1919 Train Wreck in N. Idaho - Found it!

[Bu Moko]

This is something I may like to try once I get certified.. went diving in the Bahamas last month and it was awesome!!! I will bring my boyfriend who has been a scuba intructror up from So.Calif so we can do this dive together. Tony has been diving for 35 years but has never done a train wreck dive!! Am new to this diving stuff but now have an addiction!! and I love it!! Bu Moko

The entrance is an easy pebble beach. Do a surface swim out along the rock ledge for about 150', then submerge. Continue south along the wall until you see the trench on your right (west) side. Descend into the trench and continue south, hugging the left (east) side of the trench as it descends. When you get to about 45' deep, you should see some old rails for the tracks that collapsed into the lake with the train cars. Keep going. At about 65', look for a "line", which is actually said to be a phone line of some sort (I've also heard it called a string). Much of it may be buried in silt, so if you see a few inches of it, just lift it up and follow it down. It leads right to the cars.

You'll come over the top of the first car at about 92'. It's half buried and you can't get in. The second car is at about 102' and is open at the top (some parts of the hinged door are still there) and you can swim down into it. Because it is open from the top, there is no overhead.

When you swim over the end of the second car and down to the bottom at 112', you can see the large connectors (sorry, don't know correct train terminology) that link the cars together. You can also look under the car and see some axle and wheel parts.

The old train box cars are in remarkably good condition considering their age, which I credit to the cold fresh water. Water temp. today was 62f at the surface and in the mid 40s at depth. There's other train parts scattered throughout the area and lots of bass in the shallows.

We only spent about 12 mins at the train wreck, but had a total bottom time of 50 mins. We were on air, but this would be a perfect dive for 32%, which I'll have next time.

It was extremely satisfying to finally find the rumored train cars I've been hunting down for over a year now.

Sincere thanks to Joe, owner of AA Diving in Sandpoint, ID for getting the crucial information I needed from a local diver who has actually dived the site.

 

[Rick Inman]

This is something I may like to try once I get certified.. went diving in the Bahamas last month and it was awesome!!! I will bring my boyfriend who has been a scuba intructror up from So.Calif so we can do this dive together. Tony has been diving for 35 years but has never done a train wreck dive!! Am new to this diving stuff but now have an addiction!! and I love it!! Bu Moko

Welcome to ScubaBoard, Bu Moko!!!

As I'm sure your boyfriend will tell you, this is a dive you will want to work up to. I have hundreds of dives in the local lakes around here and it's still a little spooky going down in the dark cold waters below 100' (but fun!). Very different than the clear warm clear waters of the Caribbean. You'll want to have deep diving experience, low visibility experience and dry suit experience. But hey, you live in the right place to get the experience!!

We dive every Tuesday night at the local lakes with all levels of divers, so you might check out my link below and come join us sometime. Diving with other divers locally is the best way to gain the necessary experience to make dives like the one to the train cars.

Also, AA diving in Sandpoint has a Wednesday dive they are just getting going. Tell Joe I sent 'ya!

Good diving, and again, welcome!

 

[radinator]

Thanks, Kraky!
I'm not too worried about sharing the info. You really have to want to make this dive to do it.
Long drive, cold water, low vis, dry suit, advanced depth, good nav skills.



OK, I'll tell you what. You're in Pasadena, CA. Lets just switch houses for a week and you can dive up here and I'll dive down there.

I'll give you the summary of our local diving here. Here are the conditions, at least lately.

"Long drive, cold water, low vis, dry suit, advanced depth, good nav skills."

That's the summary. For the details, the last time I was in the water here at Redondo Beach, the vis was so bad (red tide) I could not see my own gloves. The traffic made it a brutal ordeal to get there. The water temp at depth was in the high 40's.

Oh, and I have no house. Houses here are hyperexpensive. I make decent money and have an apartment.

Sure you want to trade?

 

[Rick Inman]

I'll give you the summary of our local diving here. Here are the conditions, at least lately.

"Long drive, cold water, low vis, dry suit, advanced depth, good nav skills."

That's the summary. For the details, the last time I was in the water here at Redondo Beach, the vis was so bad (red tide) I could not see my own gloves. The traffic made it a brutal ordeal to get there. The water temp at depth was in the high 40's.

Oh, and I have no house. Houses here are hyperexpensive. I make decent money and have an apartment.

Sure you want to trade?

Funny!

Actually I was born and raised in S. CA. In fact, I used to live on Westgate about two blocks from the Rose Bowl. I graduated from Santa Monica High School. So don't kid me! Sure, there's the red tide and traffic. But there's also Laguna and PV and Malibu and the Channel islands!

But, yes. I do love it up here.

 

[Ben_ca]

Funny!

Actually I was born and raised in S. CA. In fact, I used to live on Westgate about two blocks from the Rose Bowl. I graduated from Santa Monica High School. So don't kid me! Sure, there's the red tide and traffic. But there's also Laguna and PV and Malibu and the Channel islands!

But, yes. I do love it up here.

So what's the story behind the wreck? Derailed and fell in, bridge colapse or did a ufo knock it off the tracks? :cyborg:

 

[yukoneer]

did you check further down in the water front of the box trains? that could be where the engine is...

 

[Rick Inman]

did you check further down in the water front of the box trains? that could be where the engine is...

Not yet. I'm leaving Sunday for 10 days camping/diving at Salt Creek, so I won't be back to dive the train until July 23rd, when a small group of us are going to try to set a buoy on it.

In front of the box cars...hummm....

 

[Rick Inman]

did you check further down in the water front of the box trains? that could be where the engine is...

Update:

Well, you asked me this question almost a year ago. My training was not up to diving deeper that the first 2 cars. But today, as a part of my IANTD Advanced Rec Trimix class, my instructor & I tied a line to the deepest part of the end of the two cars and explored another 10' deeper (125', fresh water, 46 degrees, 8' vis).

We didn't find the engine. But we did find another box car! Top-loader, open on both sides in better condition than the other cars. We just got a quick look at it before we came to turn time. Very fun!

Smiled all the way through our deco! We're going to take my instructor's boat next time and sonar for other cars, and, maybe, the engine...??

 

[TSandM]

Rick, I'm grinning ear to ear for you . . . a real, tangible payoff for all the work you have been doing. That's cool.

 

[Rick Inman]

Rick, I'm grinning ear to ear for you . . . a real, tangible payoff for all the work you have been doing. That's cool.

Thanks!

It wasn't all roses, though. My instructor gave me a new name after today's dive: Captain Silt.