Let's run the numbers
2 guys=450lbs lifting a piece: Nope, not happening.
3guys=300 lbs: maybe, if you're on the payroll of PTBarnum
4 guys:225. Now we're getting into the distinctively plausible, but any more people and we'll have an organization.
-Morgan
V8Vega I thought it was the illegal aliens in Southern Calif stealing everything in sight. Now I see it is all over the United States and Canada. They steal some things that are so much work or dangerous to get you would think they would find another way to get money. Dennis San Fernando Valley CA.
I thought it was the illegal aliens in Southern Calif stealing everything in sight. Now I see it is all over the United States and Canada. They steal some things that are so much work or dangerous to get you would think they would find another way to get money.
Dennis San Fernando Valley CA.
SOme people will steal anything they deem valuable to someone else from whom they can get money for their time and trouble.
It matters not the who,when where, what of the situation in going about getting the stolen goods. If they have no job and no money, they will take whatever time and energy is necessary to aquire the valuable-to-someone-else-thing they are stealing.
And yes, it isn't just any one particular group stealing, and it isn't one particular area that goods are stolen from. AS long as there is somehting valuable to someone they can get and get money for, someone will steal it.
To bad. There used to be older people I knew growing up in the 60's and 70's who still left their doors unlocked and the keys in the car, whether in the ignition or under the floormat. SOme actually didn't know where the house door key was, or they never had one! This would now only work if you have nothing to steal, but some bums will still back up a truck and steal every last stick of furniture there is there if they can get a few bucks for it!
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
sfcouple Horrible situation that could have resulted in loss of life. I certainly hope law enforcement catches these thugs and they do some hard time behind bars. It is just unimaginable how someone could do this and then go home and sleep at night. I do know this is not good for rail-fans but rail-fans do provide an extra set of eyes looking for vandals, thieves, and who knows what else. I was doing some rail fanning in Montana a couple of years ago when a security guard drove by to see what my wife and I were up to, we waved at each other and off he went. Obviously, if we had seen anything amiss an immediate phone call would have been made to 911. Wayne
Horrible situation that could have resulted in loss of life. I certainly hope law enforcement catches these thugs and they do some hard time behind bars. It is just unimaginable how someone could do this and then go home and sleep at night.
I do know this is not good for rail-fans but rail-fans do provide an extra set of eyes looking for vandals, thieves, and who knows what else. I was doing some rail fanning in Montana a couple of years ago when a security guard drove by to see what my wife and I were up to, we waved at each other and off he went. Obviously, if we had seen anything amiss an immediate phone call would have been made to 911.
Wayne
The ones that always get me are the dudes who think it's cool to steal POWER lines. NNNnnngh! I can't even say what I think about idiots like that or else I'd have to moderate myself...
John
[quote user="jwhitten"]
sfcouple: Horrible situation that could have resulted in loss of life. I certainly hope law enforcement catches these thugs and they do some hard time behind bars. It is just unimaginable how someone could do this and then go home and sleep at night. I do know this is not good for rail-fans but rail-fans do provide an extra set of eyes looking for vandals, thieves, and who knows what else. I was doing some rail fanning in Montana a couple of years ago when a security guard drove by to see what my wife and I were up to, we waved at each other and off he went. Obviously, if we had seen anything amiss an immediate phone call would have been made to 911. Wayne
[/quot
Hello last fall we had two nut jobs do that. They went into a substation and cut some lines out . They also were taking a/c units off roof tops they got busted at the scrap yard. Have nice day Frank
I've been checking the news around here to see if anything pops up related to this case. There was a very similar theft in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Rails were removed from another lightly-used siding. In this case, the theft was noticed before anything ran on the track. The police think both thefts likely happened over the Memorial Day weekend. Like the first case, the rails were cut with a torch, which says that this group had access to a torch, and knew how to use it. Given the weight of the rails, they most likely had more than just a light pickup truck, perhaps a flatbed with a crane.
To me, it's unlikely that these were "the usual suspects," meth-heads, teens or the like. But, considering the amount of effort involved and the relatively low return, why would anyone think this was worthwhile?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
iT IS TIME FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR THIS KIND OF STUFF. LABEL IT " ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER ", WHICH IT IS, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. MANDATORY EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD, AS TIHS IS AN ACT OF TERRORISM.
i AM AN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR-SMALL-TIME; AND HAD A WHOLE SKID OF ROMEX CABLE STOLEN FROM MY GARAGE-BY GUYS WHO WERE DOING MY ROOF. I HAVE THE WORD OUT: i WILL PAY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE DELIVERY OF THESE SCHMUCKS-AND I DO KNOW WHO IT IS. DOPE! WHO NEEDS IT?!
ef3 yellowjacket iT IS TIME FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT FOR THIS KIND OF STUFF. LABEL IT " ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER ", WHICH IT IS, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. MANDATORY EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUAD, AS TIHS IS AN ACT OF TERRORISM. i AM AN ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR-SMALL-TIME; AND HAD A WHOLE SKID OF ROMEX CABLE STOLEN FROM MY GARAGE-BY GUYS WHO WERE DOING MY ROOF. I HAVE THE WORD OUT: i WILL PAY FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE DELIVERY OF THESE SCHMUCKS-AND I DO KNOW WHO IT IS. DOPE! WHO NEEDS IT?!
Let the punishment fit the crime...
Tie 'em to the tracks!
Egad!
Unfortunately, it's likely that many politicians in place today would fight against the death penalty, in cases like this unless people are killed.
What ever happend to "boot camps"?
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
I think the ideal punishment would be for the perpetrators to have to make the repairs, at their own expense and with their own labor.
After that, perhaps 90 days of community service, working as an unpaid volunteer on the track gang.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Vet I think the ideal punishment would be for the perpetrators to have to make the repairs, at their own expense and with their own labor. After that, perhaps 90 days of community service, working as an unpaid volunteer on the track gang.
That's a good idea, instead of sending them to a nice jail with 3 meals a day and a nice roof over their heads.
If you can read this... thank a teacher. If you are reading this in english... thank a veteran
When in doubt. grab a hammer.
If it moves and isn't supposed to, get a hammer
If it doesn't move and is supposed to, get a hammer
If it's broken, get a hammer
If it can't be fixed with a hammer... DUCK TAPE!
teen steam fan Phoebe Vet: I think the ideal punishment would be for the perpetrators to have to make the repairs, at their own expense and with their own labor. After that, perhaps 90 days of community service, working as an unpaid volunteer on the track gang. That's a good idea, instead of sending them to a nice jail with 3 meals a day and a nice roof over their heads.
Phoebe Vet: I think the ideal punishment would be for the perpetrators to have to make the repairs, at their own expense and with their own labor. After that, perhaps 90 days of community service, working as an unpaid volunteer on the track gang.
I also like the idea of "boot camp".
hmmm...
sfb
Phoebe Vet I think the ideal punishment would be for the perpetrators to have to make the repairs, at their own expense and with their own labor.
And I want to hear them singing a good ol' work song, like "The Camptown Ladies."
Yeah, but two things:
Thing 1: If they had money they probably wouldn't have picked a rail to steal.
Thing 2: Would *you* want to travel on rails they "fixed" ??
Proper punishment would be to have rails extend to an old removed bridge gap. Place the crooks on a flatcar and propel them down the rails and "across the bridge"
Springfield PA
We need to play Pearl Pureheart and after we've tied this cretin to the tracks we need to put Oil Can Harry in the cab of the locomotive.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
These copper/metal theives are sooooooooo stupid. All they have to do is make friends with us model railroaders and we'll be happy to supply them with all kinds of copper and brass. Brass track, old motors, unused wire after we bought to much, etc.
Simple,
Chris
There needs to be some type of crack down on this type of stuff. Someone has to be giving these thieves money, otherwise they wouldn't steal it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was some type of scheme where the thieves steal, sell it to some company, and then the company sells it right back to the person that was ripped off.
Edward Davis
Contributor @ Model Train Hobbyist Blog
edavis There needs to be some type of crack down on this type of stuff. Someone has to be giving these thieves money, otherwise they wouldn't steal it. I wouldn't be surprised if it was some type of scheme where the thieves steal, sell it to some company, and then the company sells it right back to the person that was ripped off.
You mean like the electric company?
They sell you the electricity, it comes in on the wires going to your house, turns on your lights and refrigerators and then goes right back to them where they simply wipe it off, polish it up a bit and sell it right back to you again.
Talk about a racket!
(With apologies to Dave Barry : Edison's Greatest Achievment)
jwhitten Phoebe Vet: I think the ideal punishment would be for the perpetrators to have to make the repairs, at their own expense and with their own labor. After that, perhaps 90 days of community service, working as an unpaid volunteer on the track gang. Yeah, but two things: Thing 2: Would *you* want to travel on rails they "fixed" ?? John
The City of Madison Port Authority in Madison Indiana really does use a nearby Prison for their tracwork. They have a guy who is paid Road Foreman who oversees, and they borrow the prisoners. Near as I can figure, they even use some of the MofW speeders. So, yes, I would.
Back in the day, most mainlines at least were in signalled territory, and a broken or in this case missing rail would show up on the signal board, but in the "modern" railroad world of today, many of these lines were converted to dark territory by the RR's with the okay of the Surface Transportation Board, and so there are no signals to warn the crews of this. Crews face a number of hazards today that weren't there a few years ago. It's almost like we've reverted back to the Robber Baron days of the 1870's.
The best way for the law to catch these guys is by working with the scrapyards where this stuff eventually ends up. Unfortunately, the scrap dealers are in many cases, as unlawful as the scumbags who steal it.
If not be able to shoot such rail iron looters on sight, they should at least be tried on some act of domestic terrorism. I once read somewhere that a person that removes rails from an active rail line that causes a derailment can be tried for interruption of intrastate or interstate rail commerce or possibly domestic terrorism.
This showed up in a local paper:
http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/143849.html
These guys were allegedly involved in the Portsmouth, RI, theft. But, that crime scene and the Taunton one are pretty close to each other, and the crimes had many similar characteristics. They are being questioned in both cases.
And yeah, they sold the rails to a scrapper.
I wonder why no charges for recklessly endangering train crews and anyone who might be nearby if it derailed? Or was the ROW not in service?
Phoebe Vet I wonder why no charges for recklessly endangering train crews and anyone who might be nearby if it derailed? Or was the ROW not in service?
The Portsmouth line was last used for a rail fan charter several weeks, months maybe, earlier. Whether that counts as "in service" or not is not clear. I think they will likely heap charges on like a flood loader, and then let them plead down to an acceptable level to avoid the cost of a trial.
This is an 18-year-old kid who has basically ruined his life. Jobs are hard enough to come by for honest people, and having this on his record is going to make it hard for anyone to want to hire him.
Wouldn't work, by virtue of the technical expertise involved in setting up trackwork, laying it, and securing it; all in a neat and workmanlike way, as well as in a dependable and roadworthy way. simply contracing it out would be better and handing them the bill; if they were collectable. If not, then the best thing would be to imprison them in some facility like Angola, Louisana, make them work it off in ways that even some dumbos like them could handle, and really work them, until that bill was paid off-with interest; then start thier sentences-in max sec-Northern Canada. I like my form of justice; constructive, accurate, and fitting.
EF-3 Yellowjacket
ef3 yellowjacket Wouldn't work, by virtue of the technical expertise involved in setting up trackwork, laying it, and securing it; all in a neat and workmanlike way, as well as in a dependable and roadworthy way. simply contracing it out would be better and handing them the bill; if they were collectable. If not, then the best thing would be to imprison them in some facility like Angola, Louisana, make them work it off in ways that even some dumbos like them could handle, and really work them, until that bill was paid off-with interest; then start thier sentences-in max sec-Northern Canada. I like my form of justice; constructive, accurate, and fitting. EF-3 Yellowjacket
I like your idea of justice too. Saves alot of taxpayer dollars
ef3 yellowjacket Wouldn't work, by virtue of the technical expertise involved in setting up trackwork, laying it, and securing it; all in a neat and workmanlike way, as well as in a dependable and roadworthy way. EF-3 Yellowjacket
Wouldn't work, by virtue of the technical expertise involved in setting up trackwork, laying it, and securing it; all in a neat and workmanlike way, as well as in a dependable and roadworthy way. EF-3 Yellowjacket
I have to diasgree. The only difference between tracklsaying then and now is the fact that John Henry lost in the end to the Machine. The neat and technical comes from knowing how to do it with a machine that takes an hour, not 4. Those bozos can lay track til it's fixed, or they mange to smash ever toe in their foot with a sledge hammer. That's not welded rail territory.
I understand what you are saying, but why let anger and an emotional level dictate this? If they were smart enough to be doing any kind of technical work-and yes; laying track is technical-I wouldn't trust my locomotives and equipment to someone with that level of mentality-then they would have chosen another field of endeavour. Personally, I say the "pnk drawers" sheriff has the right idea.
Rich