NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

MORNING REPORT

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

INCIDENTS

Grand Canyon NP

Rangers Assist In Railroad Incident

Rangers responded to a request for assistance from the Grand Canyon Railway at the rail junction with Rowe Well Road three miles inside the park boundary late on the morning of December 14th. Upon arriving at the scene, they found the train stopped approximately 70 feet beyond the rail junction with one of the locomotive's four axles no longer on the track. The train's 70 passengers, four engine crew members, and three passenger service attendants were unhurt, but eager to finish their trip to the South Rim. Xanterra South Rim, a park concessioner, brought in buses to transport the passengers the rest of the way to Grand Canyon Village while railway and NPS crews worked to clear snow and ice in order to get the train's axle back on the track. The locomotive involved in the incident returned to Williams early that afternoon so that a full inspection could be conducted. A replacement locomotive was brought in to complete the train's scheduled round trip. The train's departure was also delayed by an hour in order to give passengers the full benefit of their visit to the park. Preliminary investigations indicate that the incident was caused by a buildup of ice on the tracks. Although the Federal Railroad Administration requires that tracks such as those in the park be inspected two times per week, Grand Canyon Railway makes every effort to inspect its tracks daily. Railway staff confirmed that the Rowe Well section of track was last inspected yesterday. The NPS is continuing its investigation into the incident. [Shannan Marcak, Public Affairs Officer]

OTHER NEWS

The following stories are among those in today's edition of InsideNPS:

Glen Canyon NRA - Glen Canyon National Recreation Area has added some high-tech weaponry to its arsenal in the ongoing battle against invasive zebra and quagga mussels. The park has added a FlowCAM to its zebra and quagga mussel monitoring lab.

Air Resources Division - Donald Shepherd of the Service's Air Resources Division is this year's recipient of the Stephen Tyng Mather Award, conferred annually on a National Park Service employee who embodies the principles and practices of exemplary national park stewardship. Photo.

Natchez Trace Parkway - Mike Foster has been selected as the new chief ranger for Natchez Trace Parkway. He replaces Allen Etheridge, who transferred to Big Bend as chief ranger earlier this year. Photo.

To see these and other stories posted on InsideNPS (or NPS Digest, its public version), click on one or the other of the following links (please note that not all stories in the former appear in the latter): NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index ; non-NPS employees: HYPERLINK "http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/" http://home.nps.gov/applications/digest/

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Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found at the following web site:

HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=viewnpsnewsarticle&type=Announcements&id=3363

Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Services, Washington Office, with the support of the Office of the Chief Information Officer and Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@nps.gov).

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