"Car on Lower Saucon railroad tracks halts train traffic " - NS near Bethlehem - Easton, PA

[cx500]

Most railfans stop to take a picture only when a train is actually approaching.  And they keep their cars clear ready to drive to the next location.   

If indeed it was a photographer, a thought that comes to mind is a professional scoping out locations for his next wedding assignment.  Stupidity never ends.

John

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

March 2011 photos - old iron furnace ruins:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/48838227@N02/13630748175/in/photostream/

Rail lubricator about 0.2 mi east of the subject crossing - note the solar panel for electric power, even though commercial power is just across the road I was standing on when I took the photo:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/48838227@N02/13631123414/in/photostream/

Scenic view a little further west:

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/48838227@N02/13630754845/in/photostream/

- Paul North. 

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

BaltACD

Despite the statement about the location being frequented by railfans - I would like to think that this 'photographer' was something other than a railfan - a 'nature' photographer immediately spring to mind, trying to picture the first crocus of Spring or the melting of the last flake of snow - all without the reality of the world as it exists today, living in his own Walden Pond form of the world.

  Concur - hopefully a railfan would have more sense than to do that.  Although it's a private crossing in a generally wooded area, there happens to be a paved road on the south side, a stone road on the north side, and a fair amount of open space and stoned area, etc. around it, so there were other places to stop the car to get out and look around.

And it's a fairly scenic area - the Lehigh River is about 100 yds. north, the site is near the upper (western) end of the Hugh Moore Parkway, there are some 1800's iron furnace stonework ruins and what looks like an ATV or BMX course in the woods nearby, etc., so non-railfan purposes are at least as likely as those rail-related, in the absence of better information/ evidence.  Come to think of it, I might have some photos of that area from 3 to 4 years ago . . . (And yes, I assure you I did NOT stop on the tracks then either !!!).   

- Paul North.  

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

40 - 50 trains per day, speeds up to 40 - 50 MPH, very curvy, lots of hills and vegetation to block the view for both the driver and the train's crew ==> not much time to get off the track or avoid a collision.  Calling it in 1st before taking the time to investigate the details may have been the most prudent ("Safety First !") move - a train could well have come while walking to the crossing or asking questions - i.e., "Call first - ask questions later !".  

- Paul North. 

[tree68]

Geez I hate cell phones some days.  

We get that around here.  Someone pulls over to the side of the Interstate for some innocuous reason and the 9-1-1 center gets several calls about a "disabled vehicle."  The police, of course, have to respond.  

It's even worse during a snow storm.  Some vehicles that go off the road are left there to be winched out later, with the occupants transported to a safe place.  I've heard the same vehicle reported several times in the past - oftimes in different locations...

I note that there is no mention of any trains being blocked (other than at the request of the cops), or any train traffic at all in the immediate area.

So someone stopped to grab a picture or two, may or may not have blocked road or rail traffic, and all because someone with a cell phone assumed there was a problem.  And the later report from a witness indicated that the driver was seen to be taking pictures.

Geez I hate cell phones sometimes.

[henry6]

In reading the article I don't see who reported the "car on the tracks" or indeed if the car was on the track itself.  No car was found when the police arrived so we cannot draw any conclusions except that 1) it was reported, 2) the police arrived and found nothing, 3) train traffic was halted for 20 or so minutes, and 4) the cops know people go there to take pictures.  Of trains.  

[samfp1943]

blue streak 1

Paul:   What is sad is that people like this give our hobby and   vocation a very bad name.  These idiots probably never read the various sites that try to emphasize the importance of having common sense  and being a good steward?

Certainly a candidate for the award: " You can train the ignorant, but stupid is forever award"... 

    I agree with PDN. The most likely scenario would have been,"... that the next locomotive would have cleared the crossing without a lot of trouble..."[paraphrased]   It sad part is that the next 'Crew" would have faced the unspoken psychological challenges of the potential that  the 'auto would have occupants'.  And that would be a real shame...

[BaltACD]

Despite the statement about the location being frequented by railfans - I would like to think that this 'photographer' was something other than a railfan - a 'nature' photographer immediately spring to mind, trying to picture the first crocus of Spring or the melting of the last flake of snow - all without the reality of the world as it exists today, living in his own Walden Pond form of the world.

[blue streak 1]

Paul:   What is sad is that people like this give our hobby and   vocation a very bad name.  These idiots probably never read the various sites that try to emphasize the importance of having common sense  and being a good steward?

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

I don't usually post these kinds of things, but some aspects of this one are unusual - and disturbing - enough to justify my making an exception, as you'll see in a moment.

Direct link:

 http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-t-lower-saucon-car-blocks-railroad-track-20140403,0,1860091.story 

Excerpts (not in order):

"That area is popular with train aficionados," township police Cpl. Tim Connell said. "People like to film the trains coming and going. They don't usually park on the tracks."

Later reports from a witness indicated the car was not disabled, but a cameraman had parked his white Honda on the tracks while he took pictures. But by the time police arrived, the rails were clear.

The car was described as disabled at Redington Road and Riverside Drive in the first reports just before 6:40 p.m. Northampton County dispatchers immediately asked the railroad company to stop its trains. [Note this is precisely how BaltACD and some others here have told us that this kind of thing should be handled. - PDN.]

Police looked over the tracks between Bethlehem and Easton before Norfolk Southern got the go-ahead to move its trains again. The tracks were closed at least 20 minutes.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-t-lower-saucon-car-blocks-railroad-track-20140403,0,1860091.story#ixzz2xudzcID3

Location (Lat./ Long. cords.) 40.638757, -75.293053 

40°38'19.5"N 75°17'35.0"W

About 1 mile due west of the interchange between I-78 and PA Rt. 33, on the southern side of the Lehigh River.

I imagine the next locomotive with a plow-equipped pilot would have done a fine job of "clearing the crossing" of that idiot's car (in both senses of the phrase . . . ).

- Paul North.