ❤
That is crazy
Crazy
The great thing about these videos is how they reach out to people you would never expect
You have a very lucky and good grandfather especially since he stayed on the train and helped by slow/stop the train and letting people know he's on a runaway and after that he survived
@rmmvfazbearentertainment1054 CRAZY
This legend really just posed for a pic by the train he almost died in... Huge respect
Just crashed lol can’t believe I lived LMAO
@@Averi429 it wouldn't be funny that man is luck
@@Averi429 I wouldn't
@@aurickane good your normal
@@Averi429 its just stupid why would you do that
The engineer showed bravery where most would have bailed. He went down with his ship and lived to tell about it. He gave all the warnings and held on til the final moment. That man did the most honorable thing in that situation he could have ever done. As far as train wrecks go, this went about as well as it could have. No one on board but him and no deaths; just damage that can be fixed with labor and money.
I'm glad he was cleared of the fault. We need more men like him.
Unlike the engineer and conductor from the Ferromex that hit the Roswell local in the Roswell train collision by Cameraman Railfan and the engineer died
And the Ferromex was still at fault for carrying weed
He deserves a spot in the Railroader hall of fame right next to Casey Jones himself.
Not to mention if you jump out of a moving locomotive at that rate of speed there would be a slim chance that you would be alive The conductor of santa fe 157 jumped out of his engine at about 60 mph and he didn't make it
Wierd that this wreck is similar to the 1996 cajon pass runaway
Somebody didnt bail out ✓
The train derailed on a curve ✓
It was a runaway ✓
Had a locomotive that had a wide cab ✓
The one who stayed in the engine survived ✓
Something was wrong about the air brake hoses ✓
Both railroads used a red cab ✓
So they are practicaly the same wrecks.
When the engineer said "GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR WAY" and the dispatcher said "Well get the hell out of the way then Palmer" I randomly started cracking up. Maybe because of the way they speak with an accent. But in all seriousness, I gotta give mass respect for the engineer who kept going until the end. He helped avoid a disaster
Probably a funnier line which was unused was Wesley going "When I get done with this they can put me on my f****** pension!" When I first heard that it got a good laugh out of me.
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren Haha. That one was a heck of quote. Great job on the video.
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren They probably all put in their papers in Solidarity! Unions today know nothing about that.
I love the Canadians. They're just funny happy people, even in these situations.
@@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren Yea that gave me a good kick out of it Canadian Logic
I am a rail traffic controller and started my career at CN. We are all made to listen to the tapes of this incident when we first start training!
Our dispatchers now at CSX listen to them as well. 👍🏼👍🏼
What desk do you work?
I started at CP in 2007, but don't remember hearing this scenario. Perhaps they used to use it in training longer ago.
There should also be periodic refreshers for everybody, including the honchos.
Wow just to scare you 😱😰
Incredible story, the recorded audio really adds to it
Hi craftyfoxe I love your videos
Do an animation on the Lac Magnetic Rail disaster or that video that you just saw :3
He Really Is Good At What He Does
Adds more ads cuz I hate ads
Wow
He survived and took a picture next to his derailed locomotive. He’s a true legend as many others said.
The fact he stayed on and saved multiple lives. Good on him
May that legend Rest In Peace
He caused the incident, he put many lives in danger.
@@ridingwithdavid739 before doing his best to save probably more than he put in danger
@@ridingwithdavid739 false.... The company is at fault for not developing and properly enforcing new legislature that would prohibit the act of waiting until assembly to charge the mainline train brakes.....
You have to remember just how long ago this happened.... The regulations in place then were nowhere near what they are today.
Today's rules and regs come from yesterday's accidents. The engineer was also falsely informed as to how long his train was. 8 cars may not seem like much, but when you realize that those 8 cars weigh alot by themselves and they were fully loaded with ore, it makes a pretty significant difference.
Not only that, but you can further blame the company for placing non-dynamic brake units to operate a line that has grades.
I'm going to be polite and assume you didn't watch the same video the rest of us did in order to construct such an ignorant statement. The man was legally cleared of blame.
Wasn't aware you were God and oversaw the judiciary system. Thanks for the reminder though.
@@ridingwithdavid739 you wrong wild and you put some persons taliking you
@@ridingwithdavid739 no, the guy who misled him to the situation did.
"Cn blames the engineer" wow, who could have seen that coming
Anyone who realizes it was his fault.
@@ridingwithdavid739 but it really wasn't
@@cccc285 As a 30 yr engineer at CN myself, believe me, and all my counterparts, when we say he absolutely dropped the ball on this one .
@iaminevitable ree ???
@@ridingwithdavid739 He exercised poor judgement in spite if not being aware it was 31 cars and not 23. With his experience he had to be aware of the grade and should have erred on the side of caution.
Moral of the story: if you're gonna wreck at 70mph make sure you in the heaviest vehicle.
in second one in a row, apparently, helps, too :)
Probably the soil it landed in, had a point..
Any part of construction could have failed under specific circumstances. Or a beam or pole could have penetrated the cab.. Pure luck..
A truck trailer is loose on a flatbed, travelling on the a busy line, making it stick a little out over the side.... it takes out the side of 3,5 cars of passenger train going by. Why?
Why not the whole train, why not just the first car...? Why isn't everyone killed in first compartment hit, but more in the 3rd and 4th?
Why isn't the train derailed and crashed by the impact, killing everyone?
Again, pure lucky circumstances
As much between you and impact as you can, preferably not on fire or blowing up
Something that heavy would take a lot longer to stop,
@@jd_kreeper and even faster if going downhill
And that's why we have organizations like the BLE, to prevent companies from tossing blame on engineers who try to do everything they can.
It was completely his fault.
@@ridingwithdavid739 How? He was told he had less cars than he actually had. If anything, it's the trainman's fault for telling him he had 23 cars, not 31.
@@barrydheil As an engineer for 3 decades, I can assert that any hogger worth his salt knows how heavy you are at first pull. If they insisted on no air, he should have slowed the pull, and heated the brakes ,a lot, before coming to a controlled stop.
Love ur pfp lmao
@@JohnGTheEmperor so what?... What does that matter
Huge respect to the engineer
Agreed. He will be remembered.
R.I.P. McDonald
@@Syracuse_rail_product wdym he survived
@@backroomscataloger He passed away in 1997
huge respect for causing this incident in the first place
I was a conductor for CSX for 6 years, and I always thought I would probably try to bail off if I knew we had lost control of our train soon enough, maybe 30 mph or slower... I ran on the line between Nashville and Chattanooga and we had some pretty steep grades, my worst nightmare was loosing our brakes going down the mountain into Chattanooga.
CSX is known for being mean and nasty to its conductors and locomotive engineers. it sent a train Down Sand Patch grade with out helpers in to a big snow storm and the train became a run way and derailed. then helpers if they went down the grade with the train could have sure save the day
@@dknowles60NS as of late is fucking worse
@@railfanlynx when did Ns ever have a Runaway at horse shoe Curve
@dknowles60 I didn't know that there was a runaway train on Norfolk southern railroad
@@dknowles60when did the runaway train happen
It’s like watching Cajon Pass all over again🙃
Here we go again 🙃
@@westinbridges7321 if a train derails near the area where I live, me and my family would just evacuate immediately
@@allisonreithmeier555 I would simply not put my house next to a railway line
oh boy here we go!
Only difference: No casualties in this case.
Why did I cracked up when the Dispatch guy said "Well get the hell out of the way then Palmer" 💀
Also huge respect to the engineer for trying everything he could to stop it
4:35. The engineer was concerned for "#14" ; the VIA Rail Canada, "The Ocean", a large and popular passenger train from Montreal to Halifax.
*hinton flashbacks*
Nobody does railroad disasters like you nobody excellent excellent story
Thank you so much!
"An awful goddamn mixup if i ever can survive it"
Christ this man is made of different stuff.
The radio contacts make this all the more interesting and amazing to watch
What a true chad of an engineer
My grandpa was one of the CN investigators for this crash. He lived in Moncton. Cool video.
Runaway Train soundtrack is REAL intimidating, really incites the situation
We have a saying in the Railroad Business....you are as good as your last move! Much Respect & Many Blessings to this Brave Engineer & let me add that 42 YEARS OF SERVICE & BEING 60 YEARS OLD at the the time of the crash is Amazing. Cutthroat companies will do anything to blame employees.
it was the crews fault for not cutting in the air... there's no excuse for not cutting in the air if you are handling that many loads on a downgrade
The engines and the engineer need a miracle I don’t think the wide cab will be added back if it’s ever repaired......
What engines are you talking about?
@@sobelabbesnabi3997 I think both
The engineer survived not because of any miracle. He knew full well what was going to happen, and he knew just where he needed to be in order to survive.
Did you not watch the video? Both engines are still in service today. Sheesh.
@@drboze6781 I did
That’s about as well as a gravity runaway could ever dream to go. Engineer survived without serious injuries, no collateral damage to nearby structures, no people or animals near the tracks killed, no locos damaged beyond repair. Even the ore was probably recovered. All they lost were the hoppers and some money on the repair costs.
casual one million dollar mistake
@@svendabs1200 it's nothing compare to what might have happened
@@svendabs1200 a million is nothing when you put it up against a few million in replacement locos, a million or 2 in track repairs, a few hundred thousand at least in replacement for the hoppers and ore, and the unquantifiable value of loss of life that often results from gravity runaways. On this channel alone, just look at the 3 Cajon Pass incidents and the Lac Megantic disaster. Gravity runaways are REALLY bad news. Unmanned powered runaways are bad but not as bad. Gravity runaways almost always result in a major disaster. This one did not. Also the lost hoppers were probably not worth a million.
Wauv.. you must have been Wesley's lawyer back then, so well you're downsizing the enormity of the accident and cost.
I would definitely have fired everyone involved in such a cock-up
I hope they invested some money in preventing it from happening it again. A safe, level place to switch cars around would be my first choice. Just write "Don't do it" in the manual is not solving the problem.
"Runaway Train" was a badass and underrated movie.
I know, right? Not enough people react to it on RUclips.
What about the song Runaway Train by Soul Asylum?
I remember this well. I was an employee of CN at that time in Moncton.
My Dad says he was friends with him from union meetings etc. Said he was a very calm person. Also said when they were in Ottawa he liked to go over to Quebec every night to watch peelers 🤣
@@grabasandwich Of course he'd go for peelers in Quebec XD honestly I would of loved to meet him in person to talk about trains and other things. Now he's up above in a place where PRR T1s and NYC Niagaras still race each other to Chicago
Thunderbolt, you do a great service. I wish we had someone like you in the trucking industry. There is nothing like the scrunching in your gut when you come off a long grade and find out your trailer brakes dont work, or you cannot stop on the ice. Gravity is in control now, you are not. The pressure is always on to deliver on time, but sometimes you have to refuse and take whatever comes. I have been fired a couple of times, but I never killed anybody in 40 years. There is always another trucking job.
Annoying as fuck that trucking and rail apparently aren’t like aviation. No safety culture, by comparison. Hell, airlines have gotten in hot water with regulators for laying blame on pilots when they weren’t at fault.
When accidents happen, it’s because the system (of which humans are a part) failed. Fix it and move on.
I can’t find anyone else on RUclips that does train documentary’s this well glad we have you
I’ve done a couple.
@@griffinrails hey Griffin, I watched some of your videos
This dude is a freaking legend
I’ve started watching this a couple days ago these are brilliant
u got a long binge, cause a lot of other people make crash videos in this style but about crashes from around the world
Thank you brother, for doing a derailment from the Atlantic provinces.
It's nice to see our local heroes being remembered
I really appreciate it.
Love your videos.
CN: * tells the engineer he’s in trouble because he left the air brakes uncoupled and took too many cars*
Me who has already seen the beginning: why?
Railroads in Canada use the imperial system as well given how closely linked we are to the US system.
So even though on my drive home I have to abide by the metric system, at work we work in miles and feet just the same.
Confusing but pertinent when talking about Canadian RRs..
To see the 9548 today, you’d never know it was in this wreck, which is a testament to the outstanding work CN workers did at their shops 👍🏼
I feel like this derailment is similar to cajon pass, both are runaways and both start off similar. Anyone else notice that?
Yep, misinformation, and poorly maintained or incorrectly equipped locomotives.
Hey, I've seen NECR 3015 pulling freight through my town, noticed the wide cab as they're rare around here. Interesting that it's not only Canadian, but also flight qualified.
Sounds like the trainmaster was more concerned about investigating and finding fault with the engineer than concern for his employees. "Make sure nothing moves after he gets it stopped " . Typical
CN Superintendent: "Fire that guy's ass if he survives the wreck!'
My dad worked as dispatcher in Moncton during that time wasn’t the line he was responsible for but remember that like it was yesterday,my dad worked for CN for 38 1/2 years and as been retired for 31 years now at 85 years old.
Excellent use of Runaway Train (1985) clips and music. I love that soundtrack
Thanks for pulling together these elements to tell a good story that should be better known. Worth noting that the Nepisguit branch to Brunswick Mines had a lot of rural level crossings without automatic gates. Staying aboard to blow the crossings was a brave thing to do as locals, used to the slow moving ore trains, could easily have been caught off guard by this runaway.
Exactly. That's something I have a huge amount of respect for. A true engineer stays with his train to the very end and goes down with it like the captain of a ship. If I was trapped on a runaway like that I'd do the very same. Didn't know the branch had lots of rural crossings. I'm quite surprised no videos covering this exist as the dispatch audio is kinda well known but I always love bringing forgotten tales to light especially since the engineer in question is now up above in a place where PRR T1s and NYC Hudsons still race each other out to Chicago (heaven).
Not to many lucky stories of the train derailments have a very good outcome like this and i know they are always crazy story of them
I love how the radio chatter is in a Canadian Maritime accent.
The 1979 Mississauga Derailment, would be interesting.
@The Nova Fox guy eh bud, thanks!
@@Kenster1025 Yes; their Maritimes accent is pretty clipped.
That dispatcher sounds almost exactly like my grandfather... He was working for CN as a dispatcher during this time but he worked out of Bellevile ON on the kingston subdivision. He never told me much about his years working for CN but he'd have certainly known about this. I wish I could have asked him more about his work before he passed in 2016.
Wow, that actually made me feel emotion, coming from a CN family. Staying on the engine, blowing the horn at crossings and in towns, that's fairly heroic. Great Video man!
Railroad: You don't need to connect the air hoses when moving the cars...
Also Railroad: Why didn't you connect the air hoses then moving the cars?!
But you _told_ me--
Railroad: I don't care! 6 months suspension and you lose your pension!
This is why I've always hated having to work for a living. No matter where you work, the people in charge are cowardly little shits that'll use you as a shield to deflect the blame whenever _they_ allowed you to do something that resulted in bad press. There isn't a single good person in the higher ups. I've had jobs where I followed all the rules and _still_ got fired because "it just wasn't working out." I'd like someone to fire _them_ because "it just wasn't working out" so they can know how it feels.
That is very true. The engineer was an honourable one and may he live for ever in the after life. And you're pretty right. The higher ups aren't fair back then and they are still are today. McDonalds was certainly right. He was probably being used as scape goat for the accident as CN saw a spike in derailments like the one at Hinton.
Good job thunderbolt!
We need to have engineers like him🙂
No...we don't.
@@ridingwithdavid739 why not?🙁☹️
@@allisonreithmeier555 dam your right
So we have more runaways?.. This donkey caused this himself.
@@ridingwithdavid739 no he tried to stop it after he started it usually people don't do that
This is one of the best features you've ever done. I remember listening to that whole radio conversation a couple of years ago when I did a random RUclips search for runaway trains. Wesley was a damn hero. May he RIP.
I never expected to hear the full story about this famous accident. In the early days of the internet there circulated a link to the audio and I believe it was used in railroad safety education.
Thank you for the catch-up story. RIP Wesley, you will forever remain a legend of the 'steel road'.
Damn legend, taking a picture with his derailed train! If at all possible, can you do a video about the Jeannettes Creek Train Wreck that occurred in Ontario on October 27 1854?
If you can wait 33 years
@@dankmemesarecool1999 wdym?
I was stupid ok,
@@rayhankazianga6817 I think he meant in 33 years it will have been 200 years since that happened
Man, that locomotive driver had the guts to go down with the train. What a legend. Also, can u do a story of the 1991 union square wreck
Wow. I live just 30 mins from Moncton and just hours away from Bathurst and Campbellton. This hits home.
Na, he didn't hit anything.
And thus the memory is launched forward in time. Thank you. 🖖
Real nice on showing a clip of the 1985 runaway train
Soundtrack too
What an amazing story, Captain went down with the ship and lived to tell about it, wow.
He never gave up the train and tried to get back in control. Huge respect.
That dispatcher has quite the sense of humor
Almost like the titanic but on land, a captain goes down with his ship.
As the examples of the _Oceanos_ and the _Costa Concordia_ demonstrate, that tradition is no longer observed. On the _Oceanos,_ the captain and crew fled immediately and the evacuation had to be organized by the entertainers. Captain Schettino of the _Costa Concordia,_ on the other hand, "fell into the lifeboat."
@@shane99ca Not observed? Do you mean they don't do that anymore? If so, why?
@@florjanbrudar692 People are less beholden to tradition, and less disciplined, than they once were. Also, it was largely an English tradition, practiced by England and countries significantly affected by England during the 19th century. Other nations, like France and the Mediterranean countries, aren’t such avid practitioners. Both these ships were from Mediterranean countries.
Exactly
At 6:46 I tried making out what Wes says, from what I can make out he says: "I'm 'bout to come off the rails boss!" or something, but its hard to make it out with the horn blowing
Finally, someone makes an ACTUAL documentary!
I'm sick of all these people just playing roblox and calling it a documentary.
As always, incredibly researched and detailed. You do such a great job with these videos
I can’t believe McDonald actually survived. He is a legend
This train wreck recording was used as a training aid at CN. We had to listen to the recording when we trained as hoggers. If you have ever worked on the railway then you'd know how easily this can happen. Complacency in any aspect of working with rail equipment always puts your life at risk. Any weight change will change how your equipment handles.
"An awful goddamn mixup if I can ever survive it." Truer words were never spoken.
I mentioned this to my Dad and he says this guy was an old friend of his. Dad, if you see this, I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your nickname years ago 😂 Glad you've been able to enjoy many years of retirement. I know you couldn't wait to get the hell out.
Hey if you want to make the train gameplay footage more smooth, you can install cheat engine. It allows to virtually slowdown your game so it takes 2 real live seconds for 1 program second (or any other vallue you set) which means you can record on half speed and then speed it up in post. And because the program has "more" time it will run in higher FPS and thus you will get smoother animations! The audio is something else tho.
Thanks for this. I heard the audio years ago. Quite dramatic.
What a great documentary man, like always keep up the good work
This premiers at 00:30 in the UK
Watching this at 3am,probably gonna give me nightmares ,when I do get to sleep ,excellent video!!!
Wesley survived the wreck but did suffer a fairly severe concussion, which I understand contributed to his death not long after.
The practice of blaming rail crews continues to this day.
To ride that runaway knowing he was unlikely to survive and yet remain as controlled as he did took raw courage.
Another nicely produced video
I don't see anything about a concussion anywhere. Every source I can find says minor cuts and bruises. And he lived until 1997, a full ten years more.
@ACE 99
There was an interview with his daughter attached to this video.
She talked about the head injury he suffered being thrown into the cab wall during the crash. He apparently downplayed the severity of his injury because of the subsequent investigation and not wishing to lose his pension.
She said he had very long-term issues resulting
@@1929modelagirl interesting. Are you sure it's this person?
He managed to live an additional nine years as a retired railroader. That's around 8.5 years longer than he could of expected. It takes a toll on the body.
Incredible work thunderbolt. That must've been terrifying for Mcdonald in that train.
Cheers to the engineer for ' staying with his ship" to try & do as much humanely possible in an hopeless situation. Also thank you for presenting this video about a hair raising incident l didn't know about before.
It makes me wonder what if more engineers were like that stayed with their train and atleast tried to stop it and then escaped with their lives if they knew they couldn't stop it
I think most do in cases like this. Low speed crashes are one thing, but jumping from a 50-70 mile an hour vehicle is never a good move.
I just discovered your channel a couple of hours or so. This is my 4th video. You describe things very well without lots of screaming and yelling like most documentaries of this type. You have a new subscriber.
Thunderbolt my friend, I gotta tell yeh. A WWII veteran friend of mine passed away last year at the ripe old age of 99. He was also a 41-year veteran of the rails. Starting with the DL&W in 1941 before going to war, then going to the Erie Lackawanna, then hitching with Conrail. He was the conductor of the trains - including the famous Phoebe Snow. In the 1970’s, he brought his train into the Buffalo yards in Blasdell south of Buffalo. He told me, “We came in that night and the tower master had us park in a siding. The engineer and I asked what to do with it, and they said, “Just leave it there. The next crew will pick it up in the morning”. So, we went home for the night. But the people left the switch open. And during the night, another train came speeding into the yard, and went into the switch. The next day, we came back to the yard, and we saw the damage. If you could imagine it, the cars were strewn across the tracks, and were piled 50 feet high. It was the worst wreck I had ever seen”. Now, at the time, he was one for seniority because he had worked with the road for so long. However, the CEO of Norfolk & Western did not like him. When they heard about the wreck, they immediately put blame on him for it. He was immediately fired. But during this time following the incident, New York State, the City of Buffalo, his union, and the NFTA began investigations into the wreck. Two years later, the State of New York came back and BLASTED Norfolk & Western for their actions, demanding that he be reinstated and paid him for EVERY SINGLE DAY he was out of work. That is what you call justice served. This was when he was still with the Erie Lackawanna.
If you are wanting to put this into a video, you will need PERSONAL PERMISSION from both ME and HIS DAUGHTER. I am the only one he told about this, and his daughter is very protective of his legacy. So, if you are interested in making a video of this, contact me on either Facebook, Discord, or any other way. I await to STILL get a chance to meet you here in Western New York. -The Tank Commander
The amount of stress & shame your friend endured for 2 years is a damn Abomination. Many Blessings to him.
@@harrynicholes3166 thank you kindly
@@Zwornik-Soldato thank you Mister Berkshire. Come join my channel anytime
I keep rewatching this one. the recorded audio really puts it into perspective for you..
I hope this man is at 100k by the end of the year. Great content m8!
Happened just a few hours away from where I live and I'd never heard of this before. Thanks for the video.
That had to be the most canadian sounding emergency recording I've ever heard😂
Can we just appreciate the work he puts into these type of videos.
Rest in piece Wesley MacDonald 1928-1997
I agree R.I.P
No, *CURSE HIM, CUUUURSE HIM, BLEH, BLEH*
@@PronatorTendon why?
@@ejdsndnj because *BLEH!*
@@PronatorTendon no
Thanks to your channel, I know about some train derailments I didn’t even now happened! Keep up the great work.
This brave man said I’m going down with my engine now that’s a brave man
Damn Thomas the train really desensitized me to these train crashes as a kid, but now these videos are making me see the true horrors of these accidents.
Alright this is probably the worst video to put this comment on because this is the only one the plays out just like a Thomas episode lmao.
Great video, canyou do the 1995 Russel Hill crash though?
An excellent recounting of this incident. Thank you.
Corrections: 1. Wide NOSE, not wide cab. The cab is the same width as a standard model; 2. Canadian Transport COMMISSION, not Committee.
Great vid. You should get a series on History channel.
Or Smithsonian Channel.
I grew up along a train line in the Alberta badlands, and my great uncle was a cn conductor. Thank you for sharing this incredible story
Can you do the 2013 train/bus collision in Ottawa Ontario?
I heard of that news report
My hat is definitely off to this engineer how he stuck it out all the way. Awesome 👍👍👍❤️
Im glad that he survived
I’m Canadian and this is still the most Canadian conversation I’ve ever heard between this engineer and the dispatcher I’ve ever heard.
I heard the audio 20+ years ago. IIRC, shortly before the derailment, the engineer said over the radio "if I get out of this, they can put me on the fuckin pension."
I heard that on the recording. Gave me a good laugh.
In a 30 year career runnning, I never derailed{Thank Christ!} had EVERYTHING else though. I did lose the air and my brakes,but my dynamic saved me until I could pump up again.Wesley is one of my heroes!
Thank goodness for the dynamic. Back in this time CN didn't have dynamic on most of their locomotives.
12:38 LOVE the Doug Mckenzie impression 🤣
good job with the background music on this one. i see you really listen to the comments. great video as always
You should do a video of what is known in song as, "The wreck of Old 97"
I first heard the audio of this wreck on the internet some years back. Gave me cold chills then and and gives me cold chills now.
Train: *i am speed*
Whilst sonic theme plays in the background
The FitnessGram™ Pacer Test is a multistage aerobic capacity test that progressively gets more difficult as it continues. The 20 meter pacer test will begin in 30 seconds. Line up at the start. The running speed starts slowly, but gets faster each minute after you hear this signal. [beep] A single lap should be completed each time you hear this sound. [ding] Remember to run in a straight line, and run as long as possible. The second time you fail to complete a lap before the sound, your test is over. The test will begin on the word start. On your mark, get ready, start.
I agree because The train was doing almost 70 MPH
Hahaha not funny
Train yes yes yes I’m gonna step on the gas gas gas gas