CN High Rail Worker Gets A Washout Scare

Mother nature gets her way once again!

The high rail crew just happened to be at the right place at the right time!

This high rail worker was checking the condition of the track when he suddenly gets caught on the other side of his crew by the washout!

You can hear the excitement in his voice as the ballast starts to give way under his feet causing him to back up quickly!

The high rail car is a piece of equipment that can ride on both pavement and rails and is generally used to survey track conditions. When high water or flood conditions exist, they look for washed out ballast (the rocks under the rails) and other potential problems resulting from storms.

This incident took place in the Timmins and Sudbury region of Alberta, Canada out in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, this crew was there when the washout occurred so that they could warn the dispatcher of the track outage who then issues restrictions and contacts the trains.

Costs to construct railroad tracks vary widely, and this one will cost thousands of dollars to repair. Perhaps they should construct a bridge?