Or: Why Most Railroads Don't Want to Mess With Steam Locomotives: Witness not one, but two, "videographer" amateurs almost get struck by a freight train while watching UP Big Boy 4014 arrive in Cheyenne:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwO-IWorGv4It's not bad enough that one person has to actually be PICKED UP BODILY and dragged out of harm's way, but that he/she KEPT SHOOTING even after the train that almost hit him/her blocks the view........And people wonder why some railroads want nothing to do with the "attractive nuisance" of steam locomotives or special movements.....
A few more near misses like this and even UP and NS may decide that their steam programs have become more bother than they're worth.
Wow!
Clueless fools are somewhat understandable, especially young ones.
But since when are relatively new SD70ACe’s used as remotes control units?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K.P.’s absolute “theorem” from early, early childhood that he has seen over and over and over again: Those that CAUSE a problem in the first place will act the most violently if questioned or exposed.
Perhaps no one should be allowed near the track until he learns what the series of short blasts means--GET BACK FROM THE TRACK!!!
I have seen something similar at the station in Sacramento--as #6 was coming in, a man was standing on the yellow band and the engineer was warning him; I was too far from him for him to hear me shouting to tell him to get back; he did step back before the engine reached him.
Johnny
Just think of the craziness that will happen once that thing is in steam.
So many levels of fail in that one. Does not speak well to the safety culture thing.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
K. P. Harrier But since when are relatively new SD70ACe’s used as remotes control units?
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
I am wondering why the gumshoe allowed them to stand there in the first place…ours would have made them stay way back from any rail.
23 17 46 11
Saw something similar happen in Owosso in 2009 - guy standing too close to the track for comfort (he "stood his ground" and didn't get hit, but...). Engineer tooted at him several times, and he didn't move.
I've got a pretty good picture of NKP785 returning from the all-day trip - and this guy is in the shot.
I think I'd have picked up the offending idiot from the front and made sure I ruined his shot...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
dehusman K. P. Harrier But since when are relatively new SD70ACe’s used as remotes control units? They aren't.
I know that!
It was meant as sarcasm, for those that can read between the lines.
Regardless of who has the right or not the right to be somewhere, there is a certain common sense element that needs to be examined here. Since the kid obviously lacked awareness of the situation, why didn’t the train crew take up the slack? It took a bystander to take decisive action because of multiple fools, including, in my opinion, the train crew. It was not as if they came around a curve at 70 M.P.H. and there was nothing they could do … Even though nobody got physically hurt, the train crew has to live with the what ifs for the rest of their lives, and that may be the hardest thing of all.
K. P. HarrierSince the kid obviously lacked awareness of the situation, why didn’t the train crew take up the slack? It took a bystander to take decisive action because of multiple fools, including, in my opinion, the train crew.
Who says the engineer didn't take action? I'm sure his hand was on the brake handle, and very possibly he had an application on.
Trains don't stop on a dime, you know.
And, for the record, I am an engineer.
It's got to be 20-plus years now, but I remember reading an article, possibly in "Trains", possibly "Vintage Rails" or "Locomotive and Railway Preservation" written by a VERY irate professional railroader absolutely lambasting idiot railfans who put themselves and others in danger so they could "get that one shot that nobody else has!"
Things don't seem to have changed that much, and since that kids dad took so long in hoisting him out of harms way I suppose in his case the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.
Hey UP, go ahead and squash a few next time, the rest will get the message!
Harsh? Well, I'm just fed up with idiots who ruin things for the rest of us with their irresponsibility, either railfanning or other things as well.
Wait until UP's legal department sees this.
And if you think I'm tough, you should read some of the You Tube comments. Hoo boy!
And how about that voice in the background, "They're gonna let that intermodal go and block our shots!" My heart bleeds for you pal.
Firelock76 Hey UP, go ahead and squash a few next time,
Hey UP, go ahead and squash a few next time,
Yeah, I'd rather they didn't. I don't want to see anyone hurt or killed, no matter how stupid they are.
No, I don't want to see anyone killed either, no matter how PO'd I get. Why ruin the head-end crew's day?
Just kidding.
I suppose you could kick them in the head ??
Randy
Randy Stahl I suppose you could kick them in the head ?? Randy
That kid is hardcore, though. Stayed with the shot the whole time. Even when he started to float away.
You know, back in the steam days they'd probably have gotten a face-full of tobacco juice, courtesy of the engineer or the fireman!
Ah, we lost so much when steam went away...
I get a shiver every time I watch that. If you look closely - doesn't that look like possibly a young pre-teen, early teen boy? Looks like maybe Dad reaches out to tag him and tell him to move and then walks off. And the way they moved him out of the way and his reaction. Just didn't react the way i think an adult would.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
I don't understand why that guy saved the IDIOT from winning a Darwin award. For shear sutpidity this comes VERY close to taking the cake. he deserves to be taken out of the gene pool and relegated to the same status as the DO-DO bird. Extinct.
caldreamer I don't understand why that guy saved the IDIOT from winning a Darwin award. For shear sutpidity this comes VERY close to taking the cake. he deserves to be taken out of the gene pool and relegated to the same status as the DO-DO bird. Extinct.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
zugmann Randy Stahl I suppose you could kick them in the head ?? Randy That kid is hardcore, though. Stayed with the shot the whole time. Even when he started to float away.
I'm kinda surprised that the UP gave the IM train permission to proceed through all those FRNs.
OTOH, why should UP delay a train for a few loonies? Except that if one of those dolts did get squashed, the the train would be delayed that much more.....
I've sure seen a lot of stupid things happen around the railroad over my career, and I must say that this one does place in the top 100.
Tree68 (5-12):
tree68 K. P. HarrierSince the kid obviously lacked awareness of the situation, why didn’t the train crew take up the slack? It took a bystander to take decisive action because of multiple fools, including, in my opinion, the train crew. Who says the engineer didn't take action? I'm sure his hand was on the brake handle, and very possibly he had an application on. Trains don't stop on a dime, you know. And, for the record, I am an engineer.
Let me related a story, an event that I personally saw.
It was at Colton Crossing, Colton, CA in the early 1970’s. There is the Colton Flyover there now …
… but there was a crossing there before that, the AT&SF Transcon (cross track) versed. the SP Sunset Route.
Back in the early 1970’s, the manned Colton Tower was present. One night, the westbound Santa Fe Super C received, not a green signal as it usually did, but a flashing red. The train took the signal and discovered it was lined into an occupied siding. So, the towerman authorized a backup move, and once the train was again in front of the signal, the towerman lined the Super C the correct, straight track way. But, the signal now wouldn’t clear. So, the towerman waved his lantern indicated the Super-C was to flag westbound.
The towerman had forgotten he had set the SP cross-signal to clear when the Super-C was paste. That is why he could not get the Super-C’s signal to clear now. So, the Super-C flagged the signal and shunted the circuit, causing the SP signal to suddenly go red right in front of a now moving SP. The SP was immediately put in emergency, and came to a QUICK stop maybe 50 feet downhill past the green to red signal.
Things eventually got unscrambled, but the point is the moving SP came to a rather quick stop, and downhill at that. The video of this thread showed a moving train beyond what it was capable of stopping in. I find that not acceptable, and I don’t think you do either, tree68, an experienced hoghead.
This must have been mass trespassing. The company could not have granted access.
If people in the upper management of UP see this video, I imagine people won't be allowed within 100 feet of the track ever again in the Cheyenne area.
In many locations around here that used to be frequented by rail fans the UP has fenced off their right of way and posted it NO TRESPASSING.
Why not put the offenders in handcuffs, right in front of everyone else, as an example ? "Live and in color", with a bullhorn announcement as to why.
- Paul North.
K. P. Harrier The video of this thread showed a moving train beyond what it was capable of stopping in. I find that not acceptable, and I don’t think you do either, tree68, an experienced hoghead.
We don't know what signal the intermodal had, and like Tree said, they may have already had air set and were slowing down. Not enough on the video to really figure it out.
But don't worry, I am positive the white hats in UP management have already seen the video. They'll do the requisite tape pulling, computer downloading, and crew handling if needed.
I just shudder when I think of the antics that will happen the first time that 4014 hits the rail under its own power. Stay safe, people.
Mookie I get a shiver every time I watch that. If you look closely - doesn't that look like possibly a young pre-teen, early teen boy? Looks like maybe Dad reaches out to tag him and tell him to move and then walks off. And the way they moved him out of the way and his reaction. Just didn't react the way i think an adult would.
I looked at that whole situation and it occurred to me first that the person moved out of the way was definitely a younger person. The fact that he seemed oblivious to his surroundings, even after first being tapped and then picked up and moved and still ignored the approaching train and remained fixated on continuing his filming raised a bit of a flag. There are conditions within the autism spectrum that would be consistent with that sort of behavior. Whether that is the actual case, I don't know (nor care to find out) but that could be a factor.
Nonetheless, the rest of the gaggle doesn't appear to have had any excuse for being so close to the ROW to need to move out of the way of any train.
Stepping down now, thank you.
Put a sprayer on the front of the engine that can squirt purple dye 100 feet in front of the engine? (Or maybe essence of skunk?)
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Can almost see a few of them foaming at the mouth.
I think this video needs to be distributed widely within every railfan organization and club. I also suggest that every fantrip, photo excusion, shop tour, yard tour, you name it, even visits to operating rail and trolley musuems, have one experienced railfan appointed as safety officer for the excursion, and his main job, more important than his getting his photos or sound recordings or whatever, will be to make sure that the best safety standards are upheld by his group.
This the same thing as that film crew stealing a shot in Georgia on the CSX. The only difference is that on the U.P., they did not put a bed on the track and nobody was killed. But all of those people simply entered U.P. property without permission and placed themselves in danger by fouling a live track while being highly distracted by the object of their intention.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.