[quote user="rdamon"]
This article was referenced in the comments ..
http://www.godvine.com/read/train-track-selfie-tragedy-1516.html
[/quote] Note: The following is cut from the last link in rdamon's post:
FTL:"...A train traveling at 55 mph can take more than a mile to come to a complete stop once the emergency brakes are applied. The train headed for Savanah, Kelsea and Essa was going roughly 39 mph. By the time they'd spotted the girls taking their train track selfie, there simply wasn't enough time to stop the train.
"We watched in horror as we got closer," said John.
Michael blasted the horn. Instinctively, John and Michael yelled at the girls to get out of the way, even though they knew there was no way for them to hear. But try as they might, they couldn't get the girls' attention.
"They were in their own little world," recalled John. "We saw them for about 12 seconds until they disappeared from our sight and the train continued moving forward."
The train finally came to a stop about a quarter of a mile down the track. John hopped off and raced to where he'd last seen the girls..."
What is sometimes lost in the context, and telling of thse kinds of events are tHE SCARS THAT ARE LEFT IN THE MINDS OF THE RAILROADER'S WHO WITNESS THESE SAD EVENTS.
They relive them for years, recalled by virtually any random thought that can cause them to 'flash by'. They were not at fault and are just as innocent of the chain of events that they have participated in; the scenes are seared in their minds. I can vouch for the above, as I too, have my memories of a couple of similar events from 20+ years OTR.
I remember a few threads on the stupidity of using an active railroad track for photos (and movies (sigh)). Sad to see this still going on.
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