LOCOMOTIVES COLLIDE AT PROMONTORY SUMMIT:
Replicas of the locomotives depicted on Utah's commemorative state quarter collided about 5 p.m. May 10 as the Jupiter and 119 were being returned to the engine house, several hours after they were used to commemorate the 117th anniversary of the Golden Spike celebration.
"It appears there were crossed signals between the two conductors," said Margaret A. Johnston, superintendent of the Golden Spike National Historic Site. "They communicate through the whistle."
The locomotives are replicas of the two engines that met up when the transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10, 1869.
Both engines were traveling under 5 mph when they crashed. Nobody was injured in the incident and the locomotives did not derail.
Witness Brian Roberts said the collision caused steam to bellow from the trains for more than 10 minutes. The 119 sustained cracks to its wood and iron pilot, but was driven off the tracks shortly after the crash. The pilot on the Jupiter was more severely damaged and had to be disassembled. The Jupiter could not be returned to the engine house until about 9 p.m. It did, however, get there under its own steam, Johnston said. Engineers also said it sounded fine.
On May 11, engineers and maintenance crews were trying to determine the extent of the damage. The National Park Service is conducting the investigation.
[Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen, 5-12-06, from Salt Lake Tribune website report by Jason Bergreen]
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