9 / 25 Rail -- Psst? Wanna see my "privates?"

[MatrixBlackRock]

I always thought it was just common sense and everyone was on the same page knowing that trains are not a joke. When I see that this is not the case at all it feels odd to me and I have a hard time understanding why anyone would engage in such reckless behavior when it comes to trains.
It's sad, don't get me wrong, but it is certainly worthy of a Darwin award if you ask me.

A rail crossing at Ives Dairy and Dixie highway in North Miami had the dubious distinction of being one of the deadliest rail crossings on the FEC, it's the primary route to the Aventura Mall and a secondary route to the Gulfstream Race Track and spam.

Prior to an overpass being installed four traffic lanes crossed the tracks, with a traffic light at Dixie and another at Biscayne Blvd, what happened all too often was the either the light at Dixie or Biscayne would turn red and drivers would stop on the tracks waiting for a green signal.

One day as so many other times a driver sat waiting for a green light with the front of her car parked over the tracks, a north bound rock train approached the gate activated and came down on the roof of her car, the engineer seeing the car on the tracks sounded a long warning and applied the trains brakes.

The driver instead of abandoning the car, just sat there blowing her horn trying to get the car in front of her to move, the car in front didn't move and the locomotive hit the front of the car it on the passenger side plowing it through a couple of other cars that where almost on the tracks, killing the driver and her mother in the process.

The car looked like it had been through a war, the damage to the locomotive, a tire mark on the plow.



Sometimes though a driver makes a dumb move, but a good decision, the driver of this car was boxed in, a term used to describe when one is on the tracks with traffic in front and behind allowing no where to go.

A slow moving rock train pulling empties arrived around the bend only for the engineer to see a car squarely on the tracks, again brakes on and impact, the car was knocked about 175 feet south of the crossing, however no injuries to anyone as the driver and her kids bailed and left the car on the tracks.

[kwoswalt99-]

I like that Cadillac.

[kwoswalt99-]

Never seen a track like this before. Are the ties rotting away?

[Sinifar]

That is not uncommon in older, lightly used rail sections. The Wisconsin and 'Southern has trackage like that from Watertown to 'Waterloo, WI. Really bad track, slow boarded to 10 mph, max, usually slower.

Which is why they had cabooses. They carried re-rail frogs, rail bars, and chains to pull cars back on the track, if you can call it that. Today? I asked a CN engineer while waiting for a roll by about it, and he said they did have couplers, draw bars and frogs in the air compressor compartment of the loco, but they hardly used them. In case of something like that today, they call the dispatchers and tell them what happened and then the road sends out the right people, usually a track section crew with a crane and everything they need to get things back in order.

Although two weeks ago, the CN had a train come apart down in Mukwonago, "iron bottom" where trains always seem to part, and they dispatchers said they had to change the broken coupler themselves. In the process, he sent another train down that way, and told the crew to help the first train crew to fix the problem. Three hours later the crew repaired train limped into Waukesha, and dropped the offending cars for "BO" disposition.

Just my experience ...

The Sinifar

[MatrixBlackRock]

Although two weeks ago, the CN had a train come apart down in Mukwonago, "iron bottom" where trains always seem to part, and they dispatchers said they had to change the broken coupler themselves. In the process, he sent another train down that way, and told the crew to help the first train crew to fix the problem. Three hours later the crew repaired train limped into Waukesha, and dropped the offending cars for "BO" disposition.

Just my experience ...

The Sinifar

A couple of years back I was trackside when a passing CSX freight went into emergency due to a bum sitting on the tracks, the locomotives horn managed to sober the bum up enough to stagger off the tracks before getting hit, however now there was no slack in the consist.

Don't know if the engineer was a greenhorn of just didn't think cause as soon as got the brakes released he notched his three locomotives way up, I was about 60 cars back from the front of the consist which had maybe 90 cars in it and hearing the engines revving up thought that was kinda weird and then I heard the slack pulling out, bang, bang, bang... and then BANG, hisss as a knuckle pulled out of the coupler blowing the brake line and putting the whole shebang back into emergency.

The conductor called dispatch and advised they just lost air pressure and he was going to walk back and figure out why.

I drove up the side of the track, met the conductor, told him to hop in and I would show him just where the train came apart, he asked me if I saw what happened and I explained his engineer just ripped a knuckle out of a coupler, he let loose with a few four letter words and radioed the trainman to get a knuckle and a pin and told me he needed to go back to the engine.

I said "sit tight I'll drive you there and then you can put the knuckle the pin and the trainman in the back of the van."

They loaded up the van we went back to where the train separated, he thanked me for the help and I asked if he would mind if I hung out and watched how they repaired the coupler, the answer was of course yes.

He closed the brake line yelled at the engineer over the radio to pump em up and proceeded to replace the knuckle while him and the trainman talked about the engineer in less than glowing terms punctuated with numerous foul words.

Once done the consist was re-joined and I brought them back to the engine and made a couple of friends that day.

Needless to say, on the second try, the engineer slowly and carefully applied the power until all the slack was taken up and they where on their way.

Wayne