About a year ago I saw an interesting event at the beginning of a division change, involving what we used to call a “hotshot” train. It was on a megasysthem with that line’s engines. It was close to the Mississippi River, and one of the U.S. big four (I’d rather not be more specific).
The train pulled in and stopped, and everything looked normal. IIRC the engineer exited the cab and went into the station.
It was the kind of engine that has a “trap” door like opening down about where I’d expect the head to be. The kind that I think exits onto a very small apron (not entirely sure about that) but whether or not, there’s a ladder down to about wheel level.
A couple minutes after the engineer went in, six people went through the “trap” door while the train was stopped. Four adults and two kids and none in any kind of railroad-type job clothes that I could see. Other than the ladies having large-size purses, no luggage I could see. Nor were the people at all dressed like railroad investors or exeuctives. Not wanting to leave this interesting view, I did not look to see if they hid or waited near the station or got into parked cars, whatever.
Several things went thru my mind: 1) Hope no one had had to “do a deuce!”
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It was during summer, would they have had airconditioning?
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If no one’s looking, is there access to the control deck (visible main part of cab) from down there? I assume so, if the stair goes down it must also go up, but I want to make sure.
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How often does this sort of thing happen?
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If it has a heritage, what are the penalties if engineer or conductor is found out?
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Anything else you have to add? It’s intriguing.
BTW I’m pretty sure it was a six-axle engine, and I’m positive it was on t
Al, if the locomotive was in fact the lead unit, the crew had to know these people were down there. I also suspect that they were up in the cab for much of the trip, as I can’t visualize six people being crammed down there comfortably for any length of time. Scenery’s a little dull, especially on the units with no windows in the front door.
Yes, the potty’s down there, too–'nuff said.
Cabs on these units are usually air-conditioned (unless they’re some CN units, I’m told), and that may have crept down into that region.
Having people on the locomotive not in the course of their duties is definitely a rule violation, and would be handled accordingly if engineer or conductor were caught. There’s no way they could have stayed hidden in the nose for the length of the trip. Of course, there are exceptions to just about everything–check out Ed Blysard’s story from a couple of years back.
(Many years ago–pretty sure I was in high school at the time–I accompanied an engineer and his fireman in the cab for the length of a passenger run in Michigan. This was a guy who steadfastly refused to grant cab rides any other time, but did me this amazing favor on his final run. Earlier in the day I was also invited into his cab for the switching out of local industries–this job handled a local freight one way and the passenger run the other way.)
Yes, I don’t see any way the operating crew could NOT have known about these stowaways if that’s even the word. Nor have I been able in all that time to conceive an emergency rescue involving such a deliberate flouting of the rules. Not a rescue from rising flood waters, stuff like that I mean.
So I guess it was really weird!
I wonder if the engineer who bent the rules on his very last day knew that he would be creating a life-long memory for you? That’s a great story.
And lest I forget, Carl, thank you!! - a.s.