To answer beegle55's thought/question...... The railroads (especially CSX and NS) are so desperate for help they rush the newbies through a 10 week school like training and then a cubbing period where the new hires are put with crews to learn life on the rails. The problem is they are not being taught to railroad.....they are being taught to move freight at the most economical means for the company and to work with as much thought as a robot. On top of that all the "old heads" are stressed and pushed to their limits. Because of these combinations and no time off you have crews falling asleep, not paying close attention due to fatigue and MAJOR incidents occurring. It has become a very sad state of doing business for CSX and NS.
Reality...an interesting concept with no successful applications, that should always be accompanied by a "Do not try this at home" warning.
Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.
"Oooh...ahhhh...that's how this all starts...but then there's running...and screaming..."
beegle55 wrote:I saw that on the Today show today. I thought about it, and it made me wonder what the railroading industry is coming to. Just the other day, a CSX freight derailed and was thought to be leaking toxic waste into the city of Charleston or somewhere like that, and they evacuated half of the city. Turned out it was nothing major, but it seems at least twice a week I hear about train wrecks, and I laugh a little because there are more derailments now in the real world than on my layout!!
This caught my attention this morning
LANCASTER, S.C. -- A train crashed into a convenience store in Lancaster, S.C. Wednesday, seriously injuring one person and knocking the building off its foundation.It appears that the train jumped the tracks, but as of late Wednesday afternoon, there was no explanation as to why.One of the cars slammed into the Buy-Rite Discount Beverage and Cigarettes Store.
The injured person was flown to a Columbia hospital.
Nick