O&W Unstoppable Moment

In 2000, Bert Basner posted a great O&W story about when his dad, Harry Basner of Majestic Road in Mountaindale, was the creamery manager and an O&W 'Unstoppable Moment' was anticipated.
It was about the year 1926, on a Saturday in the summer time as two passenger trains of the O & W were going north through Mountaindale when the dispatcher got an urgent call. The message said that on a northbound freight train heading towards South Fallsburg, two coal hopper cars loaded with coal had broken loose from their coupling and were rolling backward on the north bound track. It was imperative that they be diverted from the northbound track. A quick check of the area showed that there was a short spur running to the Woodridge creamery. They called the creamery manager, Harry Basner, and told him to evacuate the building as the two freight cars would be shunted to the tracks of his building. A switchman rushed down and diverted the northbound tracks to the creamery siding. Many of the residents went to sit on the grass opposite the creamery. I think these were the Sussmans, Monroe Davis, the Langers, the Gordans, the Beckers, and lots of us kids. The two runaway cars roared down the tracks, hit the switched rails at high speed and turned over. We kids got our pails and began to load free coal.