GRM puts equipment evacuation plan into effect as Hurricane Harvey bears down on Texas coast

August 25, 2017

Almost two years to the day of its first test to evacuate equipment in case of a hurricane, a BNSF train of important Galveston Railroad Museum rolling stock headed off Galveston Island in this morning’s wee hours.

The museum’s two F7A Santa Fe “Warbonnets” and four Amtrak-ready Budd passenger cars were escorted off the island under BNSF power at 2:15 in preparation for Hurricane Harvey, which is expected to hit the Texas coast tonight. Nos. 315 and 316 and chair cars “Alonzo A. Harder” and “George H. Gould,” diner “City of Galveston” and sleeper “Donald Harper” were towed about 50 miles inland to Pearland south of Houston.

BNSF’s “First Responder Express” rolls on a test run of evacuating key Galveston Railroad Museum rolling stock in September 2015. The train was put into action for a real evacuation of equipment from the museum earlier today in preparation for Hurricane Harvey – Courtesy Gordon Bliss

The rest of the museum, which Hurricane Ike severely damaged in 2008, was boarded up and sandbagged, Executive Directory Morris Gould said.

Earlier this week, a tropical Gulf depression became a hurricane bearing down on Corpus Christi. The National Weather Service says Harvey could reach winds of 125 mph and dump 20-30 inches of rain along the Gulf Coast late Friday and early Saturday. It could be the largest hurricane to hit the middle of the Texas coast since 2003.

Today, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged evacuations in the storm’s path and said he’d requested a presidential disaster declaration to trigger help from the federal government. He said Harvey, which is rated a Category 3 hurricane, will be “a very major disaster.”

Gould got an email yesterday from BNSF asking if GRM wanted to put the evacuation plan in action. He quickly got approval from the museum’s board to remove the equipment.

Museum officials swiftly prepared GRM inside and outside as much as they could. Important files and documents were placed on tables, hopefully high enough to avoid flooding, and the museum was sandbagged.

“It’s come up so quick, and there were some things we just couldn’t do,” said Gould, who believes the museum isn’t in harm’s way like it was nine years ago. “Hopefully we’re only going to get some rain out of it. I don’t think it’s going to be the center point like Ike.

“It’s another good drill for us. We talk about this every year.”

Ike hammered Galveston with 110-mph winds and a 15-foot storm surge that caused extensive flooding and equipment damage at the museum. Parts of GRM were under eight feet of water, and its two Texas Limited F7A locomotives were destroyed. The storm caused $22 billion in damage from Galveston to Houston.

After Ike, GRM and BNSF developed an evacuation plan that includes removing road-worthy rolling stock and annual test runs. In September 2015, BNSF’s first “First Responder Express” moved the F units and four passenger cars off the island in a special train recognizing area police and fire responders. Each car and locomotive is certified to run on Amtrak’s rail network.

Gould said he has fielded numerous calls from concerned fans since the hurricane began heading toward Texas.

Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.

Sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the United States are stirring model railroad manufacturers. As a result, model railroading and other hobbies will cost more. In February the U.S. applied a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, and the tax has since escalated. Suppliers – including Athearn, InterMountain Railway Co., Broadway Limited, Rapido Trains and ScaleTrains – have been putting dealers and customers on notice that prices will increase tariffs are implemented.

The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.

GRM puts equipment evacuation plan into effect as Hurricane Harvey bears down on Texas coast

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