Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
[quote user="AgentKid"][quote user="Ishmael"]OSHA would have a fit seeing men working on the track as the train was approaching. And they didn't seem in any hurry to get out of the way.[/quote]That doesn't look right to me. I think the film maker took a bit of artistic license to add a little drama to his work. All those men standing that close together would be konking each other over the head with the back-swings of their hammers. And no self respecting section foreman is going to let a train over a newly laid rail unless he gives it a once over by himself. In each of the scenes where this occurs the men almost move back in lockstep. Bruce[/quote] There might have been some theatrics incorporated in the film, but from accounts I have read, I suspect that cutting it close like that was fairly standard practice in those days.  One 1800s era account from the Lehigh Valley RR describes a working track gang aware of an approaching milk train coming upgrade on the track they were working on.  The noise and tumult of the hard working milk train obscured the approach of a “Lightning Express” train coming down the grade fast on an adjacent track.  When the captain blew the whistle to get clear, about 20-30 men watching the milk train stepped backwards in lockstep to clear the milk train; and stepped right into the path of the express train.  Many were killed and injured.
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag