Wow! This seems common. Does the steel just move around in there or is it secured in any way? Maybe it’s just a tight fit.
http://news.yahoo.com/homeless-man-loses-leg-freight-car-fright-184536002--abc-news-topstories.html
I respond: knowing that the general topic is verboten around these parts. [:#] The first paragraph of the article pretty well sums up the the young man’s problem [Train hopper]. Still an illegal act of trespass.
The 19 year old was as they used to say ‘Hoist by his own petard.’ A seasoned 'bo would know that an open car loaded with steel is a potential death trap. Felt sorry for the choice the 19 year old made, and particularly for the dog. He was fortunate that he was found before the train had left the yard; or he would have ended up as another sad tale; found deceased under the load of steel at some unknown destination.
He will now be living with the results of his own bad choice for the rest of his life… as a sad, statistical number reported by OLI, and the RR.
A perfect example of why passenger tickets are not sold for open top loads of steel in gondolas.
I gather you have never done any catching out yourself, Sam. That is certainly a wise decision as freight trains are extremely dangerous. We are all young once and many of us make foolish mistakes of youth. I certainly did but I never paid the high price this young man is paying. I feel more than sorry for him but there is nothing I can do.
Red,
Depends, but most sheet steel is secured with metal bands in bundles, resting on hardwood 4X4s to keep it off the floor.
Normally it is just about the same size as the gondola interior, so shifting isn’t a big problem, there isn’t much room for it to move, and if it does, it just rests against the ends of the car.
Without any more details, I can only guess he was standing with his legs between the car end and the steel, and a hard movement like a hard joint or start- up shifted the steel enough to trap him…the weight and mass of the sheets would mean if the impact was truly “hard” his legs would have been sheared off already.
Rough way to learn a lesson, hope he does as well as he can.
Well, that’ll learn 'em.
Adrianspeeder
I feel sorry for the dog, but not the human the dog placed its trust in going from North Yard to Roper Yard.