Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Photo Submitted

GOING NOWHERE – This was the scene Wednesday afternoon following the White Pass train derailment. Photo courtesy RHONDA VINCENT/FACEBOOK

Car slides into lake after train derails on summit

A northbound White Pass & Yukon Route train derailed at the White Pass summit just before the U.S.-Canada border Wednesday afternoon,

By Freelancer on July 24, 2014

SKAGWAY – A northbound White Pass & Yukon Route train derailed at the White Pass summit just before the U.S.-Canada border Wednesday afternoon, sending two people into a small lake and 19 people to the clinic with minor injuries.

According to a White Pass press release, the derailment happened northeast of Skagway at Milepost 20, and involved two vintage locomotives and four passenger rail cars.

Early reports indicated the derailment, which happened at about 1:35 p.m., caused multiple injuries, which had Juneau’s Bartlett Regional Hospital on standby until 4:30 p.m.

“Any injury connected to our rail operations, whether to our passengers or our employees, is always considered serious,” White Pass president John Finlayson said in the press release.

“Although we have not yet identified the specific cause or causes of this incident, a thorough investigation has been undertaken, and all reasonable efforts will be made to ensure that safe operations remain the overriding focus of our workforce and management team.”

According to the release, rail operations have been temporarily suspended to allow an investigation to proceed and expert analysis of the cause to be determined.

Operations will resume as soon as the company can ensure the safety of its passengers and employees.

“Safety is, and always will be, our number one priority,” Finlayson said Wednesday night.

Skagway Police Chief Ray Leggett said no passengers were transported out of Skagway for medical attention. Those injured travelled back to town with other passengers in another train and were taken to Dahl Memorial Clinic.

Clinic medical director Carol Borg said medical providers saw 19 patients who had been on the train, all of whom had “very minor injuries.”

At the clinic, passengers were reliving the accident, sharing stories and showing photos on iPhones and cameras. There were bruises, banged heads, wet clothes, and broken electronics.

Clinic employees donned purple vests that read “transportation coordinator,” while they checked IDs, passed out crackers and apple juice, and made sure everyone was comfortable while waiting to be examined.

Joe Gilsinger and wife Dana were among the waiting.

The couple from Crown Point, Indiana, was Fraser, B.C.-bound in the third train car to begin their Sockeye Cycle bicycle tour, and Joe was on the car platform taking photos with his iPhone.

Not even a minute and a half after going back into the car and sitting down next to his wife, Joe watched the train car in front of him slowly slide off the tracks.

“It was like that ride at MGM Studios where they show the train wreck,” he said.

“Then the car we were in came off the ground, and I was thinking, ‘where the hell are we going?’”

Once the train stopped and the car was grounded, everyone got out as fast as they could.

“A lot of people got out there and risked their lives helping people not knowing if the train car was going to fall into the water,” he said. “It was pretty spectacular.”

Gilsinger, who is a first responder EMT, was one of the people who offered to help.

“I could tell they needed someone to kind of be the leader, and I stepped into that role because I have the training,” he said.

Passengers in the second car were visibly scared and confused and couldn’t figure out a way to safely get over the platform railing. Joe calmly talked to them and told them how to move while holding onto their legs and lowering them to the ground.

Joe said the first car was empty, but two of the second car passengers and part of the second car went into a small lake before the summit when the first and second cars went off the tracks.

“You just want to stop it from happening,” said Lisa Kratz, whose husband, Robert Kratz, and brother-in-law, Timmy Kratz, were the ones who fell into the lake.

Lisa and her son, Chris, were standing on the platform behind the first car taking pictures when they noticed the car ahead of them turning to the right without the rest of the train.

They recalled seeing brake smoke after the train jerked forward, sending Robert and Timmy “flying 30 feet ahead” into the water.

Kerosene from the train’s heater leaked into the water, soaking the two men who were already in water over their heads.

“We were petrified of going back down afterward,” said Chris of the travels back to Skagway.

Aside from some bruises and soreness, the family was physically unharmed from the incident.

Chris and his father Robert are both train fanatics, and believe the derailment may have had something to do with the switch not functioning properly.

While the derailment may have shaken up the family emotionally, Lisa is thankful it happened at that exact spot it did, saying it was a good place in comparison to a cliff.

Jerry Cable and his wife, Judy, were two cars behind the parlor car that dipped into the lake.

“We heard a bang, then another bang, and then there was some shaking, and then it stopped,” Jerry said.

He had just taken a photo of his wife at 1:32 p.m. with his Nikon camera and the accident occurred shortly thereafter, he said.

Judy grabbed the camera and started taking pictures from their car’s platform at 1:37 p.m. while he ran forward to try if he could help.

“The train crew was very calm and helpful, and the passengers really responded appropriately too,” Jerry said.

The crew then got everyone on another train.

According to reports from passengers, it took about an hour and a half before the descent back to Skagway began. Jerry Cable said it was a quiet ride.

As for the derailment, Finlayson said the railway is still determining the cause and won’t be able to comment until all the facts are reviewed.

See related story.

By KATIE EMMETS
AIMEE O’CONNOR
and JEFF BRADY
The Skagway News

Be the first to comment

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.