A close call on the train tracks

[dirtlooter]

Our son-n-law drives the KCS train and was driving it the other day when a woman walking beside the tracks was killed. There is no way that you can stop a train on a dime and she had ignored the warnings etc. She was just too close. Her family and others said that she had done this regularly and had been warned not to.

Anyways, this reminded me of when I got caught on the tracks by the train. This was 1973 and I had walked thru the woods to get to the tracks. I had over two miles to walk and the tracks were the easiest path for me. I had a stretch that was over a mile long that there was no where to go. The tracks were ten feet or higher than the ground on either side plus the briars & blackberries growing high on the sides prevented you from just dropping over the edge. They were so high and thick that you couldn't even jump high or far enough to be clear of the train by more than a foot or so.

So, I stopped and listened quietly to see if a train was coming. Sometimes the tracks would be making noises that would also warn you but I heard nothing and so took off. I got maybe 200 yards when I realized that there was in fact a train coming and coming fast. I looked back to the RR tressel (bridge) that I had crossed a little earlier and made a run for it. The train was now whistling non stop as I made it to the tressel. I dropped down into a little concrete cubby hole under the tracks where I could see the rocky creek bed 20 ft below me and the tracks a little over a foot above my head.

Got to watch every wheel on that side of the mile and a half train go over my head. It was loud and long but I was safe in my little spot. Yep, vowed never to get caught like that again. The next year, all that briars and blackberries was cut back so it wasn't an issue again. Seen too many fatal train accidents over the years.

 

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[Kray Gelder]

I feel for your son-in-law. Certainly not avoidable on his part. Some senseless people die every day. I challenged mortality with trains all the time in my boyhood, and somehow survived.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Dirtlooter, I always enjoy your posts!

Years ago I was at a RR crossing in my car watching the cars in front of me, they were one by one going around the barriers (never understood the hurry) while the train was coming. The last one through barely made it through before the passenger train whizzed by. Luckily nobody was hurt or killed.

 

[Mudflap]

Used to work for Amtrak. Seen some crazy stuff. People don't realize that you probably won't hear a train coming from behind you. Even worse in when there is snow on the ground. They just sneak up on you.

 

[signal_line]

Another bad situation is when there are two sets of tracks and some parked railroad cars on the siding to block your view of oncoming trains. We came up to a rail crossing and a farmers truck looked like it had been pulled over by a Highway Patrol. Then i saw his rear bumper had been pulled back. Then i saw his face--pure white like he was in shock. I figure the train just clipped his bumper. Imagine what the guy experienced when he looked up and saw the train.

 

[against the wind]

I worked for NYC Transit,,, Department of Subways, for 26 1/2 years. They average about 12 fatalities a year with Christmas time being the month for suicides.
The worst one I ever witnessed was a homeless guy getting pinned between the platform and the train itself. He had been on the track, picking up pennies that customers throw on the track.

 

[boogeyman]

Worked P.D. Search & Rescue and part time dispatching ambulance. Went out to a vehicle vs. train. Walking a mile of track picking up pieces of a VW and pieces of the driver (kibbles & bits) instilled great respect for RR tracks in me!!! Always thought it should be part of Drivers Ed to show the videos of how far a 100 car string takes to stop.

 

[xcopperstax]

Sorry to hear about that. There's a tunnel in Mass called the Housac tunnel. It's a few miles long. My friends and I went in there one night to check it out. There was nowhere to go if the train came. We walked several hundred feet in and thought better of it and turned around. Another time my friend was doing a graffiti piece along some train tracks. I was walking around a little. He yelled that a train was coming. There were several tracks all running parallel to each other and it was coming around a corner. The train came up so fast and quietly that I could instantly see how you might not even know which track was safe to be near. I learned that lesson pretty quick. I've always wanted to hop a train. I used to live right next to some train tracks and one day I saw my opportunity: The train was moving at low speed and I waited for all the cars to go by. I ran next to the last car to avoid falling under any wheels and made the jump up the ladder. I rode in glory all the way into town it was quite a fun little adventure. Probably about a half mile and jumped off. I realized that if the train sped up there was no way I was going to risk jumping off. Sometimes I think trains are like flames and we are the moths.

 

[dts52]

Sad story for your son-in-law but clearly he is blameless. We have a location on the Connecticut coast where folks like to go crabbing. When the tide is in, one is almost forced to climb the bank and cross the tracks rather than passing below the tracks through a narrow tunnel. Those commuter trains come whizzing through at what seems like 70mph and you don't hear them until they're right on top of them. Very dangerous situation. At least a couple of fatals there over the years that I know of.

On a funny note, I led a Boy Scout troop on a 5 mile hike many years ago when I was an assistant scout master and part of our path (against my advice) was along a little used stretch of railroad tracks for about a mile. Well, one of the Scouts excitedly shouted "Look what I found" as he held up a railroad spike. Soon most of the younger boys were gleefully picking up spikes and placing them in their pockets, packs, etc. You can guess where this is headed... it took about 100 yards before the loads were lightened and they decided railroad spikes weren't exciting enough to carry any farther. They also learned that matching your stride to the distance between railroad ties does not make for a comfortable hike (which is why I opposed it in the first place). Oh well, live and learn.
HH
dts

 

[RustyRelics]

I have seen all to many times on the news, people walking across tracks, or driving across them, and getting killed. It's a patience issue. People hate waiting for anything, so they try to beat the train, and get killed doing it. I will see my fair share of stupidity when I get started on a rail job somewhere.

I truly feel for your son. I hope he can cope with the pain, but realize it was not his fault.

 

[A2coins]

We used to fish on a train tresses about 200 yards long and about 100 ft above ground we could usually hear the train cause it would blow it's horn at the intersections a mile or so away
We would have to gather up our gear and beer and kick rocks in a hurry

 

[chub]

I was just by chance first on scene after a guy got run over by a train and was knocked over a bridge onto the road. Thats what happens when you have earphones on while walking along a railroad track... didnt look quite as bad as you'd imagine, just his top half and bottom half were almost facing opposite directions.
I have a couple of tunnels I have to walk through in order to hike to my favourite detecting spot. One was abandoned in 1929 the other last used in 1987 or so. Ive detected all the walls (too much famous five as a child). Last time I was there I got a nice high tone high up on a brick ledge. I carry a roll of black electrical tape in my backpack so I taped my pinpointer to my hiking stick to locate the signal. Then I taped my phone to the stick, turned on the flashlight and made a video of the spot. With all the dust and pigeon turd I couldnt see much. Its just too high for me to reach and theres nothing to climb on...I marked the spot... when I go back again Ill try and tape a bit of wire on my stick and see if I can scrape away the dust etc.

Unintentional thread highjack. Sorry Dirt Looter

chub

 

[RustyRelics]

Reminds me of the story of the Pope Lick Monster of Kentucky. Apparently it is half goat, half man, and it lives under a trestle in the area. It is said to lure people to their deaths onto the bridge. Many curious kids have died there, either by falling off the bridge or getting hit by trains.

 

[RustyGold]

Sorry he had to experience that. The one time I got near a train as it was passing was THE last time. Way too powerful..just rattled my whole body. Be careful out there!

 

[Mudflap]

One thing to keep in mind is the metal bands that they use to bind materials, boxes, etc on flat cars. Those bands break and some times hang off to the side of the car. I've seen some flapping around that were 30-40 feet long. They can slice you in half in nothing flat. Besides staying off the tracks ya gotta stay a good distance from the tracks!

 

[tamrock]

On March 27th 1903, my great great grandad James Cooper who was the granddad of my dad's mother meet his end by the result of an impact from a locomotive in Stuart, Iowa. His son Charles Cooper who is my great grandad that I never knew was where my middle name of Charles came from in remembrance of him.

 

[boogeyman]

One thing to keep in mind is the metal bands that they use to bind materials, boxes, etc on flat cars. Those bands break and some times hang off to the side of the car. I've seen some flapping around that were 30-40 feet long. They can slice you in half in nothing flat. Besides staying off the tracks ya gotta stay a good distance from the tracks!

Same with semis! Saw a flagger get clocked by a piece of flex from a florescent fixture hanging out of a semi trailer. If he hadn't had a hardhat on he would've been scalped!

 

[dirtlooter]

As a kid, we had a neighbor, actually a mother and daughter that lived across the tracks from us. My grandfather worked on the RR until he retired in 73. The daughter, Linda, was always in a wheel chair and struggled with motor movement and speaking. she could understand you but it was a giant struggle to understand what she was trying to tell you. Linda was then about 30 but when she was a teenager, she was riding in a car with other young people. There was and still is a blind curve on one side of the crossing at my grandfather's. it was and still is kind of scary because you can see almost a mile one way and nothing the other. They thought it was safe and started across. the train hit the back end of the old chevy, the end where she was sitting. The mangle body of the car sat there down about 75 yards in the edge of the woods for 50 years until someone hauled it off for scrap. I have reminded numerous people that trains and boats can't stop on a dime and have to be respected.

 

[LI Tom]

My son is an Engineer for the the LIRR for the last 12 years.His train has already killed 2 people,the first was a young man who had been at a bar and crossed at a crossing when the gates were down on a double track.One train goes by and he ducks under the gate thinking it's safe and he does not see my son's train coming at 70 MPH,the second was a suicide,who jumped in front of his train.These trains at speed can take a quarter mile to stop,no way to avoid a person or car.It''s part of the job and all who do it must come to terms with it.

 

[Trezurehunter]

As a retired UPS delivery driver, I would see all kinds of stupid people and traffic issues (trains included). When I see those warning gates go down, I stay 5 car lengths back from them. My Brother in Law who is 73 now, tells a story of when he was 19 (and my wife who is 13 years younger remembers it) of hearing a loud crash, and rushing out the door to the train tracks 2 blocks away. Yes, there were body parts involved, from the 3 people who occupied the car. They all lived in a very small town where the crossing had no gates, only flashing lights, and the driver disregarded (or didn't see) the cross bucks flashing. It was very sad and traumatic for a town to lose 3 people from the same family. You have to pay attention, and if you are paying attention, be smart about it.