Amusement Park Train Collision

so the car was parked on the tracks? I didn't see a driver as the train approached. what about the engineman, he didn't notice the car as he entered the curve?

 

Darwin rules!

A lot of questions on this one. 

 

As I've always said, "We are SURROUNDED by idiots!".

To be fair, the train makes a sharp left hand curve before crossing the road, so the 'engineer' may not have seen the car until it was too late to stop. Plus the little train may only have enough braking power to coast to a stop at the station, not to try to stop on a dime to avoid hitting a car sitting on the track.

That looks just like the 4-2-4 forum member SJC "drives".

 

 

 Maybe people park there all the time and the engineer just got sick and tired of it.

LOL

 

Rick

Having driven many park trains, that could of been avoided, IMHO.  Always slow down for crossings, and be ever alert and knowledgeable of the route and surroundings.  After close to a decade of doing it, and many of those years included Christmas light night rides, I never hit anyone or anything and always was able to stop in time to prevent an accident.  And I've seen some dumb things done by adults as well as kids in trying to mess with the train.

If you look closely at the photos, there appears to be a very small amount of damage because the "cow catcher" lifted the automobile.

 

Andrew

 

 

 

Houston Zoo Crash

1.  WHERE did this happen..where is "Hermann Park"?

2.  Was the car unoccupied, as it looked to me in the video?

(reminds me of those signs for sale: "No parking on railroad track unless train is

coming"

What? Where can I find one?

 

Sadly, I'm kind of not surprised about this.  The last park train I saw was the one at a park in New Braunfels, TX this past September, and I saw all kinds of irreverence for the railroad (I don't care how small the gauge is, I still view it with the same respect as its standard gauge counterpart).  I can't recall anything specific about car traffic, but what really stood out to me was that even though there was a sidewalk immediately parallel to the track, most people preferred to walk on the track!  This includes an open railroad bridge that clearly was not built for foot traffic--again, right next to a sidewalk/road bridge crossing the same obstacle.  And if I'm not mistaken, it seemed as if they couldn't care less that the train was approaching from behind them.  They just took their sweet time getting off.  Although, some people tend to do that even on the standard gauge lines, so again, why am I surprised?

 

Aaron

Besides, stupidity and property damage were there any injuries involved?

I hate to see the costs for law suit settlements for injuries, as well as property damage!!!!

Ralph

I rode the train at Hermann Park last September.  That grade crossing is for access to a parking lot.

 

The gate resting on the rear window suggests the sequence of events.  Was the car waiting for a parking spot to open?

 

  --Joe

 

Parked car:

 

1.  Parked over RR tracks.

2.  Parked between two gated crossings with lights and gates, even though they are the mini ones.  

 

Judge Judy's word for the driver:  STUPID!

 My family and I was riding the Kings Island train in Cincinnati,Ohio when the Engineer threw it in emergency

 

 Seems a lady pushed a child in a stroller right in front of the train at a crossing with lights and bells near the water park.Thank goodness no one was hurt.

 

 But did that lady get ripped by the Engineer

quote:

Too wordy? Don't read it. I took my time to attempt to explain the operating characteristics of the trains involved.

 

I read it, and found it interesting.

Thank for posting.

He didn't say it was a real C.P. Huntington, now did he?  But he is correct in that they are real trains.  And I'll 2nd everything SJC said in his 1st post having worked with trains like these myself, as I stated in my 1st post.

They run on tracks and carry real people--I think that is enough to qualify as "real" trains.

Thanks SJC,I really enjoyed reading all of your insight on this subject. John

And since I forgot to post, below is a link to the CP Huntington Train page on the manufacturers page. Also is a link to the spec sheet that I encourage anyone interested to look at. 

 

CP Huntington Train

SJC, I appreciate all the info you've posted regarding these trains.  It's always good to hear from those with real-world experience, as it's all too easy for others to make assumptions with no real knowledge of the operational characteristics of the equipment in question.

I hate to see a pretty little engine like that get beat up.    Just going by the video, it does look like the train was going too fast for that location.

 

 

Kent in SD

 

I also read it in its entirety and I also found it extremely informative.

Greg

(And since I know it takes a long time to type out that much information, I doubly appreciate the effort to post it. Thanks again.)

Having worked on a railroad that uses these Chance trains I concur with everything SJC has said. Too many people think of these as toys(both the public and unfortunately some of the people that operate them). The current locomotive weighs in at over 6,000 pounds and the coaches over 3,000 each. Our railroad had two locomotives each pulling 7 coaches. Add the weight of the fuel, crew and almost 100 guests if the train was full they do not stop on a dime.