Twenty Nine Spikes: When Terrorists Derailed Amtrak's Sunset Limited

October 9th 2015 marked twenty years since Amtrak's Sunset Limited was derailed by an unknown person or persons in the desert 70 miles southwest of Phoenix, Arizona.

Looking West Towards Montgomery Pass And Quail Springs Wash

It's a lonely spot. This is where the Middle Of  Nowhere got its name. The pavement ends and it's fifteen miles west through the empty desert before you arrive at the derailment site at Quail Springs Wash; beyond that, another  fifteen miles of barrenness before you arrive at the Hyder General Store, a lone and lonely outpost for a few local farm hands. After leaving pavement you will likely see no other humans.

This portion of the rail line, which runs between Phoenix and Wellton, AZ, came late to Arizona.  Since the late 1800's Phoenix was at the end of two branch lines. The Santa Fe built their line into Phoenix from the north, and the Southern Pacific did the same from the south, but all trains from either line had to return the way they came. For years the state pressured the SP to build a line west from Phoenix that would complete a through route, and in 1926, this line was the result. 

On the night of October 9, 1995, the Sunset Limited  left Phoenix just before midnight, running southwest through Buckeye, then west into the barren desert towards Montgomery Pass.  At approximately 1:05 a.m., as it banked into the curve ahead of Quail Springs Wash at fifty miles per hour, the Limited's locomotives lurched and pounded across the bridge on the wooden ties before coming to an abrupt stop on the other side.  The coaches and the passengers didn't fare as well: Six cars derailed,  two of which fell--hard--thirty feet into the bottom of the dry wash.

 The Sunset Limited Rounded This Curve, Moments From Disaster

Many passengers suffered  injuries, some serious.  Miraculously, considering the speed and the fall into the wash, only one person was killed, sleeping car attendant Mitchell Bates. The train crew immediately sent out a radio call for help, but owing to the remote area, forty-five minutes passed before the first rescue units could get there.

When help came it came in spades: Men and equipment were everywhere, some getting stuck in the many desert washes which had to be crossed to reach the site. It was a crime-scene nightmare. By the time FBI investigators arrived, most evidence had been obliterated by law-enforcement vehicles, ambulances, fire rescue vehicles, helicopters, passengers and rescue personnel.

The only tangible evidence--at least that which has been publicly acknowledged--were several identical notes left at the site, upon which were references to Ruby Ridge and other recent events which the writer(s) took issue with.  It was signed by the "Sons of the Gestapo", a group previously unknown to law enforcement.

The rails had been tampered with. Twenty-nine spikes had been pulled out of the railroad ties and the outside rail on the curve was pried out of alignment. Whoever did it knew their geography, as the spot was the only one on the line that had a curve leading onto a bridge, likely chosen to cause maximum damage. And they were sly: The bonding wires were left connected between the misaligned rails, which cause the trackside signals to show a clear indication--the head end crew never saw it coming.

Quail Springs Wash And The Wrecked Sunset Limited

After twenty-plus years of investigation there is little evidence available as to who was responsible. But the authorities have by no means forgotten about it. The Unsolved Mysteries television program  broadcasted a segment on the incident some years back, and it was subsequently posted online at unsolved.com.  A few years back, I found the article and left my name and email address for any new information that might come to light.  Within a few days I was contacted by an FBI agent who told me he would "like to meet with me," and I did several times afterwards, talking theories and conjectures.  The FBI has subsequently announced the reward for information leading to arrests had been bumped to $310,000.

As mentioned, there are several things that stand out about this incident.  First, the perpetrator(s) had to be familiar with the area, and the location was chosen to cause a maximum amount of damage in a derailment.  They also had to have at least a rudimentary knowledge of  railroad signalling systems, enough to know the bonding wires had to be left attached between the rails, ensuring the engineer would see only a green signal in front of him.  Third, though rambling, there's that note left behind by the so-called "Sons of the Gestapo". Though no group using such a name has ever been publicly identified, it was plainly the work of someone who had strong opinions regarding some of the controversial steps used by the government in dealing with domestic issues.

Old-Style Semaphore Signals Like This Guarded The
Rail Line At The Time Of The Crash

The rails southwest of  Phoenix are quiet now, except for grain deliveries to a local egg ranch, and an occasional run to the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant to deliver equipment.  Beyond that, the line has been out of service since the Sunset Limited was rerouted in 1996 to a more direct route between Tucson and Yuma.  Rumors of reopening the line have been floating about for years, and there's also been talk of turning it into a high-speed rail route between Los Angeles and Phoenix, but only time will tell if any of this will become a reality. And maybe in time the perpetrators of this act of domestic terrorism will also be brought to justice.

See also this video footage from the derailment:

https://youtu.be/uVdhvwyWUpw

Sunset Over Palo Verde