I would like to start by Apologizing to everyone on here for the use of foul language or any other implied terms, and yes I can’t spell all that well. All through school I was in special education I try not worry about what others say about me, but after reading those replies, that realy hurt. Another Point I would like to make is that granted I am not an officer of the law, but how meany of you out there have personaly seen someone die after being hit by a train. Its not fun, and it not something I want to see again. I guess what I’m saying is, I’m not like the rest of you FOAMERS, I have respect for others lives, even if they them selves don’t, and yes I will do it again.
By the way BG146.4 Black Diamond RD. is not in a city or any urban area. Its a rural grade crossing.
Sorry, just couldn’t resist! I didn’t mind your post, I can imagine being shaken after something like that, (I would be) and don’t forget we have a lot of…hard nosed…members on here, who post their thoughts kind of bluntly, (no names mentioned, in fact I don’t even remember who even posted on the origanal thread.)
I personally think many of them were worried about your safety, not just complaining for the heck of it. Also, I am impressed that someone is finally doing something about that problem of people swerving around gates, even if it may or may not be the wrong way to do it. Most people would say nothing then whine about it later.
While I am not at all sure what precipitated your most recent post, I must say that you articulated your initial post quite well considering everything you said. Thanks for being an open, candid and participating member of our forum.
Oh, and by the way, whatever you did or were perceived to have done…apology accepted.
Ster1 - You’ll find that a good number of the participants on this forum have dealt with such situations - we aren’t all ‘foamers.’ A good number of current and former “real” railroaders are regulars here, and some of us are involved in emergency services as well. More than a few have been on locomotives when they struck a vehicle or a pedestrian, usually with a negative outcome. Believe me, it’s not something that’s taken lightly.
We understand your anguish - it’s not something any of us want to see. Speaking as a long-time fire/EMS provider, I suggest you may need some assistance in dealing with your experience if it is disrupting your life. There is no dishonor in doing so, and it could prevent problems for you later in life.
If you wander back through old posts here, you’ll find that as a whole we have a pretty low opinion of people who choose to ignore crossing warning devices and the dangers of the railroad in general. There are many mentions of potential “Darwin Award” recipients.
I know from my years in the fire service, as well as my long-time association with law enforcement, that the best people to enforce the law are the folks with the badges. As was mentioned, trying to enforce the law yourself can have a negative outcome - for you.
That said - You’ve learned some lessons about how the forum runs. Sit back, relax, read, enjoy, learn, and share. There is a wealth of knowledge and experience here, and as you go along, you’ll learn who is who here and what each brings to the table.
Hi Ster. From my viewpoint, I had no problem with your spelling or most of your post, so no apology needed here. I too have stepped into situations where people are apt to be hurt, with usually the same results. Imagine how you would have felt had you done nothing and the car was teeboned by a multi ton diesel electric at speed… Keep up the railfanning as you see fit, and stay safe
safety first!! I have seen too many close calls in my railfaning.(or you can call it foaming I don’t mind).maybe when things slow down(yeah right) I can come back over your way or we could meet up in deshler.anyways safety first the trainwatching.
Fatal MVAs aren’t any fun, no argument there. But think about what your family would go through if you got killed while trying to play traffic cop because someone was driving around a gate. Your safety is number one, always. Don’t put yourself in harms way over something that is (in my area anyway) a $109 fine.
I didn’t key on that particular line. CPRTED is 100% right.
From Mudchickens sig: Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME
And the first line in my sig is posted on the door of every one of my fire department’s apparatus:
I snapped a photo of an old clown in a minivan, who appeared to be with his wife and at least 3 young kids in the back who must’ve been their grand-kids. They went right around the gates at CNW’s Beverly Yard, around 1994 (just before the UP merger). The photo was perfect in that it showed the gates down, the lights flashing, with the minivan and it’s Illinois plate clearly visible on the tracks. I turned it in to the CNW yard office as soon as I got it back from the photo shop. I also provided the information to CNW’s safety hotline and the Cedar Rapids PD. That’s all I figured I could’ve done legally, without getting myself killed/injured. It was a westbound empty coal train doing maybe 35-40 MPH.
Do everything you can LEGALLY - never anything more as you could be made liable. Remember - everybody seems to be looking for an excuse to sue someone and make a few bucks. If you try to stop someone from jumping the gates, they may very well get violent, or if they do get hit by the train they could claim you distracted them (sounds stupid, but believe me - outrageous claims are made to seek a settlement).
They could miscalcualte, get hit, and claim you distracted them alright. But it is also possible that you could actually distract them enough to cause them to get hit when they would have made it otherwise. That would be a difficult burden to bear if you realized the part you played, even though you had good intentions.
No need to apologize for anything but the rules violation. These things happen as I am guilty of them too. As for the poor grammar, nothing to be sorry for there. I merely made the corrections within my own post, for my own purpose so that I could accurately reply to yours. At no time did I comment on your poor writing. You see, I am in the minority of those (selector and myself apparently) who had difficulty reading it as posted. My intention was to help, not to hurt. If I did then I’m sorry too; I was not poking fun at you. The fact is that not everyone here possesses the same level of education and we all have to be more tolerable of those who lack the writing skills others may possess.
If you go back and read through the thread you’ll see I was offering you the benefit of the doubt and words in defense while others were aggressively condemning your actions and words. You’ll come to recognize, as you lurk here, those who are critical of others, especially newbies.
PS. If you have email then chances are that you also have spell check. It’s as easy as cut 'n paste. [;)]
Mr Marshall I sorry if I pointed toward you, that was not my intent. There were other people on there that did not care, and it was aimed toward them. because you at least you tried where others didn’t.
If there is one thing I have had to accept in life it is that not everyone sees from behind my eyeballs. When we post stuff here, even in haste or meaning the absolute best of intentions, or even when it’s so important because we are deeply affected by the matter, thousands at their keyboards can only read the written word. No red face, no breathless and excited or shaky voice, no tears…just words framed with lots of white space. Understandably, they take on an exceeding importance. Some will jump one way when they encounter them, some another way. Then the fun starts…if you can call trying to sort out hurried words fun.
It is past. We got your meaning, and you got some apparently uncomfortable and differing viewpoints. I will only say that you also have others who would rather you were around. I don’t know, but do you have young kids who would miss their daddy? Would you be happy knowing you had saved lives, but died doing so, and that the aftermath had the added nuisance of your wife having to raise your children all by herself, and maybe on much less than you currently earn? How about what you will earn over time with raises and advances in skill and learning?
There is nothing wrong with stepping in to do an honourable thing, but sometimes discretion plays as important a role…that is what some of us are cautioning. Save when the saving is critical and will not result in ends that do not justify the means. Even so, depriving loved ones of you is a hurt all its own.
You have no need to apologize to me, Ster 1…I desire none and would expect none. You caused me no offense at all; I merely replied in good will. I hope you took my first reply to you that way. [:)]
I appreciate your willingness to come back and offer that apology. Thanks. There are many who have received criticism here who have not been strong enough to do that.
There are such a wide variety of folks who participate in these forums that we do have to be careful about classifying them into groups. Not all who participate would classify themselves as “foamers” or “computer nerds”, or any other grouping. It is a good place to get answers and insights, and those come far more frequently when the question or observation is thought out or well phrased.
There have been several responses in this and the earlier thread about proper response. We (the collective “we” through our elected representatives) have determined when a citizen has the authority to take action. It is not a matter of what we think we ought to do, but a matter of law. I do not know the specifics for your state, but in most places citizens can be authorized to take action such as a citizen’s arrest when they KNOW that a felony is underway. Some states also authorize action from a citizen for certain specific breach-of-the-peace misdemeanors (such as stopping an assault on someone). Felonies are generally those things punishable by a year or more in prison, misdemeanors are crimes with lesser punishments… and then traffic violations or infractions are another category below that in severity. While it can be extremely irritating and maybe even personally hazardous to see dangerous traffic violations, I don’t know of any locale that allows citizens to enforce traffic violations. The “slow down” hand motions or yelling “TRAIN!!” to try to get them to recognize the danger is the best one may be able to do. Recognize that the way the law is structured, local law enforcement may be limited in the action that they take if they did not witness the infraction.
I appreciate your willingness to come back and offer that apology. Thanks. There are many who have received criticism here who have not been strong enough to do that.
There are such a wide variety of folks who participate in these forums that we do have to be careful about classifying them into groups. Not all who participate would classify themselves as “foamers” or “computer nerds”, or any other grouping. It is a good place to get answers and insights, and those come far more frequently when the question or observation is thought out or well phrased.
There have been several responses in this and the earlier thread about proper response. We (the collective “we” through our elected representatives) have determined when a citizen has the authority to take action. It is not a matter of what we think we ought to do, but a matter of law. I do not know the specifics for your state, but in most places citizens can be authorized to take action such as a citizen’s arrest when they KNOW that a felony is underway. Some states also authorize action from a citizen for certain specific breach-of-the-peace misdemeanors (such as stopping an assault on someone). Felonies are generally those things punishable by a year or more in prison, misdemeanors are crimes with lesser punishments… and then traffic violations or infractions are another category below that in severity. While it can be extremely irritating and maybe even personally hazardous to see dangerous traffic violations, I don’t know of any locale that allows citizens to enforce traffic violations. The “slow down” hand motions or yelling “TRAIN!!” to try to get them to recognize the danger is the best one may be able to do. Recognize that the way the law is structured, local law enforcement may be limited in the action that they take if they did not witness the infraction.
This is a slim area for railfanning, especially compared to Roanoke, VA, where I used to have an office window that looked out on the NS main line through downtown. The Carolina Southern is based in nearby Chadbourn, NC and they still operate an “F” unit, so that is worth a visit. They also have an old Baltimore & Annapolis switcher on the propery there in Chadbourn. Their operation is based on demand, so finding them out on the line is not always easy. They have some passenger equipment in Conway, SC near the station there.
The last really good day railfanning I had was when I went over to Florence, SC and spent time on the Amtrak platform there (it’s located just north of a big hospital with parking and people about for safety). There was a variety of CSX action, a daylight northbound Amtrak at about 11:OO AM (I’d have to check the schedule), and the short line from Darlington connects right there near the station as well. I was allowed to walk about the station platform without question, and that offered some shade.
And don’t even ask about a local hobby shop to visit… 'taint one (unless you like airplanes).