I’m hoping that the folks here who drove or are still driving trains will share some of their more bizare stories with those of us who read the forums.
I’m also looking for stories of events and strange things observed while being a train passenger or while train watching as well.
Thanks,
Jess Red Horse, Santa Fe HO MRRer.
I remember a thread similar to this, years ago. I don’t recall whether I responded to it (my observations would be tame!), but Zardoz’s response was truly priceless!
I remeber back years ago when i was walking home from high school and they left a locomotive down by the house and the keys was in it… well i got real brave and jumped in and started it up and then just drove it around the block 2 times then just before i parked it i lit the wheels up that was fun then i parked it back where i found it, the next day nobody seemed to care. man that was fun.
Recently I was shooting video in Norcross, GA whan an intermodal train came through. As I was watching, a guy ran up right to it and hunched down looking through below the cars as the train rolled by at about 50mph. He made several moves like he was timing when to go under, presumably to get to the other side. I leaned over to the camera at some point to see if I was catching this, and I must have bumped the camera and the anti-shock kicked in and shut down the camera, so I missed all of the good parts (of course!). Finally the train passed and he ran across the tracks to wherever he was going. I REALLY thought he was going to try it and it would have been ugly if he did. Jamie
Now that would have been some Faces Of Death material for sure.
I don’t know about strange, but the nicest thing I’ve ever seen at 3am was a girl standing trackside wearing only a cowboy hat. It defenitly woke my engineer up.
I was hiking CSX DC to Baltimore to Relay a few years back when an eastbound coal train passed me. Mid-train was an Asian-looking schoolboy kid type in a dark suit and white shirt in the hopper’s corner. A pretty safe place compared to the next guy on the same train. He was riding a hopper’s end ladder at the end of the train and yelling “Yahoooo!” Could never figure that out, since coal trains raely stopped between Cumberland or Brunswick and Curtis Bay or northward.
My ex-Conrail friend witnessed many a revealing romance along the Port Road between Perryville and Enola. His best story is about the Perryville bridge over the Susquehanna. Really cold winter nights, peeing off the caboose and watching it turn to icelets before disappearing. I dunno 'bout that one and I don’t think he hung with Ricky Gates.
See ya,
Flix
I know I have posted this story before but it bears repeating Some years ago I was doing a roll by on an eastbound trian we were sitting in western Iowa on a warm summer day and when the eastbound manifest approched I noticed right behind the power was a cabin crusier on a flat car and sitting on the deck chairs was a hobo sunning himself just enjoying the ride When the train cleared and I climbed back onto my train my engineer was laughing his A^^^ off and asked me did you see that and I replied that I had I decided not to notify the Dispather that bo was enjoying himserlf too much CNW FOREVER Larry
Some guys I work with bought a Picnic table at the away from home terminal and brought it home on the rear deck of the SD40-2 that was ther lead engine. Other than that, we are constantly getting flashed and see people getting it on along the right of way. My route takes me through 4 college campuses. So we see alot. Usually around Halloween they will put stuff on the track. Pumpkins, a couch standing up on end, a riding lawnmower, pallets, washing machines, etc. Also had a train we met in double track tell us we had a trespasser riding about 10 cars back from the engines. The dispatcher overheard it and told us to stop at the passenger station to meet the police about 10 miles up the road. We stopped and I walked back and there was this old bum standing in the middle of an empty centerbeam flat holding on to the cables. I asked him “what are you riding that car for? It’s kinda dangerous and you were surely gonna get caught. Why not a box car that you can at least hide in and get out of the cold.” He said, “Well, I wanted to be able to see”. He saw the police car pull in after a few minutes and took off. lol
These are awesome stories!!!
I forgot about a time when I was living along the North Conway NH scenic rail road, this is a tourist train that runs about 5 miles south , turns around and returns to the station in North Conway.
It was bear hunting season and I don’t hunt the black bear because there are enough “Flat Landers” (city hunters) who come up to shoot a bear, have video or pictures taken with it and then don’t know what the hell to do with them, so the Game warden tells them about our group of Natives that will skin it, butcher it and package it up for the families up here that really need the food, we don’t charge for this but we do keep the hides to brain tan later and sell them to make money for the Native people up here that will need heating fuel and so on, or most times medical bills paid for the families with the profits from the selling of the hides.
I was in my back yard with a 155 lb female that I was skinning on a picnic table right along the tracks, the train must slow down and blow its horns because just 300 yards down the line is a street crossing, well the train is doing about 5 MPH when it passes my property and the tourists looking out the window and taking pictures got an eye full on those rides that day.
They could see this bear laid out with me carefully removing its fur coat and some of the looks were price less, from interest to shock and horror.
After the 2nd train came by later that afternoon I had the local police at my door asking that I move my skinning operation some where else because it was making the tourist sick, No CAN DO I told the cop, this is the only place I have to do this in and they couldn’t do anything about it, when I explained where all the meat, hideand bones go to helping the Native people he and his partner left without pushing the issue.(bones are used in making our traditional weapons and so on that are sold in the tourist stores up north).
That fall I got a letter from the Conway Scenic r
What? I wish I could tell you! [:I]