Tidewater Southern Railway

The Escalon Fire

As the year 1959 was drawing to a close, the Tidewater Southern was in the midst of a tremendous change in both its traffic base and physical plant.  Steam had left for good in 1955 and diesels, both the Tidewater's own and those borrowed from parent WP, ruled the mainline.  The last of 90 new freight cars, the first arriving as steam left, had been delivered the year before.  Packing sheds and depots were being retired as canned and manufactured goods superceded fresh produce loading.  And the track structure, built to the interurban standards of the 1910's, was seeing a complete rebuilding to meet the demands of the heavier trains of the 1950's and 60's.  By the time the Tidewater's first diesels would bow to their larger Alco successors, the little GE's would feel the railroad completely change beneath their wheels.

This renaissance was punctuated by what was probably the largest disaster to ever occur on the railroad, a massive fire that would consume several buildings representing the line's past as well as the cars being used to help build its future.  Despite its size, the fire would leave few lasting signs, other than serving as a bookmark in the road's history.

Starting in the late 1950's, the TS embarked on a project to rebuild the railroad.  Various aspects included the strengthening of major trestles, installation of rail anchors and compression clips, and replacing mostly 60 lb. rail with second-hand 100 lb. stock acquired from parent WP.  The rail relay appears to have begun near Ortega and by 1959 had proceeded to the area of Atlanta and Simms.  This work included tie replacement and adding additional, heavier ballast to the lightly ballasted mainline.

An Explosion at Escalon

In December 1959, a tie gang work train, on loan with its crew from the WP, was parked in a siding at Escalon adjacent to Packing Shed #1 and the Escalon Freight Office.  The crew was working on trackage nearby and the packing shed siding, leased to Escalon Packers and likely unused in the off season, made a convenient place to tiedown the work train.

The train, referred to as a "camp" in the official correspondence, included the following Western Pacific MOW cars: ice car 7045 (rebuilt from a WP PFE reefer), gas car 0607K, tool car 0694H, outfit cars 0692J and 0339T, shower car 0992T and foreman's car 0604B.  The last 5 were likely rebuilt from old Pullman boxcars in the WP 15001 series.  This was a live-aboard work train and at least five members of the tie gang had their personal gear and other belongings stored in the outfit cars.

While times in the official documents differ, it appears that at around 4:00 PM on December 19, 1959, the Assistant Foreman started a gas powered lighting plant located in tool car 0694H.  Such plants provided electricity to the interior lights on the MOW cars.  He had walked approximately 1 car length away from the tool car when he reported hearing a noise "similar to backfiring of an engine".  Immediately following this sound there was an explosion in the tool car.  The resulting fire quickly spread and engulfed the adjacent fuel car, MW 0607K, which was loaded with barreled gasoline.  The explosion completely destroyed the surrounding cars.  The shed and the depot were also destroyed, likely by a combination of the explosion and the main fire.

It appears that the Assistant Foreman was the only person present at the camp and that he was able to escape unharmed, having probably set a personal best time in sprinting.  Five members of the tie gang lost their personal possessions and an undetermined amount of tools and equipment was destroyed.  The mainline was buckled and would require the replacement of 110 ties and about 17 lengths of rail.  A stack of 80 ties, probably piled in anticipation of installation, were scattered along the right of way and burned in the fire.

Aftermath and Investigation

In a telegram sent to the main officers of the WP on the morning of December 21, 1959, TS President R. T. Kearney reported the accident and its aftermath.  The packing shed and freight office were listed as complete losses and the 6 WP MOW cars were characterized as "totally destroyed".  The mainline had been reopened at 1:00 PM on the 20th, but it appears that much clean-up remained.

In a report to WP President Frederick Whitman two days later, WP Vice-President and General Manager H. C. Munson reported that investigation of the cause had failed to reveal much more that was initially reported about the incident.  No clear failure had been identified, but statements in the report indicated that they considered human error, or "manfailure" as Munson termed it, to be likely.  Munson reported details about the generator, a U.S. Motortype brand that operated on gasoline.  Apparently, a 2 or 3-gallon spare tank was stored nearby in the tool car.  Munson seemed to suspect that this had something to do with the incident and promised Whitman further investigation of the methods used to light the work gangs, with particular attention to the handling of gasoline storage.  He also mentioned that the policy of parking work gang camps next to buildings and structures should be explored and the hazards, "if any", be considered.

The fire was the death knell for the packing shed.  A group composed of TS President Kearney, VP Munson, F. B. Stratton and WP Chief Engineer F. R. Woolford determined that the railroad could get away with not rebuilding the shed, likely due to the declining produce loading on the line.  They also recommended that only one or two of the MOW cars needed to be replaced, if any.  As Munson noted to President Whitman in the December 21 report, the WP had been "reducing our total ownership of such equipment".  It was stated that the Tidewater would reimburse the WP for the losses of tools and equipment to whatever extent was found to be equitable.  Legal and insurance forces of the railroad were said to be working on the arrangements, coordinating the railroads' insurance policies and determining the best course of action.  Munson mentions that the WP's fire policy had a $25,00 deductible, while the Tidewater's was only $250!

A little over one month later, WP President Whitman requested an update on the investigation.  Munson responded that not much more had been discovered since the fire.  The only hint that a cause had been determined is Munson statement that all outfits had been inspected to ensure that they were wired properly and that all generators and other electrical items, including wiring, were in good condition.

In October 1960, an AFE (Authority For Expenditure) was approved covering the retirement and removal of Packing Shed 1 and the related track.  A breakdown of costs showed a gross expense to the TS of $610.00 after accounting for insurance coverage and salvage costs.  The WP outfit cars were covered under WP AFE 45-60.

While the packing shed and MOW cars were not considered high replacement priorities, the TS found that it needed a freight office in Escalon.  In early 1959, Manteca had been downgraded to a non-agency station and the former Manteca agent had been handling all accounts for both Manteca and Escalon.  While his records were stored in the former Manteca station, he required an office at Escalon for billing cars and other clerical work.  Since the fire, a TS caboose had been stationed in Escalon for this purpose, but the caboose would be needed for the seasonal rush.  In May 1960, President Kearney requested the preparation of TS AFE 11-60 to cover the purchase of maintenance of way car from the WP to serve as the Escalon office.  AFE 11-60 was finally approved on January 17, 1961, authorizing the purchase in the amount of $400.00.  The car purchased became TS 0565-H (which also appears to have been its WP number).  Like many WP MOW cars, the bunk car had been rebuilt from one of the 15001 series Pullman boxcars that came to the WP in 1916.

It is unknown how long the 0565-H served as the Escalon office, but by the early 1970's, it was photographed on work trains on the TS and WP before disappearing as the WP finally retired the last of these long-lived cars.  Remarkably, the lowly bunk car was discovered to still survive in early 2003, resting in the yard of a private individual in Sacramento.  As for the site of the fire, no traces remain of Shed 1 or the Escalon Freight Office.  Escalon Packers, leaser of the shed at the time of the fire, remains in business and is still one of the biggest shippers on the north end of the Tidewater Subdivision.

Information from the Western Pacific President's Papers, courtesy of the California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives.  Any additional information, including photos of the cars and structures involved, would be greatly appreciated.

Photographed in Sacramento in June, 1970, TS bunk car 0565-H has long since lost its job as the Escalon freight office and returned to its original MOW service.  This car survives, almost 90 years after it was first built as a boxcar.

David Cox photo.  Frank Brehm collection.

Tidewater Southern North End