Train hits cell phone talker

[spokyone]

Does anyone remember HOW MAD the mayor was in Houston  when he saw this pic?

I don't.  Is there a story behind it? 

This is from a thread from 2 years ago. About the UP
"The city of Houston has begun installing surveillance cameras at troublesome railroad crossings, part of a plan Mayor Bill White and railroad officials hope will address concerns of safety and inconvenience.

"Promising stricter oversight of railways, White, joined by representatives of Union Pacific Railroad, presented a multi-pronged plan that targets freight trains that stop in Houston communities. Last year, a train blocked north Houston intersections for more than an hour, forcing students at McReynolds Middle School to crawl between rail cars to get to class on time."

============

So how will cameras address safety concerns???

dd

[zardoz]

And that part about police escourting people UNDER the train cars? That is even MORE stupid if you ask me. What if the train moved suddenly??

There would be a rush on clean undergarments at the nearby department store.

Even better if it was a string of empty hoppers and they were pulling out the slack....

Or the roar of the air being released.

Nothing like a little steam blow down timed correctly to keep the people at bay. Who me? I know nothing.

Metra commuters also have a nasty habit of crawling under the train they just disembarked from while it sits at the station.  Some station stops for the really long trains can take up to two minutes.  So if they cut under the train, they can get to their cars ahead of the crowd.

What we liked to do was at the stations where this happened frequently, we would hold the brakes applied after we stopped.  Then, as we saw commuters begin to go under the train, we would release some of the air.  We hoped our actions would have three results: 1) cause them to need clean underwear; 2) make them look like idiots as they bolted out from under the train; and 3) cause them to consider the potential results of their stupid actions.

The train crew always told us that they liked watching the reactions of those morons when we released the air.

Of course, disembarking commuters would also walk around the front of the locomotive such that we would lose sight of them below the nose of the unit.  Not too much of a problem when we had firemen (apprentice engineers) on each train that could warn the engineer about the number of dolts "going around", but with no one on the passenger side of the unit, there is no way for the engineer to know if anyone is walking around your engine.  So when we get the signal to go, we just ring the bell and hope that those walking around have made it, and that nobody tripped and fell on the tracks.

[penncentral2002]

Metra commuters also have a nasty habit of crawling under the train they just disembarked from while it sits at the station.  Some station stops for the really long trains can take up to two minutes.  So if they cut under the train, they can get to their cars ahead of the crowd.

Heaven forbid actually having to wait 2 whole minutes to get to their car!

[Anonymous]

Zardoz,

Back on the Wash Beltway people just wont move over for me when confronted with 6 signals blinking in thier faces. So I pull the sleepy-driver act. One eye on the mirrior to the right, I allow the rig to drift over a little bit, swerve back and drift a little bit more at a more severe angle. usually they get out of the way by then.

Or I could simply put all the wheels 4 inches from thier driver's rear view mirrior and hold it steady for a moment. They aint got the right stuff to stay put. Once in a while that BMW contains a Type A Dominant type Lawyer or something and you will be hearing from the Saftey Officer later in the day making explainations to save your job =)

Today such aggressive driving is a BIG no no.

In really bad weather sometimes you have no choice but count slowly to ten and hope there is no crunch when you complete the lane change. =)

I enjoyed your little flatuant air story scaring the ones under the train. Heck, you had me worried for a moment he he.

[vsmith]

[zardoz]

I enjoyed your little flatuant air story scaring the ones under the train. Heck, you had me worried for a moment he he.

It was even more fun if the station was on a grade; I would do a full release, then the slack would run out or in, thereby adding to the effect.

[StillGrande]

I think it says a lot that the guy admits he was engrossed in his call, yet his wife claims he wasn't on the phone and is basically saying the train snuck up and hit him.  She is arguing against HIS story. 

[vsmith]

I enjoyed your little flatuant air story scaring the ones under the train. Heck, you had me worried for a moment he he.

It was even more fun if the station was on a grade; I would do a full release, then the slack would run out or in, thereby adding to the effect.

[vsmith]

I think it says a lot that the guy admits he was engrossed in his call, yet his wife claims he wasn't on the phone and is basically saying the train snuck up and hit him.  She is arguing against HIS story. 

Of course, it hid in the bushes and pounced on him when he wasnt looking.

-

Dewey and all, you guys REALLY need to rent the film "Wrongfully Accused" with Leasley Nielson and includes a really funny parody of the train accident in "The Fugative" only in this case, the train actually jumps the track and chases Nielson thru the woods & hiding behind trees. Its a riot and worth the rental price for that scene alone.

[penncentral2002]

I think it says a lot that the guy admits he was engrossed in his call, yet his wife claims he wasn't on the phone and is basically saying the train snuck up and hit him.  She is arguing against HIS story. 

You'd be surprised how often that happens in court!  It can be very entertaining - especially when its not your witnesses.

[zardoz]

I enjoyed your little flatuant air story scaring the ones under the train. Heck, you had me worried for a moment he he.

It was even more fun if the station was on a grade; I would do a full release, then the slack would run out or in, thereby adding to the effect.

I keep having this mental image of roaches suddenly scurrying in all directions when the lights are turned on

Excellent comparison!