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blackhawk
  
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
location:
Mission Control
UER newbie
 |  |  | Re: Trains
<Reply # 40 on 4/30/2006 2:34 AM >
|  | | | I may be mistaken but isn't tampering with trains in transit a federal crime? Wire jumpers would be considered an instrument of crime if carried. The FBI still makes house calls.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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piplnr65656
location:
World Wide
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 41 on 4/30/2006 2:11 PM >
| | | | It is just a cool trick to know if you need to stop a train and that is exactly what the guy from the railroad told us when we were taking a railroad safety course for a project we had.
It was in September, we saw their silhouettes fade away, outlined on the horizon against the rays of the setting sun. |
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Engine666
location:
Hamilton, Ohio
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Trains
<Reply # 42 on 4/30/2006 7:45 PM >
| | | | If the need arose that you HAD to stop one, you'd be better off using a flare, waving something red, or making a call to one of the numbers posted at most crossings than by jumping a circuit. Circuits go down all the time and the dispatcher can give the crew an ok to pass a red signal. This one was going off like a Christmas tree decoration before they gave us the ok to pass. (sorry for the f'd up windshield-special thanks to the passing crew for the breakfast they tossed us!)
Yeah, there will be times when getting one stopped is an actual emergency. Car stuck on the tracks,tree down, etc. Not long ago south of here a guy lost his wife and 2 kids after their car stalled on a crossing and he was trying to push it off. Common sense would have had him get them out of the car, then find means of notifying the railroad of the obstruction and/or stopping any on coming trains. The train WILL win at that contest. And they can sneak up pretty quick.
Tripping a circuit will get someones attention, to be sure. A physical presence there to explain whats going on will go alot further. And yes, tampering with rail lines IS a federal offense. Now adays I doubt anyone wants an FBI housecall.
"May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house."
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sean121982
location:
Harrisburg
Gender: Male
| |  | Re: Trains
<Reply # 43 on 5/1/2006 6:11 AM >
| | | | Posted by blackhawk
I may be mistaken but isn't tampering with trains in transit a federal crime?
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I'm sure it is. Even if it wasn't for the terrorism connotation of the age we live in, you'd still get charged with obstructing interstate commerce.
| Not long ago south of here a guy lost his wife and 2 kids after their car stalled on a crossing and he was trying to push it off. Common sense would have had him get them out of the car, then find means of notifying the railroad of the obstruction and/or stopping any on coming trains. |
Common sense is by no means common anymore. Did you see the news article about Miss Deaf Texas getting plastered by a Union Pacific train? You'd think someone who can't hear would have the sense to not walk along railroad tracks, but apparently not. I feel bad for the guy losing his entire family and all, but what happened there was just moronic. Has he filed a lawsuit yet so he can fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with the settlement money in an attempt to wash away his grief?
"And that's when the C.H.U.D.s came at me..." - Homer Simpson |
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Duct Tape
location:
Toronto
Gender: Male
"The Handyman's Secret Weapon"
| | | Re: Trains
<Reply # 44 on 5/1/2006 5:00 PM >
| | | | Posted by sean121982
Common sense is by no means common anymore. Did you see the news article about Miss Deaf Texas getting plastered by a Union Pacific train? You'd think someone who can't hear would have the sense to not walk along railroad tracks, but apparently not. I feel bad for the guy losing his entire family and all, but what happened there was just moronic. Has he filed a lawsuit yet so he can fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with the settlement money in an attempt to wash away his grief?
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Probably has, but that is pretty much par for the course.
Interesting article in the Toronto Star today about an Ex Railroader living with the grief and agony of having been involved in fatal accidents throughout his career.
Toronto Star
Haunted by death on the tracks
Ex-engineer calls for stricter rules for rail crossings
Unstoppable, horrific impacts replay in his mind
May 1, 2006. 08:05 AM
KEVIN MCGRAN
TRANSPORTATION REPORTER
The trains Dan Christie operated caused the deaths of at least seven people. He says there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
The Port Hope man — a CN and VIA Rail engineer for 30 years — keeps a scrapbook of the news stories that followed the accidents in the early 1990s as one way to deal with the guilt he feels from time to time.
Two were suicides. Another misadventure. The rest were accidents at crossings.
The moments — especially the faces — haunt him still.
"The feeling of helplessness is just overwhelming," says Christie, 55, whose feelings were stirred again after a Toronto Star series of stories on railway safety. "You get to see the whole movie as it occurs and there's nothing you can do. You take all the precautions. I've gone through the whole nightmare routine and sleepless nights and wondering if you could have done something differently."
A Star investigation revealed the number of rail accidents and derailments are on the rise, the result of poor maintenance practices and a cozy relationship between the railways and their regulator Transport Canada. A second story showed many railway deaths were preventable, but Transport Canada seemed more interested in studying problems at railway crossings than forcing the industry to make safety upgrades.
CN Rail did conduct "safety blitzes" at 80 highway-railway crossings last week as part of Rail Safety Week, where CN Police were warning motorists not to ignore bells or whistles at crossings and pedestrians who wanted to walk on rail property.
"When I look at the commitment of CN to work towards safety, it's really remarkable," said CN Police Chief Serge Meloche. "I have officers dedicated to making a difference."
Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon declined a request for an interview. Federal NDP transport critic Peter Julian said the new Conservative government seems to be as bad as the old Liberal government in failing to hold the rail industry's feet to the fire on safety issues, with about 100 people killed annually by trains in crossing and trespassing incidents.
"Clearly the approach of the federal government is not working," said Julian. "The Conservatives are doing no more than the Liberals. The Liberals foot-dragged, and we're seeing similar kinds of things from the current transport minister. I'm concerned about the trend, and the inaction."
Christie, who says his reputation as a whistleblower led him to resign from VIA in 2004, has harsh words for the safety and maintenance practices of his ex-employer and doesn't trust Transport Canada to deal with crossing/trespassing incidents. .
"For all of the money they spend on public awareness, I don't think it's been terribly effective," says Christie, adding drivers have some responsibility.
"Automobiles are hermetically sealed. We live in our own world when we get into a car. Trains aren't really on people's radar. With population growth outside of urban areas, it's almost inevitable that there's going to be more level-crossing hits. So many things play a factor in it."
Christie remembers all the dead from the incidents, which happened in the early 1990s:
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A 14-year-old girl who lay on the tracks after getting a bad report card.
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A 21-year-old man in Belle River who lost a game of dare.
`The feeling of helplessness is just overwhelming ... I've gone through the whole nightmare routine and sleepless nights and wondering if you could have done something differently.'
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A woman near St. Catharines who was crawling on the tracks.
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An elderly couple near London who got out of their stalled car but couldn't jump away from the train in time.
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A man near Kingston — apparently blinded by the sun — who drove into a locomotive.
The one that sticks with Christie is a 45-year-old man who owned a scrap yard on one side of the tracks, and a house on another. The man was waving to his son when his pickup truck stalled on the tracks. He got out of the truck, and froze.
"It was just a momentary lapse. It was terribly unfortunate because he could have saved himself. He got out the driver's door and just sort of stood there. That's the last thing I saw."
That incident put Christie into therapy for six weeks, because of nightmares and flashbacks. The scrapbook he keeps is in the backyard shed, so that he's not constantly reminded of the deaths
"There's a small element of guilt. You divest yourself of it very quickly; otherwise I think you'd be a bit of a basket case."
Christie backs the recommendations of a coroner's inquest jury that looked into the death of a schoolgirl last year at a Brockville crossing — that trains should go slower within city limits and that crossing guards should be hired at the most dangerous crossings in Canada.
"Transport Canada seldom acts. It reacts," Christie says. "It waits for some predictable tragedy then springs into action with remedial recommendations whose implementation is contingent upon how effective a case for financial hardship is made by the affected parties — usually a railway and a municipality.
"Only in the gravest cases is something as expensive as gates with bells and lights recommended. The chances of the whole-hog idea of a grade separation is akin to winning a lottery — about 14 million to one."
A grade separation would involve building a bridge over the rail line, or tunnelling under it so road and rail don't intersect.
Christie says there's very little an engineer can do once confronted with someone on the tracks. He can blow the horn. He can put on the brakes.
He says horns can cause people to freeze, rather than hurry, and trains can't stop on a dime. An average freight train going 100 km/h takes about 1.1 kilometres to stop.
"It was never my experience that the people who I watched die were mortally stupid," Christie says. "They were simply caught in a circumstances totally by surprise and utterly beyond their control, much as I was operating the train.
"When things are rolling along and it's calm and beautiful and you've got the best job in the world, suddenly the nightmare is right there in front of you and right there in front of them, too. The lucky ones were the ones who did not know what hit them. They didn't have a clue. They were blinded by the sun. They were doing something else. They just didn't know.
"The unlucky ones are the ones who had a sensation of two or three seconds that this was going to happen, that it was inevitable." |
"the ghosts of old buildings are haunting parking lots
in the city of good neighbors that history forgot"
- 'subdivision', Ani DiFranco ** Urbania - http://urbania.ohlphotos.com |
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rainman8889
location:
H.T.S.F.C. Time to gain and a time to lose.
Bye for now.
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 45 on 5/2/2006 3:48 AM >
| | | | Wow Duct Tape. That was very touching. It sure gives someone food for thought.
[last edit 5/2/2006 3:49 AM by rainman8889 - edited 1 times]
Gone for a while. Be back when I'm back. |
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nohbdy
 
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 46 on 5/2/2006 4:21 PM >
| | | | when im around tracks takeing photos i have my scanner with me, a few years ago a guy who worked for wisconsin central railroad (i think its owned by CN now) gave me there radio frequency card, so if they see you and call the cops you will hear some chatter as such.
the scanner is also good if the cops are looking for you, it helps give you a little heads up, after that you can run or, as i do, try to greet them, they are more likey to help you if you dont run, but make sure you turn the scanner off when your talking to them, otherwise you might end up in the back of their car
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BMac718
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 47 on 5/7/2006 6:09 AM >
| | | | I almost bought it one day years ago, it was an extremely foggy day, and there were no gates at this particular intersection. I happened to see the red crossing signals at the last minute, my buddy locked up the brakes just in time. It would have been perfect timing for a collision. Holy shit.
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Engine666
location:
Hamilton, Ohio
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Trains
<Reply # 48 on 5/8/2006 8:48 PM >
| | | | Reality happens.
This train didn't hit the guy lying on the ground. The one that passed before them did. These guys just found him.
"May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house."
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ArmchairExplorer
location:
Vancouver
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 49 on 5/10/2006 2:24 AM >
| | | | A railfan site put it this way:
A CN Police special agent summed it up the best regarding trespassing on railroad property:
"The maximum penalty is death."
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YellowSnow
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 50 on 5/10/2006 2:51 AM >
| | | | I don't mess with trains. My friends dad had a friend in highschool who tried to hop on a train and he fell and got cut in half. Took him 4 hours to die.
>_> |
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Switchkey
location:
Victoria BC Canada
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 51 on 5/10/2006 3:23 AM >
| | | | Posted by BMac718
I almost bought it one day years ago, it was an extremely foggy day, and there were no gates at this particular intersection. I happened to see the red crossing signals at the last minute, my buddy locked up the brakes just in time. It would have been perfect timing for a collision. Holy shit.
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Remember, in a tie - the train wins.
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Switchkey
location:
Victoria BC Canada
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 52 on 5/10/2006 4:46 AM >
| | | | Bringing this thread back a little closer to the original question...
First of all, the previous posts all offer good advice, but let me add a few things.
A) RR Police - try to find out how active they are in your area and what their disposition is. Generally, the larger the city you're in the more bulls there will be.
 Signals- learn the aspects and what they mean. Also, remember that not all tracks are signalled.
C) If you have access to a scanner, take it along. It will be your best warning if something is coming. To find the frequencies, Google "AAR radio frequencies" and that should give all the information on what frequencies to program into them.
D) Stay off equipment, but if you feel the need to explore anything on wheels, make sure it is STOPPED before getting on/off of it. Not only is it unsafe to get on/off moving trains, but every RR prohibits their employees from doing so and if seen, it will attract unwanted attention faster than flies to shit. Also, do not stand too close to anything moving in case there happens to be wide loads, loose lading, or anything else that could (literally) chop your head off.
E) Remember your ethics. Leave only footprints, take only photos. ALWAYS have a camera with you. IF busted assume you WILL get a ticket unless you are in the middle of nowhere, the camera will (hopefully) save you from worse.
If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to message me and I'll do my best to answer them or at least point you in the right direction
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TaP
 
location:
Montreal, QC
Gender: Male
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 53 on 5/10/2006 6:12 PM >
| | | | what i just read realy freaked me out, when i was younger me and my friends always went out to play in the train tracks and to cross a deck bridge, it was a two track bridge that spanned about 30 meters. Once we were crossing it and my friend was in back of me, we were about halfway off, then a train popped up on the horizon on our track and we freaked out. i started skipping ties putting my feet 1 tie away from the last one and my friend kept going tie by tie looking at the bottom (which is about 10 meters away). I got off in time but my friend almost got killed, right when he got off and ran to the side where i was, the train was already on the bridge.
one freaken close call.
that was the best summer of my life.
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Stabadeus
location:
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Gender: Male
Cue the 'Emailing The Prime Minister' music. Take that you smug, beady eyed son of a bitch!
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 54 on 5/11/2006 2:08 PM >
| | | | Other than staying off tracks and infrastructure (Signal bridges look like fun, but don't), I'd say wave to train crews. Railfans do, so act like - or better yet, be one.
And, if local bylaws allow and they're friendly, you'll get a couple of short horn blasts in reply or at least a return wave.
It all kind of went down hill from there. |
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Alestrial
location:
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Gender: Male
<Arc_Tangent> I crown you prince of pears!
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 55 on 5/11/2006 2:39 PM >
| | | | Posted by Switchkey
Bringing this thread back a little closer to the original question...
First of all, the previous posts all offer good advice, but let me add a few things.
A) RR Police - try to find out how active they are in your area and what their disposition is. Generally, the larger the city you're in the more bulls there will be.
Signals- learn the aspects and what they mean. Also, remember that not all tracks are signalled.
C) If you have access to a scanner, take it along. It will be your best warning if something is coming. To find the frequencies, Google "AAR radio frequencies" and that should give all the information on what frequencies to program into them.
D) Stay off equipment, but if you feel the need to explore anything on wheels, make sure it is STOPPED before getting on/off of it. Not only is it unsafe to get on/off moving trains, but every RR prohibits their employees from doing so and if seen, it will attract unwanted attention faster than flies to shit. Also, do not stand too close to anything moving in case there happens to be wide loads, loose lading, or anything else that could (literally) chop your head off.
E) Remember your ethics. Leave only footprints, take only photos. ALWAYS have a camera with you. IF busted assume you WILL get a ticket unless you are in the middle of nowhere, the camera will (hopefully) save you from worse.
If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to message me and I'll do my best to answer them or at least point you in the right direction
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<------------- Is intrigued by this post!
~ 2.0 : Now with upgraded spelling ~ |
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dwagon
location:
Fort Worth Texas
Gender: Male
They call it Junk, I call it art
| | | Re: Trains
<Reply # 56 on 5/11/2006 3:01 PM >
| | | | Just FYI, here in Dallas some of the train intersections have warnings saying the trains can be unmanned and can run on a remote control. So if you look at a train and noone is in it dont assume it isnt going to go anywhere.
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Engine666
location:
Hamilton, Ohio
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Trains
<Reply # 57 on 5/16/2006 8:50 PM >
| | | | Posted by Switchkey
Bringing this thread back a little closer to the original question...
First of all, the previous posts all offer good advice, but let me add a few things.
A) RR Police - try to find out how active they are in your area and what their disposition is. Generally, the larger the city you're in the more bulls there will be.
Signals- learn the aspects and what they mean. Also, remember that not all tracks are signalled.
C) If you have access to a scanner, take it along. It will be your best warning if something is coming. To find the frequencies, Google "AAR radio frequencies" and that should give all the information on what frequencies to program into them.
D) Stay off equipment, but if you feel the need to explore anything on wheels, make sure it is STOPPED before getting on/off of it. Not only is it unsafe to get on/off moving trains, but every RR prohibits their employees from doing so and if seen, it will attract unwanted attention faster than flies to shit. Also, do not stand too close to anything moving in case there happens to be wide loads, loose lading, or anything else that could (literally) chop your head off.
E) Remember your ethics. Leave only footprints, take only photos. ALWAYS have a camera with you. IF busted assume you WILL get a ticket unless you are in the middle of nowhere, the camera will (hopefully) save you from worse.
If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to message me and I'll do my best to answer them or at least point you in the right direction.
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Good advice and all, but not every railroad prohibits getting on and off moving equipment. There is a right and wrong way to do it. I was first taught by crews back in the 70s as a young trespasser-'Facing the equipment, foot trailing the direction of travel hits the ground first.' Any other way is generally asking for a face full of ballast. Also, watching where you plan to land and not at a speed over 5 mph is pretty important. (And for Godsakes do NOT hesitate to let go with your hands!) They're still teaching it that way where I've been working for the last several years. Even so, I've seen alot of FNG's fall down. Not that I'm advocating people going out and trying this, but there IS a safe way to do it.
Just my two cents, and like I said, good advice otherwise!
E
"May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house."
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ArmchairExplorer
location:
Vancouver
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 58 on 5/18/2006 4:11 AM >
| | | | Adding a few points for public consumption:
Posted by Switchkey
A) RR Police - try to find out how active they are in your area and what their disposition is. Generally, the larger the city you're in the more bulls there will be. |
At least in the US and Canada, Railway police have full police powers on railway property. They're armed and are better trained than the average rentacop. More railway police and security are to be expected at yards and especially intermodal (container) terminals as these are frequent targets for thieves.
| Signals- learn the aspects and what they mean. Also, remember that not all tracks are signalled. |
There is no common standard for signal aspects and indications. CROR applies throughout Canada but the American roads tend to do their own thing. Be sure to learn the signal aspects used on lines in your area.
A lot of (most?) trackage in North America isn't signalled.
It's a good idea to keep back at least 12 feet from trains moving at speed. Fast trains can kick up rocks to lethal speeds or drag metal strapping that can cut someone in half.
Finally, if you carry a cell phone, it's a good idea to have the emergency 1-800 numbers for railways operating in your area. This is so you can report any dangerous situations (morons throwing rocks at trains, a van stuck on a level crossing, a tank car on fire, etc) you happen to encounter.
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MindHacker
location:
Suburbs of DC
Gender: Male
If you spot a terrorist arrow, pin it to the wall with your shoulder.
| | Re: Trains
<Reply # 59 on 5/19/2006 1:39 AM >
| | | | I saw a train run over a hunk of 2x4 once. It was great (since i was 50' back). Shards of wood flew everywhere, and the train didn't even notice (i think the conductor did though...). I do not advise this.
I do advise walking on tracks, just don't be stupid and be careful on blind curves, especially when theres nowhere to run to. But as long as your still thinking its fine. I walk on the rail itself, as its easiest. and funnist.
"That's just my opinion. I would, however, advocate for explosive breaching, since speed and looking cool are both concerns in my job."-Wilkinshire |
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Ethics
