Dale Jones Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well...after reviewing all the Altamont Group
> History - I thought I would throw in a little
> history about the 1962 NP wreck at Granite Lake.
>
> Yes... the wreck at Granite Lake was quite a "big
> one" as wrecks goes. You don't lose the whole
> front part of a transcontinental passenger train
> into a frozen lake and not make the headlines.
>
> This was light years before so-called celebrities
> of second rate entertainers like Lindsey Lohan and
> Charlie Sheen make more "news" than actual events
> that affect real people and not just egos of
> history wannabes.
>
> I looked for my old newspaper articles of the
> wreck – but…could not seem to find them.
>
> So…here’s what I remember and what I was told by a
> Northern Pacific employee.
>
> From all “official” accounts, this accident was
> caused by the train leaving the tracks at high
> speed on a curve. My brother’s father-in-law,
> Frank Reisenbigler [1906 – 1975] of the Spokane
> Valley was high on the seniority list on the
> Northern Pacific at the time [1960’s].
>
> Well… since he knew that his daughter’s future
> son-in-law's brother was a “railfan” he let me
> ride along on a few switching jobs around the NP
> yard at Yardley, WA. While riding around he
> expounded on his experiences of life working for
> the railroad.
>
> He did specifically mention the Granite Lake wreck
> as it was a sensitive subject among NP employees
> in the area at the time. It appears that most of
> the employees knew that the railroad was out and
> out lying about the cause of the accident. It was
> not “high speed” that derailed the locomotive but
> it was a broken rail. Since the front-end crew
> died in the accident, the railroad chose to make
> it appear that the crew was at fault instead of
> the railroad company.
>
> He said that this lying about the cause fatality
> accidents was common practice for the Northern
> Pacific. He said that anytime a crew member was
> killed and it could not be corroborated by
> convincing evidence otherwise – they would always
> blame the crew…not the railroad.
>
> He stated that in one accident in the 1940’s he
> was the engineer in an accident where his train
> was rear-ended by another train. Since the
> Conductor & Rear-Brakeman were killed in the
> caboose – the “official” cause of the accident was
> that the Conductor had been drinking and did not
> read the train orders correctly, thereby causing
> the accident. Frank had worked with the Conductor
> for years and knew he was a Teetotaler – the man
> never drank.
>
> He stated that it was common practice the blame
> the crew and alcohol for any accident they could.
> They would not accept any responsibility if it
> could be avoided.
>
> Now… back to Granite Lake. Lots of urban myths
> surround that accident. No - - -there are still no
> locomotives or parts of locomotives still buried
> in the mud. After the bypass was built and the old
> trestle was still in place – my Dad & I would walk
> around on the trestle and do some exploring. It
> was easy to see from atop the trestle everything
> in the bottom of the lake. It’s not that deep
> where the train landed in the lake! Trust me –
> there are no locomotive parts down there!
>
> As for Frank Reisenbigler’s story concerning
> Granite Lake? Well, it could be just an old “Union
> vs Management” disagreement or just a story made
> up to impress a teenage railfan. Since Frank had
> other stories that seemed to support the sinister
> actions on the part of the Northern Pacific
> Railway. Perhaps…there was some truth to the
> matter.
>
> Considering that…why is such a huge accident NOT
> listed in the “official” ICC reports??? I see
> “Conspiracy Theory” written all over it !! Go
> bloggers go!!
>
> Is it any really any different today? – do not
> many businesses, railroad’s or otherwise always
> “spin” bad things into “good” things and if they
> can blame the janitor or some minimum wage
> underling for some horrendous disaster – that’s
> great!
>
> Anyway,
> Talk to ya later,
> Dale Jones
> [www.railroads-of-mo]

What a crock of crap. I'm guessing you were absent the day God was handing out brains.