Yesterday afternoon a gentleman in Fargo, North Dakota who was intoxicated, climbed aboard a BNSF freight train as it was stopped at a crossing in Fargo. The train started moving and this poor guy is lucky he didn't fall in between the cars and get himself killed or seriously injured. He had a cell phone in his pocket and he dialed 911. The police called BNSF, and the BNSF in turn notified the train's conductor. They were able to stop the train a few miles beyond Casstleton, North Dakota where our drunk friend was met by a county sheriff's deputy, and he was then taken to Detox. I hope this guy is wise enough to know not to try doing something like this again, but then with some people, you never know........
CANADIANPACIFIC2816
CANADIANPACIFIC2816 wrote:Yesterday afternoon a gentleman in Fargo, North Dakota who was intoxicated, climbed aboard a BNSF freight train as it was stopped at a crossing in Fargo. They were able to stop the train a few miles beyond Casstleton, North Dakota where our drunk friend was met by a county sheriff's deputy, and he was then taken to Detox.
Yesterday afternoon a gentleman in Fargo, North Dakota who was intoxicated, climbed aboard a BNSF freight train as it was stopped at a crossing in Fargo. They were able to stop the train a few miles beyond Casstleton, North Dakota where our drunk friend was met by a county sheriff's deputy, and he was then taken to Detox.
Strangely enough, BNSF did not press charges
This sounds like a new fad recreation in the making, even better than cramming a dozen people in a phone booth, or calling in prank calls to crank radio talk show hosts... "box car surfing" .
I might wait for warm weather to give it a try, if I can stand putting it off that long
Drunk is, is drunk does.
Tresspassing is still tresspassing, regardless if the jerk has a camera OR a half pint in his pocket.
I quit drinkin' a long time ago, have never missed it, and as much as I love railroads and railroading, in all the shweelin' I did I never once considered something like that. What an idiot - and to do it in the kind of weather this time of year! I went to college in Oshkosh, WI and on several occasions after boozin' at Mable Murphy's we'd step outside to see a slow-moving SOO freight trundling through town, just west of the bar on our way back to campus, and I stopped a friend who had ideas of latchin'-onto the caboose. I hope this guy froze his rump good.
It never ceases to amaze me what people do when they get smashed. Moreso, what they get away with amazes me even more!
A drunk comes up from a subway station and spots a friend of his, equally lit. "Hi, bud, I'jus was in this guy's basement- Has he got some kind of train set down there!"
tatans wrote:He was drunk, and he now has to live with being one of the stupidest jerks on earth, he was not a threat to the national security of the United States, he was drunk! the railroad was correct in not pressing charges, get on with life.
So are the dueces who cause fatal car accidents..............
Being drunk doesn't excuse it.
When I had originally posted this story, I forgot to mention that BNSF elected not to press any charges against this clown, and I am inclined to think that maybe they should have. And like Solzrules pointed out, I too, would have loved to have been there to see the look on this guy's face when that train started moving. I'll bet it would have been priceless!!
Who said anything about "national security"?
I wonder if he climbed on one of the units, or just one of the freight cars.
"He was drunk, and he now has to live with being one of the stupidest jerks on earth, he was not a threat to the national security of the United States, he was drunk! the railroad was correct in not pressing charges, get on with life. "
I wish I had a nickle for all the times I heard that line in Penn Station! The railroad police officer who handled the case (if they did) could of easily arrested the subject on disorderly conduct/disorderly persons offenses along with the tresspass.
Ive seen this behavior many times when meeting Amtrak trains. They weep that its because they are drunk yet they tell the conductor that they are going to blow up the tunnels going under the Hudson.
Sounds to me like he was outside (freight car), since he was "cold". I suspect the cold air might have sobered him up a little. At least he knew enough not to jump.
(We had a yard brakeman who didn't know that much. Fell asleep in the cab of a pig train, which then highballed out of the yard. He woke up around Oak Park, and got off, presumably at timetable speed. Even though he got fired [and later died], he was forever after known as "Air B____" [his last name, in honor of the "Air Jordan" craze of the time].)
Would the railroad even have to press charges? The local cops found him drunk, and he was obviously trespassing.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
"Would the railroad even have to press charges? The local cops found him drunk, and he was obviously trespassing."
Depends upon the RR. Ive seen NS and CSX cops lock up folks for playing around on sidings. Im sure BNSF could of had one of their agents come out and do the charging.
At amtrak, we generally lock up drunks who get rowdy with staff or other passengers on the train.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but...
"He was drunk..." sounds like an excuse for really stupid and illegal behavior.
So, following that to another train of thought.
If my engineer and I get toasted, knee walking toilet hugging drunk, board up and head out, with say a few dozen chlorine cars, wipe out a few automobiles at several crossings, miss a signal, have a head on and kill, oh, I don't know, 40 or 50 folks with the chlorine cloud....its ok because we were drunk?
Being drunk is a choice, not a accident.
Boarding a train, be you drunk or stone cold sober, is also a choice.
Being an alcoholic is an illness, but the illness doesn't in any way excuse your actions.
I wonder if, had he decided to drive a car instead, and just happened to run over your wife, kids or one of your parents, how much slack you would give him "because he was drunk..."?
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NightrainAFD1987 wrote:Reminds me of living back in Flagstaff Az, where some guy decided it would be cool to touch the train while it was going by. He unfourtanately learned his last lesson that night.
I lived up there as a young teenager and saw the same thing happen once or twice. This was in the early 80s.
In 1990 or so, Phoenix-area car dealer Linda Brock's son got drunk during some school function (ASU) and tried to board an SP freight running through Tempe - at track speed (25MPH). According to witnesses, they were scraping pieces of him up for over a 1/4 mile length of the track.
My point in asking about whether the railroad police had to press charges is that there were local police on hand who saw his behavior and location, and probably needed nobody to press charges in order to arrest him.
I've been on board passenger trains (Metra) where the crews have elected to hold the train at a station and have the dispatcher summon the local police to take custody of rowdy and/or intoxicated passengers. It made me late for work once, but wasn't that difficult to explain.
edblysard wrote:Not to put too fine a point on it, but..."He was drunk..." sounds like an excuse for really stupid and illegal behavior. So, following that to another train of thought. If my engineer and I get toasted, knee walking toilet hugging drunk, board up and head out, with say a few dozen chlorine cars, wipe out a few automobiles at several crossings, miss a signal, have a head on and kill, oh, I don't know, 40 or 50 folks with the chlorine cloud....its ok because we were drunk? Being drunk is a choice, not a accident.Boarding a train, be you drunk or stone cold sober, is also a choice. Being an alcoholic is an illness, but the illness doesn't in any way excuse your actions. I wonder if, had he decided to drive a car instead, and just happened to run over your wife, kids or one of your parents, how much slack you would give him "because he was drunk..."? tatans wrote:He was drunk, and he now has to live with being one of the stupidest jerks on earth, he was not a threat to the national security of the United States, he was drunk! the railroad was correct in not pressing charges, get on with life.
Nicely put
arbfbe wrote:I vote for filing charges. The folks bungee jumping off MRL's Fish creek trestle a few years ago with their bungee cords tied to the live rails of the mainline got to return to the state and pay over $400 in fines. I think it was reasonable for them to be reminded just a couple of times more about the stupidity of their actions. I would certainly think the drunk or alcoholic should be reminded once or twice again after he had sobered up about the stupidity of his actions while under the influence. He might take the time to talk it all over with an alcohol rehabilitation professional. If the guy can afford a cell phone he probably will not hurt too bad from a $400 tresspassing fine, he might have to stay out of the bars for a few weekends to recoup but that might not be all bad.
ABSOLUTELY!! WELL SAID!!
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