http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_11137279
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/dec/04/good-man-killed-train-truck-collision/
That is so sad.
My condolences to his family.
[sigh] Sad news, anyone know if this was a gated crossing or at least had warning lights?
Very sad for the family - a teenager and 2 young children without a Daddy now, who from these accounts was a caring family man. No one deserves to have that happen to them. Please say a prayer (or other appropriate thought for your personal tradition) for all of them. Hopefully the railroad and local social service agencies will care for them in this hour of need - in the midst of the holiday season, too.
From the Denver Post’s article linked above:
[The truck driver was] cited for “careless driving causing death,” and taken to the Adams County Jail, the Colorado State Patrol said in a news release.
Quite evidently - perhaps driving faster than his stopping capability within the range of his headlight illumination would allow, so he didn’t see the train in time to stop safely- or if he did see it, he then either willfully ignored it, or else tried to beat it to the crossing. An oveturned tractor-trailer is pretty compelling evidence, too - “the thing speaks for itself”.
Good to see that the CSP doesn’t mess around, as happens sometimes here in PA with similar incidents.
Details not reported: Were there any streetlights in the area that would have illuminated the train ? Was the trainman using a lantern or a fusee to protect the move ?
2 Crossbucks only, nothing in the industrial district is lit or gated. - This is in an industrial/warehouse district on the north side of Denver. The North Washington Industrial Lead, built in the late 1950’s, is a north-south spine line feeding industrial tracks & smaller lead tracks to the east & west, connecting to the Denver East Belt Line (NWT (DNWP) /D&RGW/SP/UP) on the south… 66th Avenue crosses the railroad about 300 feet west of the intersection with Washington Ave. The railroad comes out from between two warehouses, runs accross the tree-lined street and ducks in behind another warehouse. Streets are marginally maintained and speed is limited to about 30 MPH. Two tracks cross the street, the lead track and an out of service side track.
N 39d 48’ 58.84"
W 104d 58’ 10.35"
UP sold the track to DRIR in 2006 in a 3-way land swap so UP could re-acquire CRIP Belt Jc. - Sandown. (DRIR also got NWP/DRGW’s Stockyards District + 3 locomotives)
Very Sad News Indeed. [sigh]
Condolences to the Family.
Many’s the time I’ve climbed back up the vestibule steps as we cross the crossing on the way into the station.
Sometimes you just don’t think it can happen like that. A loss, indeed. My thoughts go out to his family and co-workers.
Riding a shove over a crossing is among the most dangerous moves a trainman can make. This is a horribly tragic result. Given the description of the collision I doubt the deceased even saw the truck coming. I hape the driver is charged with vehicular manslaughter and given the maximum term.
R.I.P. Brother, R.I.P.
LC
God Bless.
Looking at the earlier story in the Rocky Mountain News, it almost sounds like the conductor was flagging the crossing for the shove. That would make sense, in terms of MC’s description of the crossing and the completely obstructed view of any oncoming equipment.
It is possible additional information will come out about this tragic event.
Sadly, this is about the only time people become aware of the congestion and tight clearances in these places.
Lots of industrial crossing, most with nothing but a stop sign or cross bucks…
Truck drivers mostly concerned with getting the load there on time or getting to a pick up in time to beat the rush are sharing space with train crews…
Trucks, dumpsters, cars parked all over the place, often fouling the tracks, most of which have such tight curves and close clearance that by the time you see the trailer fouling the track the only option is to jump, if you have someplace to jump to.
Or the black tank car, shoved out and fouling the running track by a yahoo with a forklift, making a hole so he and his workers can cross between a cut of cars and save having to dive a block down the street.
This is the real nitty gritty part of railroading most folks never see…it’s not pretty, fast or impressive…it’s dirty, dangerous and usually takes place in the dark.
Funny how often the media report that the crossing view is obstructed…for the motorist’s field of view, but fail to mention the trainman has the same exact problem.
For the guy riding the shove, every crossing is a huge risk, because he can’t see what is about to pop out from between those two warehouses, or what’s coming around that corner.
And even though we have the right of way, no one down in these plants and industrial parks pays a bit of attention to that…trains are simply part of the back ground, something that gets in your way and holds you up from time to time, so you try and beat them to the crossing when you can…after all, they are moving real slow and they can stop, right?
We were taught that, if you have to get off and flag a crossing, to do so from the opposite side of the street the shove was coming from…and to stay out of the street unless you had to step out and flag down someone…then, if they didn’t seem to be stopping, tel
The articles and Ed’s essay above ought to be printed out and posted on the bulletin board at the sign-in point for every crew that does industrial switching of this type. Or at least, published in the next Local newsletter or read at the next meeting. Hopefully it will serve as a reminder to raise the consciousness / safety-awareness level, what the hazards are, and how to cope with and minimize them.
“We were taught that, if you have to get off and flag a crossing, to do so from the opposite side of the street the shove was coming from…and to stay out of the street unless you had to step out and flag down someone…then, if they didn’t seem to be stopping, tell the engineer to plug the train, step back, and watch the wreck from the far side of the crossing.”
Once again, we are reminded what a dangerous business transportation is, rail or otherwise. Humans moving objects with much larger mass than humans are at risk pretty much all of the time.
It continues to amaze me that we are able to do this as safely as is done today, which is certainly not absolutely safe but considerably more so than say, a hundred years ago, or maybe even half a hundred. The fact that it is done successfully in congested, busy industrial areas on a daily (nightly?) basis is something of a miracle.
Ed, thanks for the reminder about the hazards and conditions at the start/end of the loose car’s journey. Most of us fortunately do not have the opportunity to see that up close and personal, and it certainly as you say is not the “glamor” area of railroading (or transportation in general, IMHO).
Our prayers go to the family.
stay safe
joe
I browsed the area on Google Earth and was struck by the almost complete lack of RXR pavement markings. It looks like Colorado is taking the lenient version of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) which is the federal standard on almost all highway signs, signals and markings. Generally, the MUTCD doesn’t require RXR pavement markings and advance warning signs on urban, low-speed streets when an engineering study says essentially the cross-buck is sufficient warning.
“Pavement markings shall not be required at highway-rail grade crossings where the posted or statutory highway speed is less than 60 km/h (40 mph), or in urban areas, if an engineering study indicates that other installed devices provide suitable warning and control.” --Federal MUTCD
The reason I was surprised is that out here in the Golden State, CALTRANS has decreed that the RXR pavement markings go on every paved road. This is in its supplement to the MUTCD, which replaced the CALTRANS Traffic Manual five years ago. This is a conservative approach that also removes “engineering judgment” from the equation, not the worst thing to do.
That gets me to wondering how many other states take the more conservative approach to marking the pavement with RXR leading up to the grade crossing on all roads.