Yesterday (6/4/07) while I was railfanning with my mom in Baring, MO, I saw the Amtrak eastbound Southwest Chief go passed. I was videoing, as I always do, and it was a great shot. Well, after it went through we pressed on north to Gorin, MO, and we were shocked to find the Chief, stopped right on the hi-bank curve, its last two sleeper cars still across the grade crossing in town. At first, I thought the train had hit a car, but after going up to the locomotives, saw that I was wrong; no car, nothing at all. A few minutes later, however, a rescue vehicle aligned itself on the grade crossing so it was right next to the train, and several men climbed up to the top of it, as a window in the 2nd to the last sleeping car’s upper level was removed.
I walked down to the crossing, where the Amtrak concuctors and some BNSF workers were gathering below the rescue vehicle, and asked them what was going on. They said that someone on the train had passed away. They said they thought it was a natural death - they think the person had blood troubles, and was just ready to die. Minutes later, the men lifted the body out of the sleeping car, taking it out the upper window, down off the rescue vehicle and through the open vestibule doors to the other side of the train, where it was taken away (couldn’t see what happened to be sure where it went, but I’m guessing Memphis or another town nearby). After the rescue team went through the sleeping compartment, the window was sealed up, and shortly Amtrak was underway again, and was soon gone.
I would have never thought I would ever see something like this…or get most of it on video, which I did. The person died in the 2nd to the last sleeping car in the consist, #32091 ex-Minnesota, with P42DC’s 14 and 130 in the front. It was actually very creepy to see the train standing still on that hi-bank curve, when it usually goes flying through Gorin at 90 miles per hour. It was a pretty sad deal. [:(] Thought about it all the rest of
Why didn’t they go down to stairs out the door instead of the window? I am go on 3&4 in few months in Aug and when I was on Desert Wind in 1988 Someone die on that train too they took him off in Las Vegas, NV where my family was get off.
I’m guessing that by the time they found him, he was already too stiff to be carried down through the stairs. Who knows, he could have died in the night Sunday. I guess the car attendants don’t check the compartments out as much as they used to?
Same thing happened at the crossing by my house last fall. There was an Amtrak stopped directly in front of my house, blocking the crossing. There was a police car on my side and I wasn’t sure what the problem was, but after the train pulled away I saw another police car and an ambulance on the other side, so I figured someone was sick. I found out later that someone had died on the train.
I do remember noticing when I took Amtrak out to Oregon in 1992 there were a lot of older people on the train…presumably because they’re the people who have the time to ride the train. Fortunately no one died on that trip…
If you have ever been on an Amtrak Superliner car you would know the answer to this. It is hard enough to negotiate those narrow/steep stairs while alive and kicking, let alone after you have passed away and “rigamortis” has set in (which is very possible in this case).
I was riding a Turboliner from Albany-Rensselaer to NYG on day and an elderly lady accross the aisle and a couple of rows down just expired. One moment she was fine, the next she was dead. She was travelling with another elderly woman and they were on their way to Florida via Amtrak for a vacation. The conductor radioed ahead and the train was met by EMTs at Rhinecliff. Total delay was something like 5 or 10 minutes. Everything went rather smoothly and calmly.
Most people say they’d like to die in their sleep. I think I’d like to go like that lady did…
Hey now that’s getting close to my territory If you ever get a bit north there’s some good photo ops in Dumas and Revere. Just watch out for the headless woman at Dumas, she’ll git ya if you aren’t watching! [(-D]
Rigor mortise is a transient state…it begins about an hour after death, progress, is fully present at 6 to 8 hours, and dissipates around 12 to 15 hours, depending on the condition of the person at death.
It is caused by a form of toxemia, similar to the one that causes lock jaw/ tetanus, after the bacteria have consumed the particular proteins in the muscle tissue, they die, and the muscles relax.
The bacteria are always present in your body, your immune system keeps them in check…with death, nothing suppresses the bacteria so they run rampant till they consume the proteins.
So, if the body was in rigor, time of death would be within 12 to 15 hours before you witnessed the event.
And one might consider the other concerns, such as elofan pointed out; the difficulty of removing a body, and the crews consideration of the other passengers…no one would want a dead body carried through their compartment.
It is somewhat relieving to know that the deaths mentioned here were in peace.
Not to really delve into the details of it, but as i’ve learned it, rigor mortis is actually caused by a lack of usable energy. When muscles contract, they do not use energy. However, in order to relax the muscles, energy is needed to open the bonds between the two complimentary filaments that make up a muscle fiber. Because the energy supply has been depleted, the muscles cannot release from each other.
The relaxation later on occurs due to the breakdown of membranes releasing destructive enzymes into the fibers that break open the bonds. This release can happen days after the rigor mortis began, meaning that the death could have happened earlier along the route.
Nonetheless, it presents the same problem in getting down from the railcar.
Though they likely will not receive it by a message board such as this one, I send my condolences to the person’s extended family.
Not yet, the Memphis Democrat doesn’t come out until Thursday. I expect they will tell something about it, though (they don’t have very much to write about normally [:-^]). I did notice that the EMS crew was taking pictures while they were lowering the body out of the sleeping car. I thought about sending my video into KTVO TV, but thought that that would be a little too excessive.
Back in about 1993(?) I was on my way back from Southern CA to Iowa on the Desert Wind & a middle aged woman had a bad diabetic reaction. We made an unscheulded stop at Caliente NV to transfer her to an awaiting ambulance…
In the intersst of relieving the gloom of this rather macabre thread, might I suggest that some modeler may wish to include on his layout a scene of one of our dear departed being removed from a passenger train. This would, of course, require a removable window (for the rigor mortis reasons stated previously) on one your passenger cars.
Perhaps the good folks over at Model Railroader, who like to insert something of this nature annually in the April issue, may consider this. After all, we are clearly demonstrating on this thread that there are some recent incidences in the 12-inch scale railroading world, of this very thing, so no one out there can claim “it ain’t prototypical.”
Somewhat on-topic, from time to time my late father would sing a song called “In the Baggage Car Ahead”
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“The Baggage Coach Ahead”
On a dark and stormy night as the train rolled on
All passengers gone to bed
Except a young man with a babe on his arm
Sat sadly with bowed down head
Just then the babe commenced crying
As though its poor heart would break
One angry man said, “Make that child stop its noise,
For it’s keeping us all awake”
“Put it out,” said another, “Don’t keep it in here
We’ve paid for our berth and want rest”
But never a word said the man with the child
As he fondled it close to his breast
“Oh where is its mother? Go take it to her”
One lady then softly said
“I wish I could,” was the man’s sad reply
“But she’s dead in the coach ahead”
As the train rolled onward, a husband set in tears
Thinking of the happiness of just a few short years
Baby’s face brings pictures of a cherished hope now dead
But baby’s cries can’t awaken her in the baggage coach ahead
Every eye filled with tears as the story he told
Of a wife who was faithful and true
He told how he’d saved up his earnings for years
Just to build a home for two
How when heaven had sent them their sweet little babe
Their young happy lives were blest
His heart seemed to break when he mentioned her name
And in tears tried to tell them the rest
Every woman arose to assist with the child
There were mothers and wives on that train
And soon was the little one sleeping in peace
With no thought of sorrow or pain
Next morn at the station he bade all goodbye
“God bless you,” he softly said
Each one had a story to tell in their homes
Of the baggage coach ahead
Sure enough, the story made the cover page of the Memphis Democrat.
AMTRAK TRAIN MAKES EMERGENCY STOP IN GORIN The passenger train stopped in Scotland County after a passenger was discovered dead
An Amtrak passenger train made an unexpected stop in Scotland County on Monday, June 4th after one of the travelers onboard was discovered dead.
Scotland County Sheriff Wayne Winn stated his department was contacted regarding a fatality aboard an inbound train.
Law enforcement officers, the county coroner and other emergency service personnel rendezvoused with the train near Gorin.
The body of a 71-year-old white male passenger was removed from the train. The victim was believed to be from Riverside, CA, but his identity is being withheld until proper notification of family members is made.
Scotland County Coroner Ginny Monroe took possession of the body and an autopsy was scheduled for June 5th.
Winn indicated it was too early to rule anything out but investigators believed the passenger likely died of natural causes, but stressed investigators would have to wait for the autopsy results to make a final decision.
The train was en route to Chicago, IL, with a final destination of Boston, MA.
If you ever get a bit north there’s some good photo ops in Dumas and Revere. Just watch out for the headless woman at Dumas, she’ll git ya if you aren’t watching! [(-D]