Eastern Railroad Discussion > Lucky Indiana trespassers

I would not have wanted to be the Indiana Rail Road crew on this train, which encountered two women trespassing on the 500-foot-long, 80-foot-high Shuffle Creek Trestle in southern Indiana the morning of July 10. When they realized they weren't going to reach the end of the bridge in time, they laid down between the guard rails--and survived.

This event may already have been discussed here, but the railroad has released video from a camera mounted on the locomotive: http://www.abc15.com/news/national/unbelievable-video-train-runs-over-women-attempting-to-cross-railroad-bridge-women-survive

That was uncomfortable to watch and I already knew the women survived. Thankful they did... and that the train stayed upright.

How the second one survived is simply amazing - from the video, it looks like she would've been struck head-on. Glad all turned out well, but this video would probably make an excellent "rail safety" video. In other words, what not to do...

John R -- CP Spring
Carlisle, PA

The article says the two women involved "could be facing charges" when they SHOULD be facing charges.

Being that the incident happened in Monroe County, which has a liberal-univeralist bent, I'd expect little
or no charges and/or prosecution....

The reporter was right to use the word "could" instead of "should." It would be biased to say otherwise and we all know how folks love to point out the bias in the media... except when it is also our bias.

I know exactly where that is as had been there when I attended IU some years ago. It's not far from Bloomington and a popular location for boating. The railroad cuts through a cemetery one end of the bridge. Perhaps when the railroad was built it took out some graves as they are on both sides of the tracks.

Wow, scary indeed.
John

Holy cow! Unbelievably lucky. Their punishment should be lifelong community service preaching the dangers of trespassing on rail bridges. As you say, it's easy to empathize with how totally helpless the crew feels in such a situation.

No criminal charge is gonna teach those girls a lesson like what happened on that bridge.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/14 14:21 by NSClevelandLine.

NSClevelandLine Wrote:
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> No criminal charges is gonna teach those girls a
> lesson like what happened on that bridge.
>
> Posted from Android

Very true. That's a life changing experience.

The INRD has increased speeds on that line over the years. What is the speed for the trestle itself? I cannot believe how lucky thet were!!!

Can't believe this is the first time this has happened here.

It appears that the second girl (red) tripped over the first and about catapulted off the bridge. In the end they luckily made the right call and saved their lives. Wow!

The article states they initially got away. How is that possible?? From watching the video, it appeared the train was getting close to stopping - which means the girls were likely trapped under the stopped train once the train did stop. How did they get away??

I know that bridge well. It is a death trap for anyone who ventures out on it. The train speeds are significant and there is no where to go by the time you hear the train.

Wow, wow, wow.

Certainly would never try but I always assumed with a little luck and if your aren't too fat there would be enough clearance esp on a bridge if there is no ballast.

The unintended consequence of the video is that thrill seekers may now try this. Best guess is will hardly deter anyone, but..... we may see some videos.

Bob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/29/14 14:29 by robj.

joethephotog Wrote:
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> That was uncomfortable to watch and I already knew
> the women survived. Thankful they did... and that
> the train stayed upright.


You are so right, that gave me a sick feeling and i'm watching it from my home. The feeling the crew must have had...

Oh my what a sick feeling watching that. I then picture the crew gets the train stopped, and takes a deep breath. I would guess that the engineer then has to pull the train clear of the trestle so that the conductor can go back and look. Not exactly something I would want to do. When the train pulled clear, did they run back the other way???? Oh my that had to be a tough day for all, thankfully not worse.

Question??? Will the public insist that the railroad install safety porches every 100 feet on the bridge???? Even though it's trespassing, "the railroad should have porches!" I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't an outcry. (Yes I know,,,, porches, or whatever you call them, would encourage bridge trespassing.)

Just saw this clip on national ABC news -- hopefully something good will come of it, as opposed to being a challenge to those "thrill seekers" in society. As with anything, only time will tell.

John R -- CP Spring
Carlisle, PA

NSClevelandLine Wrote:
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> No criminal charge is gonna teach those girls a
> lesson like what happened on that bridge.
>
> Posted from Android

Amen to that!

There was a segment on NBC Nightly News too. D*** SCARY.........!!!!!

Do people EVER learn.....????!!!! I already know the answer to that...!!!

steamfan Wrote:
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> Just saw this clip on national ABC news --
> hopefully something good will come of it, as
> opposed to being a challenge to those "thrill
> seekers" in society. As with anything, only time
> will tell.


I hope you are right, but with todays teenagers someone down the road will give it a try. I wish I was wrong. Steve

That's pretty intense stuff. As a retired engineer, I can relate to what that engineer is going through, and the numerous scenarios running through his mind. I heard it was a 14,000 ton coal train. I don't know what the speed is there, but I presume it's relatively slow. Putting a heavy train like that in emergency at a slow speed could have really ended badly. Thankfully, everything stayed on the rail. I'm glad the women survived, but I hoped they now realize that the tracks aren't just there because they look pretty. Trains actually use them.