Re: The real runaway into the river story
Author: Craig Tambo
Date: 02-12-2017 - 22:48
The first diesels to drop through the open bridge into the Napa River were Baldwin AS-616s 5260, 4904, and 5261 (4904 was a B-unit). The accident happened on July 12, 1959. They were subsequently raised, barged to San Francisco, and scrapped.
The story I heard (no guarantee it's correct)was that this was a caboose hop; the engineer forgot he had a plug in the independent brake valve, so only the caboose brakes set up and he couldn't stop. Ever after, he was known as the "Admiral." The engineer who let the geeps roll into the drink in the 80s thus became the "Commodore."