There’s no lack of signage to identify this location, CW Cabin, at milepost 359 on the Chesapeake & Ohio main line near Hinton, West Virginia. The train is the New River Train, returning to Huntington with a B&O GP38/GP40-2 pinch hitting on the head end. The scheduled power, Nickel Plate 765, is in the Hinton engine terminal with some wheels on the ground (a tender truck, if I recall correctly). CW was the scene of one of the C&O’s darkest moments. On June 9, 1953, an eastbound freight, pulled by H-8 2-6-6-6 Allegheny 1642, exploded on the near track about where the photographer is standing. The force of the explosion ripped the boiler from the running gear, and the huge boiler flew end-over-end through the air and landed about where the two EMD’s are in this photo. The engineer, fireman, and head-end brakeman perished immediately from the explosion, which was caused by an overheated crown sheet due to low water. The ICC report indicated a history of intermittent failures of the cold water pump, but it was damaged in the explosion and could not be tested. To see a photo of the explosion’s aftermath, click HERE.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
