Don't pick a snowball fight with Amtrak

Foot of snow + train at 50 mph= a REALLY bad way to start your day.

So let me get this straight, it's not good to stand where the snow plowing will fly.....

or be looking down into an active volcano?

WOW. who would have known?

Engineer-Joe posted:

So let me get this straight, it's not good to stand where the snow plowing will fly.....

or be looking down into an active volcano?

WOW. who would have known?

Maybe it's more about NOT being totally involved on one's smart phone, in order to be aware of your surroundings?!?!

Situational awareness 101..... Good morning, class.........

LOL!

You can't fix stupid.

and the two women...the one in the white hat just stands there watching til it's to late...and the second one catching it all on her phone....

I know some times I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But come on. What ever happened to plain old common sense!!

Mark

It went out the window along with good old fashioned family values.

My friend told me about this video. You don't have to know anything about trains to realize fast train and snow high above the rails equals a lot of snow flying. 

Amtrak might get a Lawsuit

Bruk posted:

Amtrak might get a Lawsuit

Why?

It is possible that the station is something like the Metra I cross every day, were the commuter train stops at every stop, but when the Amtrak comes thru it goes barreling thru. So maybe they just aren't used to having a Metra. That and with all this non-existent global warming, they haven't had snow in a while.

Then again I sure can see what is about to happen. One day, on the same Metra, on Oakton, an 18-wheeler was blocking the tracks in front of me, I was one second from pulling the door handle of my vehicle and running for my life when either the Metra or Amtrak was bearing down on it. Intersection cleared, truck moved, and all was fine.

There went 15 minutes of my life.

Logic says it's not a good idea to stand that close to the yellow line when there is NO snow!!!! 

When the Cardinal enters WSS station I am back were the roof support posts are....and not on my phone!!!

I used to think my parents didn't do a good job. Then I started traveling and looking around. I think they did a great job now! I don't know why I ever questioned them?

 My dad had a favorite saying. You wouldn't jump over the Falls just because others were doing it. I had an unfair advantage as we lived in Niagara Falls.

He was in the army. He had many other sayings as well.

Mine is don't pet a rattle snake.

All I hear now is parents saying that the kids need a time out. All the time in the world doesn't seem to help?

My generation, baby boomers, and those that came before us were fascinated with the technology that moved us. Today's generation only cares about how long it will take to get from point A to point B. So, there they stand getting showered in snow because they are so involved in their mobile devices and couldn't care less about how a railroad operates.

Hot Water posted:

Bruk posted:

Amtrak might get a Lawsuit

Why?

scared 'em?

Bruk posted:

Amtrak might get a Lawsuit

And there, my friends, in one sentence, is what's wrong with this country.

"I was too stupid to notice that I was standing where that train would blast snow all over me. It's the TRAIN'S fault! I'm gonna sue 'em!"   

Oh man LMAO! Thank you.  I needed a laugh. 

AMCDave posted:

Logic says it's not a good idea to stand that close to the yellow line when there is NO snow!!!! 

Same for drivers stopping too close at grade crossings.  Inconsequential most of the time, but I prefer a distance inconsequential all of the time.

What, me worry?

You're right! I always stop at least a hundred feet back from the crossing gates. What with maintenance (?) being what it is, it's just a matter of time. I don't want to be on the 6 pm news.

That is hilarious!!! I can't stop watching and laughing at that one. 

Alfred E Neuman posted:

AMCDave posted:

Logic says it's not a good idea to stand that close to the yellow line when there is NO snow!!!! 

Same for drivers stopping too close at grade crossings.  Inconsequential most of the time, but I prefer a distance inconsequential all of the time.

What, me worry?

There are some street and rail crossings in the metro Charleston WV area I consider 'scary'. Lots of fast heavy trains and 6 Amtrak trains a week crossing busy congested streets.  So there is a advertising campaign going on via radio and TV now trying to educate people about trains at crossings. One add says something about trains can't stop like a truck. The ad came up at my daughters work....people kinda joking that such scare tactics were being used.  My daughter knowing more than she'd care to about railroading explained what the ad was saying.....educated professionals were not aware of the stopping distance of 100 full hoppers going 50 mph......when she told me about it I was shocked......but this video SHOWS the average person has no understanding of trains.....or basic physics.   

Right on Rich. And you can't fix stupid. And I'm also trying SO hard to figure out how these trains determine when to get off their tracks and hit a car, truck or bus.

Gerry

How many of you noticed that the train was NOT plowing any snow until it entered the platform area?
How many of you noticed how well the platform was cleaned off and that neat edge of snow along the length of the platform?

Smart phones are going to be the end of society as WE (us older folks), know it. I work on a College campus and the kids spend the entire day staring at their phones. Trying to drive around our campus during class change is impossible. The little darlings are oblivious to what's going on around them.

BIGJIM- I kinda wondered about that too. Looks like the MOW crew may have had something to do with it.

Guess I'm a contrarian on this one.

Sending a train at speed through a passenger loading area when the tracks are high with snow? I'd say that had there been injuries that, yes, a lawsuit would not have been out of order.

True story . . . no lawsuit involved.

Packed platform during morning commuter rush. Valois CPR Station, West Island Montreal. Circa 1960. Station agent emerged from building and began yelling to the effect "Fast through train! Get back! Get Back!" he was quite agitated. Well that he was. People expected the oncoming train to slow and stop. But it was a freight and it was moving! How fast I can not guess after all the years but I recall this event very well. That train barreled through that station! This was NOT normal. In all the years I commuted on that line, it happened only this once. People just had no reason to "see this coming." To this day, despite the agent's warning, I think it was reckless to have a fast moving train barrel through a station packed with morning commuters.

Situational awareness - a lost art. Be aware of what is going on around you. If there had been a rock or piece of metal buried in the snow someone could have been killed.  A lawsuit won't bring you back.

Terry Danks posted:

Guess I'm a contrarian on this one.

Sending a train at speed through a passenger loading area when the tracks are high with snow? I'd say that had there been injuries that, yes, a lawsuit would not have been out of order.

 

Maybe you are not aware that the train in the above video was scheduled to STOP AT THAT STATION! Due to the conditions, the passenger train over-shot the platform and had to back up a bit. Thus, the train was NOT "at speed" going through the station. Lets not forget that it is WINTER and that area had just gone through a blizzard with accumulations of over a foot of snow with VERY high winds.

Sun, rain or snow I wouldn't stand on that yellow line in the station or elsewhere. That woman standing there watching that wave of snow approaching was REALLY stupid.

Here's the way I see it. Many people push forward blindly. They want to be first in line to get better seats. They want to be upfront at concerts, etc.

Years ago I learned to wait. I would work with large rock bands at stadiums. As the concert goers would leave, the exits would get backed up like gallons of water trying to pour thru a small funnel. The exits could only handle so many cars yet they all raced towards the exits as fast as they could go.

 So while observing this, I also noticed that it took about say 45 min to clear up. Yet some of the middle to later cars just sat there the whole time. Only the very first cars got threw cleanly. I learned that it was more fun to get out of the vehicle and enjoy the surroundings for that amount of time. After that, You could blast a shotgun at the exits and not hit anyone. I could drive right threw without any delay.

 I was in a car on the freeway in NC. Three cars passed us after we moved out of the passing lane. They were so close together, that there didn't appear to be any space between the bumpers. Yet they were going around 75- 85 MPH! Just a few minuets ahead the traffic got backed up. We finally passed a huge accident with those same three cars. The middle car was crushed into a 2 foot space yet the motor was running at max RPM. I believe the persons bones were forcing the throttle to the floor. It was not survivable. I was shocked that the motor was still running.

 My point is if you blindly push without observing what's going on around you, you won't gain anything. You probably will lose,..... or in this case with the train, you'll gain a few pounds of snow. Maybe that middle car's surviving family will win some type of lawsuit with a sharp lawyer?

Hot Water posted:

Terry Danks posted:

Guess I'm a contrarian on this one.

Sending a train at speed through a passenger loading area when the tracks are high with snow? I'd say that had there been injuries that, yes, a lawsuit would not have been out of order.

 

Maybe you are not aware that the train in the above video was scheduled to STOP AT THAT STATION! Due to the conditions, the passenger train over-shot the platform and had to back up a bit. Thus, the train was NOT "at speed" going through the station. Lets not forget that it is WINTER and that area had just gone through a blizzard with accumulations of over a foot of snow with VERY high winds.

Yikes!!  good thing it was a station stop and not a meet... You would  be fired. obviously not an experienced engineman.

If you look you'll see that the tracks in the open have been blown free of snow while the snow has collected on the tracks on the leeward side of the station.

From the video, I would not have thought that the train was trying to stop at the station.

Jan

Mark Zeigler posted:

I know some times I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But come on. What ever happened to plain old common sense!!

Mark

I have heavy horses and use them in public situations sometimes.  An acquaintance of mine who also deals with large horses has said on many occasions "we've effectively bred common sense out of the human race".  

Tony

Jan posted:

From the video, I would not have thought that the train was trying to stop at the station.

 

I can only say that when the Amtrak Cardinal comes into White Sulphur Springs WV it comes in HOT.  (it helps it's always late) But these short passenger trains can stop pretty quick......they don't pull in slow like they may in Chicago with end platforms......So that train may be stopping there and just coming in hot like most stops mid route.  We are rolling at speed before I get to my seat most times! 

AMCDave posted:

but this video SHOWS the average person has no understanding  of . . . basic physics.   

This. 

Nor does one need a university series of courses in order to learn it, either, if any thought is given to the subject.  Dad graduated 8th grade and had a few classes at tech school, but he had an excellent understanding of practical physics from a life on the farm and in the service:  physical labor, automobile and aircraft mechanics, and an awareness of his situation created this understanding.  And he took pains to pass it along.

Too many people today lack these characteristics/advantages.

I'm a little surprised at the derision. Setting aside the hyperbole about the senselessness of those younger than guys on this forum, I'm not sure people who stand on the platform waiting for the train are morons because a train barrels in and slams them with a wall of snow. That wasn't someone hugging the edge of the platform; everyone on the platform got creamed. How about a little empathy?

It boils down to folks under say 40, that do not have the 'awareness of your surroundings'  some of us older folks.  It goes back to growing up. If you were in grade school in the 1960's you got taught by your parents AND school about being aware. 

Something that taught me a lot and sticks with me to this day was a demonstration performed for our school for every first grade class. 

We would have an assembly just off the outdoor paved play area. The police brought a car equipped with a device that shot a stick of chalk onto the pavement when the brake pedal was applied. The also brought a bicycle with a scarecrow like rider. The police car staged itself about 300 yards away.....came toward us at 40 mph and another officer pushed the bike into the path of the moving car. Needless to say the bike was a tangled mess and the scarecrow was torn to shreds and all over the place.

That wasn't just a bike safety demo....for me and others I still know that were there that day, it was a life lesson. BE AWARE!!! Do that today and it would be cruel and harsh and parents would pull their kids from school and fill the next PTA meeting. And thus people get pounded by  snow and are surprised. 

I myself would have seen that 2 foot deep pile of snow and been aware. 

just sit an an intersection..or at a busy store...and watch how many people will just walk out into traffic without looking to see what may be coming. mostly younger people...usually too busy on the dang phone to see 4000lbs headed at them driven by another idiot too busy on their phone to watch what they are doing.

I agree. If one couldn't see that coming and take a few quick steps back and turn your body around at least.........well I really don't know what to say.