Four derailments in one day, 4-22-03

[edblysard]

Oh, and I hear that Dale Carnigie offers a really good anger management class, along with the win friends and influnce people course.
Or did you already take them both?
Ed

[mudchicken]

C'mon up here Ed and be cool. Most of us don't have as poor an attitude as what seems to be in Fort Lupton.

-mudchicken

[Mookie]

I swear this is true: The latest e-joke making the rounds!

Husker, Longhorn and Buffalo fans go hunting.

Husker fan finds some tracks, follows them and "boom" gets a deer.

Longhorn fan finds some tracks, follows them and "boom" gets an elk.

Buffalo fan finds some tracks, follows them and "boom" gets hit by a train.

What can I say?

Jen

[edblysard]

I know you dont, my friend who moved there turned into a seriously mellow yellow type person, from a type "A" personality.
Like I said, get one outta the house, and we are gonna go looking.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[Anonymous]

Ed, If your looking for some real excitement. You got to check out Illinois. We have some of the flattest land and biggest corn fields you will ever see. My brother owns a house about 2 mile's from the BNSF main line. The land is so flat we can watch trains from his front porch. In the evenings we sit on the front porch and watch the trains go by and the corn grow. It's a good time you should check it out some day.
TIM ARGUBRIGHT

[wallywalkabout]

We'd be glad to have you up here. There's a lot of great RR history and good fishing in this area! Boulder is too city'ty'fide! Stay on the western slope(of the divide). Do you have an E-Mail address?

[edblysard]

Hi Wally,
Its [e-mail]
You have to put in the - between renaissance and man.
In a few years Aimee and I want to travel some, I get a 3 week vacation from the railroad, and the oldest kid will be out of the house.
But J was right, theres no place like home.
Stay Frosty
Ed

[edblysard]

Sounds like a setting for a Ray Bradbury novel.
Bet you cant wait to set out on the porch in the evening. Lucky brother you have, my back porch looks rignt into the backdoor neighbors. Really kinda boring watching two people watching TV and eating popcorn. If the chance arises, I may take you up on it.
Stay Frosty
Ed
p.s how the kids?

[edblysard]

Hi Wally, seems I cant write and drink coffee at the same time. Try
[e-mail]
Stay Frosty
Ed

[Anonymous]

Back to the Point!

Who says there aren't as many mishaps in Europe?
The state run railways say, that's WHO!

Despite the failure to report mishaps to the public and the utter lack of accountability to anyone, accidents in Europe are far more common than here - and the consequences are often far more severe.

The fact is that in America, public awareness is much more open, and our governments are intended to be servants of the people - rather than the other way around. Thus the people have a more effective means to demand safety. American railway standands are far more protective, both in preventing accidents, and in minimizing the injuries and property damage that results.

In fact, one of the world wide jokes that often get repeated in my end of the profession (Signal Engineering) is that train wreaks on the Italian State Railway are that country's means of population control. Ha Ha!?? Same thing has been said about India, and Russia. As for the German ICE train, you might as well be riding in a tinfoil box!

In 1987, a "Stoned" Conrail train crew jammed the onboard Cab Signals because the bells and whistles were hurting their ears. Later on they missed an approach and overran directly into the the path of an Amtrak train doing 138 mph. Wham! 585 passengers were on that train. 16 died and 44 were injured. The other 525 were unhurt. That with an impact speed well over a hundred miles an hour!

The crew is now in federal prison. Automatic Train Stop was mandated on all Corridor freights.
Locomotive engineer licencing and mandatory drug testing all resulted from our goverment's reponse to this accident.

Compare that to the 175 out of 200 who died in the German ICE train wreak of two years ago, or the death toll in the Chunnel fire - Or the hundreds who die in India every year. Nothing has changed at all in these countries after their mishaps.

The simple answer is that American mishaps are widely reported and European accidents are not. We have a completely open society here with much less censorship. Plus, U.S. railroads are held accountable by a government that is itself held accountable. Perceptions are thus very skewed when trying to compare.

RmC

[foamer4000]

Ed, Sorry!
My previous post did not come out the way I wanted. The first part was some good natured teasing about Texans. Everything is always bigger in Texas, including the egos. The second part of the post was a general coment about some of the other postings. It was not directed directly at you. I did not mean to call you an idiot. I just got in too big of a hurry and did't use enough words
David

[edblysard]

Yup, we do have big egos, most of the time deservred, sometimes not.
Used the wrong mix of words my self, often have bad case of foot in mouth disease, all the way up to my knee.
Stay Frosty,
Ed

[foamer4000]

Definatly a case of in mouth disease.
Catch you later Ed.
David