Accident in Northville 10-03-1985

[Crow T Robot]

Does anyone remember this happening?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqlc7cAo ... re=related

What was the circumstances? Where did the cars come from? How far did they go before impact?

[SW]

I remember hearing about it, but I don't remember the circumstances.

I'm curious as to where this was filmed - I guess somewhere on the CMGN. Definitely not Northville. The scene looking west from the bridge would be woods, not businesses. Woods and apartments in the opposite direction. And the bridge has the "C & O" emblem on it.

[pica]

This could have happened on the CSX tracks that run parallel to Northville Rd. between 7 mile and 5 mile.

[chapmaja]

The accident was at 7 mile rd in Northville.

Here is an article about the accient I found online.

http://articles.latimes.com/1985-10-05/ ... ay-boxcars


Most likely the reinactment was filmed on the CMGN. IIRC they had allowed use of the property for these type reinactments and staged accidents in other cases as well.

The only thing that looked like it could be right from that period is the 6 mile rd bridge, but even then I'm not sure it is the same bridge.

[conrailmike]

Someone had posted quite a long time ago about where this was filmed. It was on the CMGN but I can't remember where they said it was.

[cnw8835]

Filmed in Ada, just outside of Grand Rapids.

[Crow T Robot]

The accident was at 7 mile rd in Northville.

Here is an article about the accient I found online.

http://articles.latimes.com/1985-10-05/ ... ay-boxcars


Most likely the reinactment was filmed on the CMGN. IIRC they had allowed use of the property for these type reinactments and staged accidents in other cases as well.

The only thing that looked like it could be right from that period is the 6 mile rd bridge, but even then I'm not sure it is the same bridge.

so the boxcars rolled all the way from the Ford Wixom Plant well into Northville? I amazed no one else was killed they would have crossed at least 4 - 5 other crossings.

[chapmaja]

Most likely not Wixom Yard. Back in the day Novi had several rail customers in town, one of which was located where Rock Financial Showplace now sits IIRC. Since they had customers in town I think they had a small "yard" in town as well.

What shocked me a little bit was the signals were not activated by these cars. I would have thought the cars would have been heavy enough to trigger the crossing signals, unless 7 mile rd didn't have them at the time.

I was just by the area of that accident today and the car would likely have taken the bridge out or ended up on the roadway had it gotten to the 6 mile rd bridge.

[PMLady]

Seeing this video again always leaves a pit in my stomach. I worked with her back in late 1970's when she worked for the 46th District Court-Southfield as one of the judge's secretary's. I knew them both -- sweet couple. Bet you didn't know that Conrail Jon.

[sd70accsxt700]

Most likely not Wixom Yard. Back in the day Novi had several rail customers in town, one of which was located where Rock Financial Showplace now sits IIRC. Since they had customers in town I think they had a small "yard" in town as well.

First please help me here as it has been a while, but I thought the Rock "place" was farthere west from the CSX tracks, and not anwhere near it. Are you sure you dont mean the Novi Expo Center, or are they one in the same now. I thought they were seperate.

Going on that point, I know of a old spur that headed up hill towards the Novi Expo center, but was told it was a old beer distrubtor or somthing to do with wine. According to the article it was loaded auto parts. As I only know the line from when I was running it in 2000, please fill me in as other industries in that area, because I could only see evedence of four maybe five industries that now have had the tracks pulled. And as far as I was told none would have handeled loaded auto parts.

[conrailmike]

The current Rock Financial Show Place sits on the property that once was part of a Rest Area on eastbound I-96. The Novi Expo Center was in what used to be a liquor distributor/manufacturer...can't remember which one. It now sits empty. Next door to that was what used to be a railcar repair company IIRC.

EDIT: It was Mohawk Liquor and Paragon was the railcar company. In this thread here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10270&start=0&hilit=Novi

[chapmaja]

I had a teacher who used to work in one of the buildings, maybe it was the Expo Center site. She said they got rail shipments when she worked there, but they weren't that common.

Just because the cars would have been in the yard in Novi doesn't mean they would have been from a customer in Novi. It is very possible they were part of a local and were left in the Novi "yard" while the rest of the train services another customer. It's not unheard of to see very short local trains now and it wasn't back then.

[pica]

Does anyone else remember when two tank cars fell onto 696 off the overpass. I think this was in the late eighties.

[msurailfan]

Does anyone else remember when two tank cars fell onto 696 off the overpass. I think this was in the late eighties.

I remember that happening sometime in the mid 90's. My mother worked in Clinton Twp. (commuted from Farmington Hills every day, bless her heart) and she would take me to my grandmothers house, a few miles from her work, every morning. One day she came home and told me about the accident and sure enough, the next morning there they were, chillin on the hill decline by the service pass. This happened at the overpass at 696/Groesbeck Hwy.