Switch to rail travel doesn’t pay for stranded air passengers

Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 | 10:02 a.m.

WENDOVER, Utah -- An early Thursday morning collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a freight train sparked fears that terrorist strikes were moving to the heartland of the United States.

But though the 5 a.m. collision between an Amtrak train and a freight train generated a pile of twisted, smoking metal, the cause was far different -- and passengers and public officials quickly recognized that this was an accident, not an act of sabotage.

One other thing was different: In what observers said was a miracle, nobody was killed. Injuries were generally superficial, officials at the scene said.

Still, the pall of Tuesday morning's tragedies in New York and Washington, D.C., hung over more than 250 passengers who were stranded in Wendover on Thursday -- some stuck for just a few hours, others likely to be in the small town for a few days.

Some of the passengers had taken the train as a substitute for air travel after aircraft were grounded following the Tuesday terrorist attacks. Others, far from home, were frustrated that no ready long-distance travel option was open for them.

"We just need to get home, and we don't know how we're going to get there," said Nancy Walker, who with husband, Davey, had planned an Amtrak excursion to celebrate their 48th anniversary.

The retired couple from Crine, Mo., said they had planned the vacation for months. The trip would have taken them to the West Coast for an extended stay.

But Thursday, with their spare clothes and the glasses Nancy Walker needs to see with lost in the wreckage, the couple were ready to pack it in.

Anita Shaw, a sales manager from Portland, Ore., also gave up on rail travel.

With planes grounded after the Tuesday attacks, Shaw thought hitting the rails would be an option to get out of Denver, where she was stranded.

After the derailment, Shaw said family members would drive from Portland to pick her up and take her home.

"No more public transportation for me," she said.

One of Shaw's traveling companions went even further.

"I'm thinking about taking a horse and buggy," said Marie Wayland, who with retired husband, Earl, had planned their Amtrak vacation for two years.

Wayland had a bruise over her left eye just beginning to turn blue, a reminder of the first terrifying seconds of the crash. Wayland said she remembers her glasses flying three or four seats forward, a terrible jolt, and then nothing until she crawled out of the wreckage.

Despite the bruises and terror, passengers said they knew they were lucky.

Many said the kindness of strangers in both Wendovers -- one in Nevada, the other in Utah -- helped ease their discomfort and frustration.

But the passengers also compared their fate with those in New York's World Trade Center or the Pentagon.

"We were blessed," Wayland said. "I feel the angels were with us."

Immediately after the wreck, Shaw said she thought of the tragedies on the East Coast, fearing a repeat of the other, deadly incidents.

"I'm glad it wasn't the case," she said. "I'm glad to be here."