dead cows on tracks

[upchuck]

what happens when a gp9 hits one?

[dknelson]

Pa-dum-dum

[dldance]

In one case I know of, the impact broke a fitting on the snowplow pilot. That allowed the pilot to sag into the rail, derailing the lead locomotive.

dd

[jsoderq]

I was on Amtrak - Chicago to Sparks Nevada when we ran over one. It rolled up between cars and parted the glad hands between cars and sent the train into emergency!

[Anonymous]

More often than not...the loco in question will get a thorough clean-up at the next service track by a crew of unlucky firemen & oilers (laborers) who just happen to be on duty when it rolls in. :) Sometimes though they will do a bit more damage than just the usual 'Splat!'; sometimes the handrails will get twisted around and on one occasion a chunk of Bessie rolled underneath and knocked a gearcase cap off of the #1 tm.

[mudchicken]

.....and then the section crew buries it, the claim agent and the brand inspector determine whose "prize cow" it was, is the claim legit?, how did it get where it should not have been, if there is a hole in the fence - harass the roadmaster, if the owner was at fault - call the local version of ASPCA animal fuzz, if the hogger turned in a report.....

Ever seen what Amtrak does to a herd of 80 in one swipe at 90 mph? A few of us have. (and that one was the rancher's fault!, no claim check on that one, just a bill for the cleanup![swg])


....damn! - can't quit laughing at Mark's response[(-D][(-D][(-D]

[(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]

[Big_Boy_4005]

From the modeling realm, back in the late 50's American Flyer had an accessory called "cow on the track". It consisted of a small platform which held a solenoid that drove an arm with a cow on it. When engaged, the cow would swing out over the track, which was wired so as to stop the train. Cute by kid's standards, obviously very unrealistic in the full sized world.

I liked Mark's answer, but how about

Burgers on the grill !!!

[Paul Milenkovic]

Hope this isn't too off topic.

Some while ago when I was younger and innocent to the ways of the law as it regards livestock, my mom talked about how "Luella from across the road was all worked up because Bittner's cows broke out and trampeled her garden." I had asked with some bravado "Why didn't she shoot the cows to protect her property? to which my mom replied, "you can't do that, those are someone's livestock and there are laws about that kind of thing." But then my mom though a minute and said, "well, she could shoot the cow and when the sheriff's deputy came she could say, 'sorry officer, I didn't know it was Bittner's cow. It was dark out and I thought it was Bittner, and, well, I had to defend my honor!'"

[greyhounds]

I don't know why a section crew would burry it. If it's fresh killed beef it has value. Unless, of course, the train has ground it into hamburger.

It has a name, 4D meat. Which is for dead, dying, diseased or downed. It can't be sold for human consumption because the bovine critter didn't meet his/her Earthly Demise in a USDA approved slaughterhouse.

It can be, and is, used in dog food. There are companies that specialize in pickining up dead farm/ranch critters that met an untimely demise. No farmer or rancher is intentionally raising beef to go into a dog food can. But if he/she looses an animal, that's where its preferrred destination is.

There's nothing wrong with meat from a cow that was hit by a train, or by a truck, or by lightening, etc. It just can't be sold for human consumption. So it goes into dog food.

Trust me, I know this one.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken



Ever seen what Amtrak does to a herd of 80 in one swipe at 90 mph? A few of us have. (and that one was the rancher's fault!, no claim check on that one, just a bill for the cleanup![swg])

Are you seriouse? Lol, that would be cool to see! [:D][:D][:D] What happened... exactly?

[Anonymous]

Mark--

If you do anything like that again, you'll give me a heart attack!![(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][xx(]

[miniwyo]

Mudchicken, At least there are fences there. Here it is open range, if there is somewhere that you don't want cows on your land it is your responsibility to fencte the property. THerefore making the rancher not liable for the damages that an accident with thier livestock causes ANDthey have to pay the rancher for the price of the cow what ever is determined which usually includes the amount of calves that the cow would have had.

[MP173]

See what happens when there is open access?

ed

[oubliette]

Probably the worst part apart from having to clean the flesh and blood off all the under frames is the smell. Even a freshly killed cow will leave a horrible smell that lingers for days. The smell is mainly the partly digested stomach remains.

We've had a few recently at our depot and it does niff for a few days after.

I had one recently where there was a big lump of flesh on the front of the unit and the police took it away for DNA tests to see whether human or not - never heard the outcome, so presumably animal.

Luckily its not too common for this to happen as most of the surrounding farms etc are fenced. We mainly have to pull dead birds off the front couplings and underframes.

Might not be a nice topic but someone has to clean it up.

[Anonymous]

Not good whatever it is...

[espeefoamer]

"Laidies and gentlemen, Tonights special in the diner is ... whatever animal is now under the front of our locomotive".[dinner]

[Anonymous]

Did anyone get to take home the rest to [dinner]?
mmm freshly cut chuck roast.
WHERE'S THE BEEF?

[edblysard]

QUOTE: Originally posted by MP173

See what happens when there is open access?

ed

Ha ha hahhhhhh...

wait, is it a regulated or de regulated cow?

One cow (a moo nopoly), or a herd.

Does the cow have the chance to get run over by more than one railroad?

This could get udderly ridiculous....[:D]

Ed

[jeaton]

Ed

I thought you worked weekends. (Give that man an early quit, and look what you get).

[(-D][(-D]

Jay

[dldance]

An old engineer (from steam days) told me that a cow will most likely by knocked aside by the locomotive and a pig is almost certain a derailment ( heavy, low, and dense) but sheep are just baaaaahd!

[locomutt]

Somebody has 'steered' this thread way off track,
we need to be mooooving along.

Actually Ed,that was the 'udder' fellow.[:D][(-D]

[Anonymous]

Pardon if I horn in, but this thread really mooves me.

[Chris30]

If I'm ever on an Amtrak train that that hits a herd of cows.... Lets just say that I'll be ordering the fi***hat night.

I would be kinda cute if a train hit a cow and local rancher was called only to find the branding on cow reads something like "EMD", "GE", "UP or "BNSF".

[MP57313]

[xx(]In Terry Pindell's book "Making Tracks" (an extended travelogue about the author's cross-country journeys on Amtrak), the author learns of this kind of thing first hand. On a westbound trip on the Zephyr, he gets out at Sparks, NV to get a photo of the engine.

The engineer advises them to hold off, but then accompanies them to the front where the remains of a sheep are impaled on the engine's front coupler and splattered over the front of the engine. The train had hit about 15 sheep the night before. The assistant who has to clean up the mess refers to the sheep as [***] grenades because they explode on impact. Yeccch.

MP

[Anonymous]

Was that cow mooooooooning the Railroad that hit it?

[jeaton]

Train.



(Thanks, Gary)

[arbfbe]

Meat salvage? Only in your dreams. Ever hear the hunter's term bloodshot? That refers to the damage to the tissues near the point of impact of the bullet. The meat is bruised and is generally unusable. The same can be said of the impact with a locomotive. Imagine the forces of acceleration involved, cow - speed 0 mph, train - 60mph, impact - cow speed to 60 mph in 0.006 sec. Literally the animal explodes internally and the entire animal is bruised as in bloodshot in an instant. Internal organs are ruptured and the carcas may lay out in the August sun for hours before anyone can retrieve it. Buzzard bait is about all it is. Each case is different but section workers will tell you attempts to salvage even the best parts are generally futile and rarely successful.

Pound for pound large beavers make the loudest impact. If you don't see the animal you would think you had hit a large bull or moose. The carnage to wildlife on the rails in the winter is unbelievable until you work on the trains. On a bad night your train might kill 5 - 7 deer in separate incidents. The two or three trains behind you do the same thing. The worst is when you are the third train, the lead train hits something, the second crew reports the deer has a broken back but is alive and you get to stop and use an air hose or air hose wrench to end the pain. Something they don't cover at Johnson County or Modoc, I am sure....

Life goes on, the coyotes, raccoons, rats, ravens and bald eagles have to eat as well. Cats prefer to kill their own.

[Anonymous]

beef, it's what's for dinner

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by espeefoamer

"Laidies and gentlemen, Tonights special in the diner is ... whatever animal is now under the front of our locomotive".[dinner]

.......here at "Railroad-kill Cafe"

[edblysard]

QUOTE: Originally posted by arbfbe

.

Pound for pound large beavers make the loudest impact.

Try an Armadillo, they rattle around from the front pilot, under the traction motors, fuel tank and rear motors, then all over again on the next unit.
Little suckers are tough!

Ed