So on my way to work I arrive at downed crossing gates with a couple of BNSF locos with a string of doublestacks parked. Well I just rolled up and shut off my engine and waited knowing that he was waiting for yard clearance ( the yard is about a couple of miles up). Well others waiting at the crossing start honking, like the engineer didnt realize he was blocking a crossing. Hey idiots he can park that thing pretty much all day and all he will receive is a fine. People are just so stupid thinking they are so important. I can see now why so many people die when they try to beat a train.
Yep, happens often.
But you have to remember that the average 18 to 40 year old today is not very knowledgeable about how U.S and Canadian railroads work. Add to that, our modern society is “rush, rush, to do whatever”. Since the 1980s it seems that many kids are not being taught to be patient and respectful. Hence, the idiotic scenarios we see today.
I remember a coworker complaining about a “train just sitting at the crossing doing nothing!” I took the time to explain that often times the engineer may be in the process of switching cars and has to wait for the conductor or brakeman to open a coupler, line up switch, or he he has to wait for a dispatcher’s o.k to proceed if he’s near an interlocking.
Railroads are partially at fault as well because as a whole the industry keeps a low profile with the general public. I’ve read that as recent as the 1960s, many American public schools covered railroading history, basic operations, and SAFET as part of their curiculumn in grade school. Seems that vaporized a long time ago, sad to say.
As a grade school class project or outing we took school buses from Richfield MN to the downtown Minneapolis Milwaukee Road depot, and all took a MILW passenger train to St.Paul Union Depot (about 10 miles) then took the schoolbuses back to Richfield. This would be about 1967-68 as I recall.
Darn, I wish Prior Lake would’ve done that!
Come to think of it, even in the town that UP built (Omaha) there isn’t very much in school on the railroads, except for maybe the building of the trans-con…that’s it.
Our office faced a small siding across from the main line , a parking lot faced the tracks of the siding, there was always a couple of boxcars on the siding, people would park their cars up under the boxcars( I guess they thought they were permanent structures) of course twice a week they moved the boxcars, the spur was on a curve so the engineer couldn’t see the cars, well, CRUNCH ! another car with big damage, this went on for about 2 years, it became a great pastime at coffee break to watch this game, I’m sure some of these bozos had their car damaged more than once. People are (funny?)
Proving once again: You can train the ignorant[D)][D)][D)],
BUT STUPID IS FOREVER![:o)][:o)][:o)]
Speaking of parking next to tracks, this reminded me of an experience I had some years ago at the Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. The BNSF has a line that runs through Knoxville (former N&W) that connects the east-west BNSF main in Albia with Des Moines. Anyway, the line runs right alongside the fairgrounds, where the race track is. Near one crossing there was a large gravel lot where people going to the race track would park their cars. Once when I was there in the race track infield I heard a train pass by on the line. On this particular night there was a major event at the track, a big crowd, and parking in the area was at a premium. A little while after the train passed, the track PA announcer came on and said, “Well, apparently some of you fans parked a little too close to the railroad track over by so-and-so street…we just got word that a train going by clipped some cars…so if you parked by the tracks there, you may want to go check on your car…”
Bet those folks had fun trying to explain that one to their insurance companies…
Snickers I know the crew on the Des Moines job. Every time I was on it and passed by nothing was going on in Knoxville.
Back in the old days the DRI&NW ( Davenport Rock Island and North Western a terminal line owned by the Rock Island Milwaukee and CB&Q) would cruise on in behind the Farmal plant and come out a gate behind it and travel on to Deere and points east.People working in the industries behind Farmal would park their cars on the ROW, Rumor was some Farmal people did the same thing.But they only did it once. The crew would come in blowing the whistle and ringing the bell. If you moved your car great but most never paid attention and their cars got moved slightly.
Crews in Chicago tell me in some spots this still goes on but, due to the increase in lawyers we cant push them out of the way anymore. Nuts huh.
OLI has attempted to make presentations to various public and charter schools here in the Denver / Aurora area. Several have declined, for of all reasons, that the subject does not have relevance or interferes with some other program. (and some of those “PC” programs are absurd)
…and the school district cannot understand why their high school grads are unemployable in entry level positions and employers will avoid people from Denver & Aurora schools like the plague![%-)]
I usually travel from elkhart to chicago and I typically see at least one near miss each way either by car, bike, or on foot so to me its just a matter of time before we scwample some foolish person for example yesterday I was on a local job and this guy walked out of the weeds from doing lord knows what and just stopped right in front of us in the gage we blew our horn several times then just stared at us for a few seconds and casualy walked back to the parking lot what a moron
WOW! You guys have seen it all. Heres my story it was prom night just a few months ago we were in downtown Memphis walking around a a car parked way to close to the tracks. The City of New Orleans was getting ready to leave the crew called the cops to see if they could get the car towed or something and the cop just said run it over that will teach who ever parked here. So the crew got in the train and shoved the car out of the way there was minor damage to the car the front bumper and the left side headlight were gone but it could have been worse if that train was going even 30MPH. It was going like 5 maybe 10. That was something i really didnt expect to see on my senior prom.
The “Run it over” order is a valid one and worth a lesson to the owner.
Especially if Law Enforcment issues it.
No one in school today teaches rail safety. Drivers education where I was deemed too expensive and best cut down and left to the parents. People are not going to sit and endure classroom lectures when they can be out and actually driving; especially young folk who dream of very little else.
I am actually trying to get OLS to come into my place of employment (it’s very community minded) to do a presentation. I’ll let you know what kind of reception it gets.
Man, that cop is gutsy, but would he not get in major trouble for doing this? I would assume that he’d just order a tow truck, have the car impounded and the owner would learn an expensive $$ lesson that way.
I did not think that something like this would be legal and that lawyers would be hot to jump on a situation like this (especially the ACLU).
[#ditto] I don’t think that would be legal!
Not exactly the same, but close…
When I was a fireman on two occasions we arrived at a working fire to find someone’s car blocking the hydrant, with other cars fore and aft. No problem. We just broke out the side windows with fire axes and ran the 8-inch hard suction lines right through the car.
On several other occasions, I was able to pull up right behind a lone car blocking a hydrant and push it out of the way. Ever wonder why most pumpers have a huge bumper?
Was it fun? You bet! [swg]
I dont know if those pumpers have the same power we do with our rigs but shoving 3000 pounds is NOT a problem. It is more fun using 20 feet of chain helping someone out of ice or snow though, gentle handling is definately required because those cars arent made they used to be long ago.
Yes I know all about the RUN IT OVER OR YOU GET THE TICKET DRIVER. I was picking up a load of honey out of Warehouse America in Philly and there was a brand new Caddy blocking the swing area for the trailers to get out of there. The warehouse called Phillys finest they showed up cheesesteaks in hand looked at the problem and then told me JUST RUN THAT CAR OVER. I proceeded to do so under a cops orders the owner of said pancaked caddy comes flying out of the house going I am going to sue your butt off driver then he saw the cops there and went whiter than a KKK member at a rally under a sheet. Turns out he was wanted out of NYC for 3 counts of MURDER of a COP he had fun in the cell back at the station I bet.
Is it “stupid” or just terribly, terribly LUCKY.
A friend of mine related this story to me a couple of days ago.
A co-worker of his was late getting to work the night before and was stopped several cars back from a rail crossing waiting for a train to go by. He passes all the cars in line and waits in the wrong lane to be the first across when the crossing was clear. The train clears and he shoots across before the gates even would have had a chance to start to go up.
Oh, did I mention that there are TWO tracks there?
Guess what?
Daing! You guessed it! A westbound on track 2!
My friend says the rear bumper has a crease all the way across and the two rubber bumper guards were found in the ditch by the cops. The fellow tried to claim the damage was from an accident earlier in the week, but the bumper guards fit very well. He was cuffed right then and there.
I am wondering what he will be paying in dollars for what could have been paid for by his life.
There is a reason for that little sign tucked into the crossbucks that tell you how many tracks there are!
“Stupid” or “Lucky”???..
I guess it is a whole lot of BOTH!