Changes

== Derailment ==

== Derailment ==

On the day before the catastrophe, "Kip" Chalmers, a member of the Washington cabal, was traveling in a private railcar attached to the Taggart Comet, the railroad's signature coast-to-coast express. He was on his way to California to establish a domicile in that State and then stand immediately for election to the [[United States Senate]].

On the day before the catastrophe, "Kip" Chalmers, a member of the Washington cabal, was traveling in a private railcar attached to the Taggart Comet, the railroad's signature coast-to-coast express. He was on his way to [[California]] to establish a domicile in that State and then stand immediately for election to the [[United States Senate]]. ([[Wesley Mouch]] desperately needed anothe sympathetic vote in the Senate, and California was already becoming restive even then.)

The Comet derailed about a mile east of Winston when the rails split. (The rails were due for replacement, but Clifton Locey had canceled that work for reasons that were never specified.) The Comet's Diesel engine was damaged beyond repair.

The Comet derailed about a mile east of Winston when the rails split. This was the very section of rail that should have received the Rearden Metal replacement, but didn't. (See above.) The Comet's Diesel engine was damaged beyond repair.

The station agent at Winston immediately called the Colorado Division office at Silver Springs, Colorado. Dave Mitchum, distraught and close to panic, ordered a wrecking train sent out to make a quick repair and pull the Comet in to Winston. His initial decision, suggested by chief dispatcher William "Bill" Brent, was to hold the Comet at Winston until an eastbound train, pulled by a Diesel engine, could pass through the tunnel, meet the Comet, and change engines. This would result in an eighteen-hour delay for the Comet. The alternatives were either to:

The station agent at Winston immediately called the Colorado Division office at Silver Springs, Colorado. Dave Mitchum, distraught and close to panic, ordered a wrecking train sent out to make a quick repair and pull the Comet in to Winston. His initial decision, suggested by chief dispatcher William "Bill" Brent, was to hold the Comet at Winston until an eastbound train, pulled by a Diesel engine, could pass through the tunnel, meet the Comet, and change engines. This would result in an eighteen-hour delay for the Comet. The alternatives were either to: