On Saturday night a German ICE-1 derailed over a flock of sheep.
Well, they did get very lucky this time…could have been a lot worse I suppose!
I recently saw a 1 hour show on, I believe the history channel, about the Germany’s ICE high-speed train wreck that you spoke of, that occurred in June 1998. That was a very interesting and exceptional learning report. I suggest anyone who can watch it do watch it…you will learn a lot about derailments and train physics.
Building the CF&W (Caney Fork & Western), Rock Island TN in the 70’s + era.
Just curious - what the heck was a flock of sheep doing in a RR tunnel?!! Wouldn’t want to be the shepherd that let the flock hit the fan!! er, train!![:-^]
The report said it was a “flock” of sheep.
I always heard a lot of sheep would be a “herd”. But they really can be called a flock or even a mob.
So when they are on the tracks in a tunnel, they might more appropriately be called a mob? A bunch of train mobbers. They mobbed the train. ??
I checked to be shorn. I didn’t want to have the wool pulled over my eyes. Ewe!
[swg]
Fortunately, the dining car had just stocked up on mint jelly, so it wasn’t a total loss.
Ken–
Nope, it’s a ‘flock’, LOL! However the human in charge is a Shepherd. So he ‘herds’ a ‘flock.’
Go figure. But then if you’ve ever been around a flock of sheep, you realize that THEY don’t much care WHAT they’re called, just as long as there’s plenty of grass for them to mow. Believe it or not, when I was a kid, growing up in the foothills, the next door neighbor kept a flock of sheep to do just that–keep his 2-acre lawn mowed. Had the best-looking lawn in the county. Noisiest, too! [;)]
Tom [:P]
I certainly hope that Mary is alright?
She’s OK, but the lamb’s stew![(-D]
Of course he’s called a shepherd (co-incidentally, so is his dog). Who would want to be called a “sheep flocker”?
That’s baaaaaaad.[(-D]
wow it killed 20 sheep [:O]
OK, the sheep were not in the tunnel the were at the tunnel portal. The train rolled another 500 meters before stopping.
Shouldn’t the title be “Bad Train Meewws”? (or whateve noise sheep make!)[}:)]
That would be Baaaaaaaa…d Train News. [;)]
If one was going to make a diorama of this event, polyfiber might make a good representation of the wool on the nose of the loco. Any ideas for how to apply it?
there was once a sheep flocker that had a little lamb that called him daaaaa–deee…(now that’s really baaaaad…)
Well, of course. They both mowed and fertilized the turf…
This thread almost drove me crazy–
until I realized that a flock of sheep could also be called a drove.
The train drove into a drove of sheep. ??
Almost, as I understand the word it is only a drove of sheep if the flock is moving. A drove is a herd or flock of animals MOVING together. Probably where the term “drover” comes from. I have a few drover caboose in my fleet. I wonder if a stock car full of cattle is a drove while the train is moving but not while it is stopped in the station?!?
I bet that flock was moving after the Ice train went through!!![angel]