I wouldn’t be surprised if it was… isn’t it almost time or is harvest season?
OMG What an Idiot…
This is the stupidest dipstick I’ve heard of in recent months! I hope the RR prosicutes him to the fullest extent of the law, then we’ll see if Mr Moron (his name must be misspelled in the article) is so smug about blocking the tracks.
To Paraphrase from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy…
“Mr Moron, do you have any idea how much damage that locomotive would suffer if I just let it roll right over you?”
“No, how much?”
“None at all”
That idiot who parked his truck on the tracks is obviously Stuck on Stupid[:(!][xx(]![soapbox][D)].
As a four time varsity letterman in cross country, I can tell you how pissed off we get when ANYTHING holds runners up during a race. Even a walkathon got in our way once and it wasn’t pretty.
While that wasn’t a smart way to go about running the race, I can see why he did it. Now that it is shoulda woulda coulda time, we all know it could have been handled better.
Adrianspeeder
maybee he forgot to take his medication that day, or his dosage too low!!!
Copied directly from the Darwin Awards Website:
The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome
by honoring those who accidentally kill themselves in really stupid ways.
Of necessity, this honor is generally bestowed posthumously.
Nominees significantly improve the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race in an obviously stupid way. They are self-selected examples of the dangers inherent in a lack of common sense, and all human races, cultures, and socioeconomic groups are eligible to compete. Actual winners must meet the following criteria:
Reproduction
Out of the gene pool: dead or sterile.
Excellence
Astounding misapplication of judgment.
Self-Selection
Cause one’s own demise.
Maturity
Capable of sound judgment.
Veracity
The event must be true.
If I was with Iowa Interstate,the day of the next marathon,EVERY crossing on the route would be blocked!
Railroads rarely commit to stopping trains for such activities, mostly they issue orders to the crews to be aware there will be unusual numbers of people around the tracks.
They don’t stop trains because then when they start back up people assume the trains are still stopped or won’t come across the crossing and wander in front of the trains causing more danger. Better the people should expect a train on any track in any direction at any time.
Dave H.
That is for sure. He should be grateful that he is not stuck on a locomotive.
I wonder if the railroad can successfully sue him or press federal charges for interfering with interstate commerce.
I LOVE this quote,…thanks for sharing …I work for the BNSF as a road conductor on the transcontinental mainline…double track main and a lot of trains…I have seen the results of trains vs humans,usually a suicide…NEVER A PRETTY SIGHT…Think hamburger meat,…they always get rolled up between the traction motors and the ties in between the rails…AND then there are the outdoor types…
It sickens me to see the callous attitudes displayed by the bike riders ,joggers and other enviromentally health conscious idiots that seem to have no comprehension of the weight,speed and power of a freight train , but seem to gravitate to railroad property…
I have NEVER seen the slightest damage to a Locomotive after striking a human,a dog,a deer or a cow and very little after hiting an automobile,only minor scratches…
Thanks for posting this story…
Seems to me that the railroad would have a fair case for a lawsuit here. And I suspect that the local cops could also write a ticket for intentionally blocking the tracks. (There have been tickets written on locomotive engineers for leaving crossings blocked for more than fifteen minutes.)
Erik
[:D][:D][:D][:D]
Sometimes you just have to trump your opponent.
CNN showed pix of a train stopping the runners before the mayor took his action. CNN said that those runners were delayed 5/6 minutes.
They posted this in our local paper -really close to the comic section!
But, they do. I have seen many dispatcher bulletins with instructions not to block crossings at certain periods of times because of municipal parades or for marathons. I’ve also been stopped for a extra large funeral procession. I will note that this has been within the last five or ten years, before then I don’t recall ever seeing instructions issued for train delays. Must’ve started when we got kinder and gentler.[:)]
I’d have to believe that IAIS could have altered their schedules a bit, for one day. We’re talking, what, 3 -4 hours? I’m sure the track foreman could close the line down for maintenance for that period if it was adequately planned. No reason they can’t hold traffic for a once-a-year event in a local community.
So it comes down to the “breakdown in communications,” and who dropped the ball. I’d bet that everybody will be talking in plenty of time next year.
On the other hand, parking your vehicle across the tracks is pretty dumb. I do want to hear the whole story, though.
And I’m a former cross country runner, too. I’d be quite angry if I had to wait for any kind of traffic during a race, much less 4-6 minutes for a train.
The basic thing is that the organizers of this marathon were idiots and the cause of all the BS because THEY CHOSE THE ROUTE. To go blaming the railroad shows an extreme arogance as if they have the right to run thier race where ever they want and inconvenience anybody they please. The truth is of course that they DONT have that right. The organizers were the ones responsible for chosing the best route, that includes chosing a route that limits crossing hazards like railroads and highways. Imaging if they chose a route that crosses a busy interstate, wouldnt it be prudent to consider the possibility of a runner getting creamed by a semi-truck trying to get across the highway and chose an alternate route that avoids a dangerous situation like that? [V]
Maybe the solution is to put louder horns on the train? [}:)]
I suppose that is why railroads are under pressure to eliminate as many grade crossings as possible. That’s why they spend millions of dollars to build flyovers, bridges, etc…
Harder for trains and people to co-exist in congested areas, but they need to co-exist for mutual benefits…hmm, getting too deep in thought here. Yikes. Out.
But wouldn’t that be upsetting and bothersome to local residents? Oh dear.[:(][:0][V]