Damn thats some bad luck. Good luck to getting it fixed!!!

I would like to share an experience I had with a crosshead pin. We were coming back with our train and were within 1000 feet, or so from our stop. The fireman started swinging a washout, so I stopped and we got out to look. The crosshead pin was nearly out of the crosshead. The end of it broke off where the nut was and the pin was working its way out. It was lucky for us that the fireman was able to hear the unusual clanking sound and suspected a problem before it was a disaster. We were able to drive the pin back in and limp back to the station. A new pin was made and we checked the other one with dye penetrant and it turned out OK. A possible solution to this would be to make a safety strap on the back of the crosshead that would prevent it from coming out should this happen again. Unfortunatly, the railroad went under and we never got to implement this idea, but it may help someone else prevent a similar disaster.
LF