Gravel Car Derailment Disrupts Rail Service
A runaway gravel car caused a headache for Lynden commuters when it jumped the switch at the local yards.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
While loading a car with gravel on Tuesday, Mr. Slade lost control of the vehicle, which ran off the switch and onto the main line. Because there was no wrecker available in the Lynden yards, the car could not be replaced until Wednesday morning. Passengers relying on the morning and evening trains were forced to complete part of their journey on hand and push cars.
“Passengers to and from morning and evening trains had to be transported as far as the gravel pit on hand and push cars.”
Infrastructure mishaps in small rail towns often forced residents into improvisational solutions, a stark contrast to the highly regulated, albeit fragile, transit systems of today.
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