Engineers at NJTransit have developed a gun built specifically to launch dead chickens at the windshields of Locomotives and Railcars all traveling at maximum velocity. The idea is to simulate incidents of collisions with airborne birds to test the strength of the windshields.
AMTRAK engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrrangements were made. But when the gun was fired, the engineers stood shocked as the chicken hurtled out of the barrel, crashed into the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, crashed through the control console, snapped the engineer’s backrest in two and embedded itself in the back wall of the cab.
Horrified AMTRAK engineers sent NJT the disastrous results of the experiment, along with the designs of the windshield, and begged NJT for suggestions.
NJT’s response was just three words, “Thaw the chicken”.
So somebody took the old urban myth about airplanes and rewrote it as a RR yarn? The original airplane related story has been the basis of not one but two episodes of “Mythbusters”…
OR saved them for the annual test lab barbecue. Of course, using, non frozen chickens could have brought up the old featherbedding arguement again, too…depending on how far back the unthawing was.
And I though it was going to be an article about two engineers that got on their locomotives and headed directly at each other on the same track to see who would hit the brakes first.
Jet engine manufacturers used “bird cannons” to determine robustness for decades. I have no doubt that aircraft windshield manufacturers borrowed this device, too.
I can honestly say this most Car and OTR truck Windshields ARE NOT bird strike rated. When a Large Candaian Goose hits you in the Windshield HE IS COMING THRU IT along with his Buddies.
Black and white wieghed about 25LBs before Impact and lets just say was flying with about 35+ of his buddies. I felt like Capt Sully would in a few years excpet my engine stayed running however I needed to have a Deep Cleaning of my Cab Interior done afterwards. Had Feathers Guts Blood Everything all over the place in the cab of my truck and all I could see was the Head of the freaking thing wrapped around the center post of my cab.
One of my coworkers had a close call with a deer this morning. He just barely missed the deer, but it must have scared the animal in a big way. When I got to work, he was scrubbing deer poop off his bumper, hood and windshield.[(-D]
The LION was riding at the RFW (Rail fan window) on an LIRR train when we hit a seagull at speed. Startled me, ans scared the engineer. He did not stop until we got to NYP, but he did get out to examine the bonnet. A red scorch mark was there, but no damage to the train.
[:)] Great horned owls are not windshield friendly either. Shirley was dozing a bit in the right seat of Rattler at 75 or so MPH, instant rude awake to feathers and mush bouncing about the cab and into the bunk/ living room. Quite exciting indeed. ~~~ 15 mi. to the nearest Truckadero. to recoup and clean up. Unforgettable event.
Remember the RDC cab ride of the last B&M Sprinfield to Greenfield MA. Going through the north spring switch at Holyoke in the February night with switch heaters on, a pigeon enjoying the warm, alarmed at the approaching cyclops flew right up into it and losing. Headlight suffered no damage.