Kott Lumber Derailment

June 21, 1984:  The switch to the Kott Lumber spur at Mi 8.1 of CN's Smiths Falls Sub on Moodie Drive in Nepean was left open, with eastbound VIA train No 46's locomotive and four cars colliding with two bulkhead flatcars and one boxcar at 2245 hours on the Kott property. The VIA cars remained upright but derailed, and sixty metres of track was destroyed.

If the cars had not been on the spur, it's likely that the train could have ended up in the Jock River. Damage to the train was estimated at $2.25 million. VIA train No 43 was bustituted, with VIA trains rerouted over CP via Carleton Place until June 24. LRC locomotive 6910 was sent to CN's Moncton shops for repairs in September, 1984. The locomotive was released from body repairs at Moncton in June, 1985. The unit was deadheaded to Montreal's Pointe Ste Charles shops deadhead on June 10 on VIA train No 15 for mechanical repairs, returned to service in October, 1985.

A 19 year-old man was jailed for two years less a day, with a further three years' probation. The man was seeking revenge on the lumber company for previously firing him. The derailment may have led to new rules for operating high-speed trains operating in non-signalled territory, and equipping mainline switches with high-security safety padlocks, not just switchlocks.

A quick photo (top) of the Kott Lumber spur, taken from our Renaissance car returning to Kingston in September, 2011. At speed! Check out blog partner Michael Hammond's post on the train that now serves Kott, and his first encounter which shows the spur sans foliage.

Running extra...

Michael's blog, The Beachburg Sub, explores all angles (and remnants) of Ottawa-area railroading, and beyond! Be sure to stop by and check out Michael's latest, as well as some looks forward to 2018 and glances over the shoulder at 2017 from my other blog partners.

We're keeping the Christmas lights on, but having just turned the corner from Christmas, we're now heading for the New Year! Of course that leads me to thoughts of my fall and winter project, Trains and Grains. Hoping to get some work done during a few days off. It's not really work, it's more like fun. Fun work?

Reading a non-train book Christmas Eve (well, there is a Burlington Route shovel-nosed Zephyr under the tree) to the kids under the Snowman Tree. Whenever I ask the kids whether they've read the latest here on Trackside Treasure, they register a look of diffident disinterest. We all know that genetic exposure is much more powerful than environmental exposure!