The Santa train season is nearing its end — which may be just as well, considering a weekend with minor mishaps involving three such trains, from one side of the country to the other.
On Friday, the Polar Express operated by the California State Railroad Museum from its station in Old Sacramento was involved in a grade-crossing collision, KOVR-TV reports. No injuries occurred, and the vehicle involved drove off. The trip was delayed slightly by an investigation.
Then, on Saturday, the final trip of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad’s North Pole Adventure holiday excursions was cut short when four cars of the train derailed just north of Peninsula, Ohio. There were no injuries among the 588 passengers and crew members on board, the Akron Beacon Journal reports; while the cars involved all stayed upright, former California Zephyr dome-lounge-observation Silver Solarium “had an obvious tilt,” according to the newspaper. The derailment occurred just before 9 p.m.; buses transported the passengers back to their starting point, with the last arriving by 1 a.m.
A Cuyahoga Valley Scenic representative said the cause is under investigation; a spokeswoman for the National Park Service — which owns the right-of-way within Cuyahoga Valley National Park — said the Federal Railroad Administration will be conduct an investigation.
Finally, NJ.com reports that a Santa Train operated by Conrail was also involved in a grade-crossing accident Saturday night in South Plainfield, N.J., striking a minivan. South Plainfield police told the news site that the accident occurred about 6:30 p.m. at a crossing with warning lights but no signals, and that the van driver was uninjured although the vehicle was badly damaged.
May be should be warning lights, but no crossing gates. Warning lights but no signals does not make sense to me.
“588 passengers” on that Polar Express? That could have been really bad.