I am new to the forums. I tried to find the forum rules but I wasn’t able to find them. I found this website and forum when I did a search about disappearances of Amtrak passengers, and found this news article here:
I am someone who knew this young man. Robin Putnam, who disappeared while riding an Amtrak train, and then was found dead near the railroad tracks in the desert south of Wells, Nevada. I joined this forum to ask some questions that people who know about trains and railroads might know, as I have been wondering what happened to my friend Robin. If anyone can help by shedding light on these things I would be grateful.
First, I looked at the map of Union Pacific Railroad lines and it seems that there are two rail lines between Elko, the last Amtrak stop before Salt Lake City, and Salt Lake City. One route heads south of Wells, the other heads north from Wells. Does anyone know if Amtrak trains travel along both these routes, or is one route only for Union Pacific trains? Specifically I am wondering if the southern route where his remains were found, is traveled by both Union Pacific and Amtrak trains, or only one of those.
Second, does anyone know if there are any Union Pacific freight trains that stop or are stored in Salt Lake City, near the AMtrak station there? Or is there another place in Salt Lake City where Union Pacific Freight trains are found? I am wondering if Robin, after getting off his eastbound Amtrak train at Salt Lake, might have gotten onto either an AMtrak or Union Pacific train heading west.
Third, does anyone know how difficult or easy it is to “stow away” on a freight train like the hobos do, in a boxcar? I was wondering if he, possibly with one or more others, might have stowed away i
There are numerous yards in the Salt Lake City area. Primarily North Yard north of the Amtrak station by a couple miles, Roper Yard souuth of the Amtrak station by a couple miles plus lots of other sidings and connection tracks between the various routes.
An eastward Amtrak train would physically be traveling south at SLC, so to end up west of SLC he would have to get on train traveling physically northbound. The Amtrak Station is located south of Grant Tower, where the lines to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Ogden all cross. The UP runs trains in about 5 directions out of SLC and they all more or less pass within a mile or so of the Amtrak station.
Thank you Dave for your replies. This helps set the context – it looks like there are several possibilities, both for taking an Amtrak or UP train to the west.
The reports are that he got off at Salt Lake City, and so, if he ended up 180 miles west on the train tracks, he would have had to take another train west, which is possible, but I am still wondering whether those who reported seeing him get off the train at Salt Lake might be mistaken. This would mean he may have fallen off the train before he got to Salt Lake, which involves less complexity. I found an article written 3 years ago, actually shortly after Robin’s disappearance, in which it’s reported that over 40 people have fallen to their deaths from Amtrak trains since 1972:
Given that this has happened so often, approximately once a year, this seems plausible. In fact, another man from California went missing from an Amtrak train only 2 months after Robin disappeared, and his body was later found by the tracks in NEbraska:
A quotation from the original post: “. Robin Putnam, who disappeared while riding an Amtrak train, and then was found dead near the railroad tracks in the desert south of Wells, Nevada.” His body was found near the former WP, which is used by Amtrak there.
WP = Western Pacific Railroad, which was built a little over 100 years ago between Oakland and Salt Lake City. It was built to be part of a transcontinental route that used the Denver and Rio Grande Western east of Salt Lake City and connected with the Missouri Pacific at Pueblo, Colorado, which in turn connected with an eastern road at St. Louis. All of these roads are now part of the Union Pacific.
In crossing Nevada, the WP and SP are roughly parallel from just west of Wells to Weso, which is a little bit east of Winnemucca. The control point at the eastern connection is Alazon. During the First World War, the United States Railroad Administration began running all westbound traffic between the two points on the SP and all the eastbound between the two points on the WP; this practice continues today.
The poor man had mental problems, so who knows? But the LEAST likely scenario, in my opinion, is that, bound for Grand Junction, he should have gotten off of Amtrak No. 6 in Salt Lake and hopped a freight for back west.
This scenario depends on an unauthenticated account that he detrained in Salt Lake. And that he had the expertise to hop a freight train.
The wonder to me is that it takes three years to find a body beside the railroad tracks.
I find it incomprehensible that he ‘fell’ from a Amtrak train. The requirement to open the trap doors says if anyone decides to depart the train they took voluntary (or criminal assistance) actions to depart the train.
I used to live in the area (Elko) and the area has lots of large sagebrush. If he was killed on impact falling from the train (Likely; track speed in the area is 50 mph plus.) one of those big sagebrush would quite effectively catch his body and immediately hide it.
Thank you corwinda, dakotafred and BaltACD for your thoughts on this. It is good to know that it is unlikely he took a freight train back west — and yes, if he fell off Amtrak I would definitely think it was not a matter of simply falling, since one would have to open an exterior door and jump or walk out, or be pushed out.
It is not clear what his mental state was while in the train – a fellow Amtrak passenger who spoke with him en route did not seem to note anything of concern, but just before leaving for his trip, there were events raising quite grave concerns about his psychological stability.
His parents were also wondering how his body could have lain by the tracks for 3 years without being seen, but corwinda points out the high sagebrush in the area and this would explain how someone could lay there obscured from view. Also I would think that passengers on the train would probably not have a good view of the area right close to the tracks, and I thought probably train conductors do not spend all their time looking at the tracks ahead of them, as they run the train.
The authorities are apparently still investigating this situation.
Balt, I agree that the idea of “falling from an Amtrak train” is a bit difficult to comprehend. All doors are supposed to be closed before a train begins moving. The Superliner doors are not difficult to open; as I recall there are instructions for opening by each one–and there are no traps for the doors on these cars (Viewliners do have traps).
Incidentally, When I was going from Miami to Jacksonville in February of 1970, I was walking back to my roomette from the observation car and, after a station stop, came to a vestibule with the door wide open and the trap up–and I carefully lowered the trap and closed the door. Perhaps I should have looked to see if the step box was in the vestibule, but I did not think of doing so. I hate to think of what could have taken place if an unwary passenger had entered that vestibule just as the train went around a curve.
First, let me say how sorry I am that you lost a friend and for three years, have had no closure.
As to your question about getting off a train, it is very easy. I have a daughter-in-law who’s father was traveling on the SW Chief from Chicago to Kingman AZ and was in the early stages of Alzhiemers. The train stopped for unknown reasons before arriving in Kingman and it is surmised that he went downstairs in the coach and climbed out the window of a door, and fell to the side of the train. When the train reached Kingman, the individual who was waiting for him queried the conductor who checked the train but couldn’t find him. But they did find a train car with an open window and his bags next to it. The sheriff sent people east along the track and they found him alongside the ROW, much the worse for wear but alive and requiring hospitalization. He recovered but he had no recollection of the event. The Alzhiemers became worse and he ultimatly required round the clock care in an Alzhiemers nursing facility. He lived for about six years after the fall from the train.
He was fortunate that he was promptly missed and found. Had he been going to L.A. and no one waiting for him he could have perished along the ROW, or been hit by another train, or if the train had been at speed died on the spot. I would expect that if one died along the ROW, animals might drag a body away from the tracks. Or if you are confused and seeing demons, you might feel a need to escape and jump out a window which is not what a rational person would do but it is easy to open the window or door on a Superliner. I question whether Mr Putnam ever arrived at SLC.
At least the father in law was promptly found. The desert is an inhostpitable place to survive in.
Remember that the train operates through that area after dark and that most passengers are asleep. The engineer is in the front and would not see anything behind him. Other train crews might see a body if they were looking for one but as Corwinda postulates, the sagebrush could easily hide the body.
Perhaps the NSTB should require an interlock on the doors and windows so they can not be opened without a key if the train is going faster than five mph. Ok guys, don’t start throwing the tomatoes at me. It was just a thought.
The 2012 article in the Santa Fe newspaper, for which I provided a link in the original post, indicated that over 40 Amtrak passengers fell off or walked off the train to their deaths since 1972, so that is in the last 43 years — approximately one every year.
It is possible that Robin never arrived in Salt Lake city, though the Amtrak conductor and apparently another Amtrak employee as well reported seeing him get off the train. I suppose it is within the realm of possible that they were mistaken. I am wondering if there is anyone who could definitively place him on the train during approximately the last 3 hours of its travel from where his body was found, to Salt Lake City.
In my mind the most likely explanation is that Robin opened an exterior door of the train and walked right off the train, while it was traveling at 50mph or 60mph in that region, at night. While it is not known what was his state of mind while on the train, it is believed that he had experienced a psychotic break just the day prior to his trip. This would make it possible that, if again in a state of psychosis, he was unable to realize what he was doing in stepping out of a moving train.
I think some type of door lock if the train is moving, would make sense. That way passe
