Rock throwing SOBs

[FJ and G]

On the train home the other day I heard what sounded like an explosion. Two kids in the woods, perhaps 12 or 13 years old, were throwing large stones at the VRE train. It missed the window where I was sitting and hit between the windows. Sure woke me up fast and I was able to spot them in a remote section of woods between Rolling Hills and Burke Center station.

I've seen kids throw rocks at freight cars but never at passenger trains. I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore. It's not just terrorists you have to watch out for.

Dave Vergun

[Modelcar]

....For sure, those kids throwing the rocks aren't rail fans...It is sad that these fellows have no feeling for what they are doing....What will be their direction as they grow into adults....Not a good trend.

[tree68]

And you know that had they hit and broken a window, it would have been major bragging rights, which is a pretty sad commentary in and of itself.

Odds are they don't know anyone who would ride that (or any other) train, so they can easily detach any human element from their action.

[Anonymous]

They don't make kids like they use too! What happened to respect?

[zardoz]

Back in the "good old days" we used to carry wrist rockets in our grips with a baggie full of iron ore pellets. Gave them little bastards a taste of their own medicine.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by taylorl

They don't make kids like they use too! What happened to respect?

IT went out the door with "The Family" and "Prayer" in school. [:(!]

Respect is something that is taught and learned. Too many parents don't teach it anymore. My dad taught it, with a switch. Therefore, I learned it pretty quick. [;)]

I think we do have some of the "BETTER" kids here in the forum though. Let's hope they can influence some of their friends.

[tree68]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

QUOTE: Originally posted by taylorl

They don't make kids like they use too! What happened to respect?

IT went out the door with "The Family" and "Prayer" in school. [:(!]

Respect is something that is taught and learned. Too many parents don't teach it anymore. My dad taught it, with a switch. Therefore, I learned it pretty quick. [;)]

I think we do have some of the "BETTER" kids here in the forum though. Let's hope they can influence some of their friends.

That switch that Dad used represented something that has disappeared, taking respect along with it. Discipline. Used to be that when you got paddled at school, you could probably count on getting it again at home. Now if you get paddled at school, your folks will be at the next school board meeting demanding the teacher's head.

Some kids grow up needing very little discipline and may even become leaders in their communities. Others who could become leaders need discipline badly, but society has taken it away. Wise indeed was the sage who said "Spare the rod, Spoil the child." It's a shame that a parent who has a child misbehaving in a store can't take action to stem the behavior because they fear they will be arrested for child abuse.

[vsmith]

When I was a kid we always thru rocks at passing freight trains, the object was to hit the boxcars and get a nice "Clang" off of it, but the only thing we ever thru at engines, cabooses, or passenger trains, were waves. Throwing at those was "not cool"...

[Willy2]

Wow, it makes me mad when I hear of things like that! I just can't believe the stupidity of some people these days, and to make it worse, it's people my age doing some of the worst things.

Jhhtrainsplanes: Even though my parents don't use a switch ([;)]), they brought me up the right way, and I'm proud of them for doing it!

Willy

[Anonymous]

Speaking of stupid kids....... On the fourth of July we were heading north through Watseka, IL when a kid jumped in front of us and lit a Roman Candle on our track. He was pretty close to getting hit, and for some stupid stunt. [:(!][V][banghead]

[cherokee woman]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

QUOTE: Originally posted by taylorl

They don't make kids like they use too! What happened to respect?

IT went out the door with "The Family" and "Prayer" in school. [:(!]

Respect is something that is taught and learned. Too many parents don't teach it anymore. My dad taught it, with a switch. Therefore, I learned it pretty quick. [;)]

I think we do have some of the "BETTER" kids here in the forum though. Let's hope they can influence some of their friends.

That switch that Dad used represented something that has disappeared, taking respect along with it. Discipline. Used to be that when you got paddled at school, you could probably count on getting it again at home. Now if you get paddled at school, your folks will be at the next school board meeting demanding the teacher's head.

Some kids grow up needing very little discipline and may even become leaders in their communities. Others who could become leaders need discipline badly, but society has taken it away. Wise indeed was the sage who said "Spare the rod, Spoil the child." It's a shame that a parent who has a child misbehaving in a store can't take action to stem the behavior because they fear they will be arrested for child abuse.

[:(][:(!]Yes, RESPECT went right out the window when the government stepped in and
told parents they could no longer discipline their children as they (parents) saw fit.
If they did, they would be arrested for CHILD ABUSE.

I say, putting a child in "time out", in their bedroom, with their toys, video games,
etc. is NOT A punishment. Give them a good swift swat on the behind; or, as my
daddy did, make them stand in the corner while standing on their toes!!

[UPTRAIN]

Little bastards, when they have thrown rocks at my train, I've been tempted to stop the train and persorm a good clock cleaning session. Ok maybe not but I have notified police and most aren't smart enough to run and just stand around untill the cops get there. Do they think it's cool to get in trouble like that? And a passenger train window I wouldn't worry about breaking, it is FRA glazed.

[UPTRAIN]

Oh yeah I remember the wrist rocket days, had one of them myself but used it seldom afraid of a lawsuit.

[mudchicken]

Having had a worktrain engineer take a rock in the side of the head in 1990 at San Juan Capistrano at 11pm (Knocked him cold, a rock the size of a coffee saucer plate), I have no sympathy for the rock throwers. I catch 'em and call the cinderdicks.

(Usually just stopping the truck scatters them....Having something bigger than life and twice as ugly chasing after them scares the poop out of them!)

[Anonymous]

I would la***hose children to the coupler and give em a ride home. We have pretty good children here, however problems start when they hit the teens and find little to do in town.

The rod is used in the family for punishment. Punishment is not pleasent and as long it is directly associated with the provactive deed does not hurt the child.

I have moved away from large urban areas where it is illegal to administer punishment to a child without being treated as child abuse or some other problem that everyone on up thru the school to the government needed to get involved. Parents here teach thier children right from wrong and smack em when need to.

Now if the children grow up and follows the law and enjoys life great! But stone throwing and other actions designed to hurt other people are not so great. It tells me there is a problem in that child's world.

Yes as a kid I was expert at stones and wrist rockets and needed to be punished for using them to do bad things. I wonder what it would be like for these track side kids to have a gold bb hit thier bedroom window while THEY are sleeping.

And teachers are either loved or feared in my day. And if you are punished at school knowing you face the same again at home kinds of takes away any "profit" from the deed that brought it on.

Best of luck and try to keep dat head away from the window =)

[Anonymous]

AMEN, Jhhtrainsplanes/tree68. You hit the nail on the head. When I was coming up I knew the power of the switch or strap. That's the problem of today, someone needs to catch a few of them and light their butts up!

Larry

[FJ and G]

One of the bad things is that if the kids were in fact 12 and 13, which is what I'm guessing, if they had killed someone with a rock, they merely would have been sent to a boy's school for 8 years and then released, probably picking up even worse habits along the way.

You really cannot "clean the clock" on someone else's kids, much less your own. But at 12 or 13, the law pretty much allows that you are young and therefore still innocent.

I remember once when some kids that age were pelting rock in my direction with their parents standing nearby. I told them to stop and the parents gave me very dirty looks like I was abusing their child or something.


Dave Vergun

[locomutt]

I really hadn't planed on posting on this one.
But HOW can WE get the kids to not do things like this?
When I was in High School,I called the R.R. Police,and apperantly had
several people arrested for doing this. They thought it was FUN.

To any of the kids reading this,DON'T

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by taylorl

AMEN, Jhhtrainsplanes/tree68. You hit the nail on the head. When I was coming up I knew the power of the switch or strap. That's the problem of today, someone needs to catch a few of them and light their butts up!

Larry

YOU hit the nail on the head!

Even though CW & I don't have any kids,we still feel this way.
You can't do anything any more.
My Sis was a teacher,for over 30 years. In latter years,if she needed
to spank a child,she had to go to the Principals Office,get that person,
and another teacher to WITNESS the spanking.
By the time everything happend,the Child didn't know what "they" had done
and WHY they deserved the spanking!

They deserve THE BOOK thrown at them.

[Trainnut484]

This reminds me of a story my late father, who was an engineer on the Santa Fe, told me when I was small. He rounded a corner and saw two kids on top of a signal bridge holding a very big rock to drop on his train. He quickly pulled on the horn and held it. The kids dropped the rock on the other main track missing his train. The kids got away before anything else could've been done.

My wife would be saying "And where were the parents?"

Take care,

Russell

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by UPTRAIN

Oh yeah I remember the wrist rocket days, had one of them myself but used it seldom afraid of a lawsuit.

I also had a wrist rocket and used old roller bearings from a diesel mechanics shop (they were good for knocking squrels out of trees). If memory serves even the thought of useing the thing on anything but vermin was under the topic of "it is not done." Any thought of doing otherwise was not even thought of. Even the thought of taking a shot at a train,vehicle, pet, human of anything but a target or those vermin, well Mama would speak and make you wish she would beat you, then Daddy fulfilled that wish with his belt. I am happy to say that the affore mentioned reason for meeting the leather did not take place. In short it is a weapon treat it with respect and fear for what it can do[2c]

[Anonymous]

I am 12. I think some of these kids should get some respect for trains. If there wasnt any trains they wouldnt have half of the stuff they have.

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by zardoz

Back in the "good old days" we used to carry wrist rockets in our grips with a baggie full of iron ore pellets. Gave them little bastards a taste of their own medicine.

back in the "good old days" hell...some crewman still carry then.... and the ones that are realy good at useing them and smack a gornd hog or coon at 50mph
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

Some Kids don't have any repect for railroads. I often hear the infamous "I hate trains" and it sickens me[:(!] when I catch some people throwing rocks at trains i normally have a word with them [censored][:(!] One time a train stopped (After a kid out of nowhere ran on the tracks and just stood there until the train got real close and ran) and the one of crew pop out the engineneers side and started to get off but the kids took off. another time a girl (while the other kids were yelling "GET OFF THE TRACKS!?") stood on the siding while a local train rolled by I calmly pushed the girl to a safe spot and said "You are very lucky that train was not on the track YOU where on. If that train was doing 75 YOU would be DEAD! [xx(][:(!][8][censored]

[cstaats]

Could be worse. I was riding a NJ transit train into Hoboken and one of the windows in the car exploded. Turns out some one were shooting at us. That woke you up fast. Good thing it takes so long for the train to stop. I was three hours late for work and I do not think they ever caught the shooter either. Thank God no one was hurt.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Having had a worktrain engineer take a rock in the side of the head in 1990 at San Juan Capistrano at 11pm (Knocked him cold, a rock the size of a coffee saucer plate), I have no sympathy for the rock throwers. I catch 'em and call the cinderdicks.

(Usually just stopping the truck scatters them....Having something bigger than life and twice as ugly chasing after them scares the poop out of them!)

Hey - take it easy there - I hugged that bigger than life person and thought he was adorable!

But I agree - you listen to police calls and parents of 4 year olds are calling the police to correct their child because said child is out of control. They are constantly carting kids off to youth detention places. Sad, Sad.....

One parent (male) called police because he had left a small bruise on his kid's arm and wanted to report it so he wouldn't be accused of child abuse.

[Anonymous]

It isn't surprising to hear about stuff being thrown at trains. It's been going on for a long time. Back in the 70's, AMTRAK started outfitting their locomotives with window guards to keep rocks and debris from breaking the windows. At one of the rail museums I belong to, the later cabooses on display all have plexiglass windows- the reason being is that they were more resistant to rocks and bullets. (One of them has what looks like a .22 caliber bullet star in a cupola window.)

I'm a deputy sheriff in a rural county in Alabama. People throw stuff not only at trains; even trucks get hit. Two weeks ago an adult motorist threw a 2 liter bottle of Coke, partially consumed, out of his car at a truck. It hit the driver's side window... the driver ended up with his windshield in his lap and a severe case of the shakes.

About kids... and cops. Lots of parents seem to believe that when a kid gets "out of control" that they need to call a cop. When we arrive on scene, we have to play parent and social worker because the parent wants us to "give the kid a good talking to." Many times what the kid needs is a good hiding. We can't suggest that to a parent- nor can we administer said discipline to a kid, even though "common sense" says otherwise. My chief deputy- who is a dad and an outstanding law enforcement officer- tried suggesting a good "whuppin'" to a mother... and found himself in front of the Sheriff's desk answering a complaint... from the mother!

Erik

[vsmith]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cstaats

Could be worse. I was riding a NJ transit train into Hoboken and one of the windows in the car exploded. Turns out some one were shooting at us. That woke you up fast. Good thing it takes so long for the train to stop. I was three hours late for work and I do not think they ever caught the shooter either. Thank God no one was hurt.

Hmmm...New Jersey? Hoboken? 2+2 =.....? Sure it wasn't an attempted Mob hit? [:0]

[BaltACD]

Facts are kids will throw rocks (or snowballs - iceballs) at anything that moves and anything that is unattended that doesn't move. That doesn't make it right, but it is what kids do until the get caught and have to pay the price, either on their rear ends from their parents (if they have the knowledge and guts to do it), or from the authorities arresting them.

We can all say how our parents turned us over their knee for our wrongdongs....but we still did wrong until we got caught and had our lessons taught to us the hard way. I am in no way excusing what these kids did...they need to be caught and dealt with.

Everyone operating trains, day in and day out, know locations where they will be rocked any time of day or night and in any weather from 90 degree nights to below zero nights and any time the sun is up and in a torrential downpour. To say the 'rockers' don't have enough sense to come in out of the rain is an understatement.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BaltACD

Facts are kids will throw rocks (or snowballs - iceballs) at anything that moves and anything that is unattended that doesn't move. That doesn't make it right, but it is what kids do until the get caught and have to pay the price, either on their rear ends from their parents (if they have the knowledge and guts to do it), or from the authorities arresting them.

We can all say how our parents turned us over their knee for our wrongdongs....but we still did wrong until we got caught and had our lessons taught to us the hard way. I am in no way excusing what these kids did...they need to be caught and dealt with.

Everyone operating trains, day in and day out, know locations where they will be rocked any time of day or night and in any weather from 90 degree nights to below zero nights and any time the sun is up and in a torrential downpour. To say the 'rockers' don't have enough sense to come in out of the rain is an understatement.

BaltACD: I find myself agreeing with you, Well said sir, with great clarity[#ditto]