The Great Train Crash

  At the Chatsworth house, being pretty much out in the country, everyone
came and went without much notice at all times of day or night. One
night/morning just before first light I was returning to my bed - parked my
'57 black VW Bug in the corral and was standing on the front porch waiting for Bob Fowlie who had also just parked. Across the fields to the east
were train tracks, the grade down from Simi Pass. (Some brothers loved to
ride freights over the weekends, John Roberts and Dave Miller, I think Pete
Tomaryn and Bruce Sutherland, and...? There have to be some good stories there...) 

Fortunately, this night there were no friends on the southbound freight
which hit a car at the crossing southeast of the house, derailed and
proceeded to stack up on itself for what seemed like hours. Bob and I
stood on the porch and watched the fireworks, one very loud crash after
another as each car met the pile ... a train wreck happens surprisingly
slowly, just one crash with flashes and fireworks after another. Some
brothers came out to see what the racket was, and of course some slept
through it. It seems to me that George Weghorst and Jeff Matz remained out cold.... The morning, maybe 1/2 hour later, was met with helicopters, squad cars and the media. 

The best part was the next day. Fowlie, Weghorst, Kaplan, myself and some others I can't recall spent just about the whole day on the roof, drinking Red Mountain wine from gallon jugs and watching the show. Lots of traffic on Nordhoff, lots of opportunities to say rude things (did we ever say rude things?) to anyone within earshot. That was a good party! My memory fades significantly with the afternoon, I don't remember running out of Red Mountain, or coming down off the roof....!

Rick Grimes

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