On Breakdowns: When Conditions Online Don’t Always Go As Planned

What is sometimes referred to as a “hospital train,” consisting of locomotives usually either headed to the scrap yard or for trade-in. In either case, their days are numbered. Credit: Alan Kandel

Anything mechanical and/or electrical can break down. And, trains being no different, these have been known to fail, falter too.

It just so happens that I was witness to one such train breakdown myself.

I don’t know the particulars of the event, but it was circa the late 20th century and an eastbound Santa Fe train had entered Fresno (California) from the west and was traversing a section of tangent (straight) track in the northwest part of the city dotted mostly with residences, when the practically unheard of happened. The train came to an abrupt halt. At least two roadway crossings were blocked and for a period of around five hours before said train could again be moved, operations returning to normal.

The breakdown had something to do with the brakeline. I remember speaking with a train crewmember, he telling me everything past the problem spot had gotten locked up, meaning, the brakes on the cars beyond where the fault was located could simply not be released. That is, until mechanical personnel arrived on scene and were on hand to assess the situation, determine what the problem cause(s) was (were) and were able to perform the needed repair(s). I failed to learn any more beyond that.

It was fortunate in this instance that the breakdown happened nearby where railroad personnel were based. The repair must have been extensive due to the amount of time it took to get things back to normal or it could have been that locating exactly where the fault was took longer than expected or both.

This was, thankfully, the one and only breakdown I ever happened upon.

The other, more common, breakdown is locomotive failure. Though I’ve never seen such an example, indicative of this could be a case where a freight locomotive is piloting a passenger train with the passenger locomotive, while still in the consist, being shut down.

In closing, that there are as few breakdowns out in the field as there are, speaks very highly of railroad mechanical and/or electrical (shop) forces.

This was Tidewater Southern #745. What looks to be an Alco (American Locomotive Company) model S2 switch engine. The orange-colored loco at one time had seen much better days. Credit: Alan Kandel

In regards to other types of breakdowns, these can run the gamut: everything from electrical-supply troubles on lines where electricity is used to supply power to trains to issues with signaling.

All material copyrighted 2025, Alan Kandel. All Rights Reserved.