nevermind. Just… nevermind.
Wow, I did not know that there was a second, nearly identical collision at that same crossing just 7 years after the first one. The one I am referring to above was the first one which occurred in 1993. That one put much of the train on the ground. I don’t recall that anyone was killed but there were lots of injuries, mostly to passengers on the train as they were thrown out of their seats and acquired broken bones.
The truck driver was badly injured as he made a last second attempt to yank the load off of the crossing. He left the cab and was still on the running board as the train hit the trailer at 75 mph. The truck whip-sawed and threw the driver against a power pole. The locomotive tipped onto its side and threw one of the crew up on top of the prime mover, and he contacted the hot exhaust manifold.
From the report, hers is what CSX requires, and this was not done:
CSXT’s Procedures • CSXT sends an employee to the crossing. Employee contacts the train dispatcher and waits until trains are clear of the area. Employee occupies the track in his name. Employee assures that the oversize shipment traverses the crossing safely. Employee returns the use of the track to the train dispatcher.
I live abut 45 minutes from a blade factory in SE Iowa. We see these things all the time on the highways around here. You don’t realize how long they are until you pass one on the highway. The tip with the flag is in motion and it can be unnerving. They don’t always ship by truck. Sometimes we see dedicated blade trains go past our house. Days later, you may see an empty one going back.
A similar highway situation - Was driving I-95 through SC in mid-January one year - about 40 degrees and raining - passed a convoy of long (180-200 foot estimated) prestressed concrete beams. They each had a steerable boggie attached to the end of the beam that contained stop lights, turn signals and a drivers seat with a plexiglass windshield - no other defense for the driver from the elements. Can’t think of a much more miserable job under the circumstance.