Air Brake Condensate

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          If you read old Time Table Special Instructions (and I hope you do,) you will read the requirement to blow out the brake pipe when re-coupling an engine to its train in cold weather.          In the late 1960s or early 1970s, a coal train was doubling out of East Bluefield and hadair trouble.  The head-end crew immediately bailed off and the train ran unmanned towardGlen Lynn.  Certainly the train had cars with the ABDW valve.  When notified of the run-away,the Motive Power people headed immediately to Jug Neck.  They found overturned hoppersthere, but no engines.  With a lower center of gravity, the Geeps remained on the track,  Alocal was working the Apco Plant at Glen Lynn and was notified to get in the clear.  Thecrew watched from the top of a cut as the Geeps rear-ended the caboose. Was told thatalthough the train had gone into emergency, the Geeps were able to keep the air pumped up.
Because there were no deaths (and possibly no injuries) the incident was never investigatedby the ICC, so the cause of the collision, I've never discovered.  Was this an example of afrozen train line ? Anyone know the cause ?               Harry Bundy 
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