Passenger Trains > Penalty for getting thrown off a train?

I understand the usual Amtrak policy for very bad behavior is to put the passenger off at the next stop. In extreme cases, sign a complaint for violence or illegal activity.  It can be different in the air. Very different.

They don't open a hatch, and toss you out at 35,000 feet.  But, if they have to return to base or divert, it can cost you big time.  Wall Street Journal reports a Korean gentleman declined to follow the instructions of a flight attendant and return to his seat at meal service. He was doing tai chi, etc. He  "went violent" requiring two people to restrain him. The plane returned to Honolulu, where he was arrested.

Thirteen days in jail, and a $44,000 restitution to United.  He's paying that off on a court order. Maybe he should work on anger management next...

My brother-in-law was riding a the SW Chief #3 a few years ago, and a nearby coach passenger drank enough alcohol to make himself sick.  The drunk passenger ended up hurling on the floor nearby.  The on-board crew did NOT kick him off, even though they should have (somewhere in northern Arizona).  The on-board crew were not equipped to clean up the mess, so they used packets of dried coffee and some napkins to try to contain/mop up the mess. The resulting smell was bad enough that my brother-in-law (not a railfan) was turned off from train travel for a while after that.

There was a drunk on 66 the last time I rode it.  When we got to NYP there was a welcoming party waiting to greet him.  They all were dressed in their finest service uniform.   He must have felt pretty important, until he realized where he was when he finally sobered up.

John

Due to liability concerns, Amtrak only allows passengers to be put off at a staffed station. Of course that doesn't apply if they're taken into custody by law enforcement, in which case it could be anywhere. In reality, the severity of the situation and the temperment of the crew can become factors. Some years ago, a no-nonsense Starlight conductor put two belligerent drunks (who were threatening other passengers) off in the wilds of Vandenburg AFB. I would imagine USAF security picked them up fairly soon.  

By the way, when somebody tosses their cookies on the train, the best remedy is in fact dry coffee grounds--very absorbent and kills a lot of the smell. Of course, somebody still has to pick it up...

On the southbound Coast Starlight a few years ago, the conductor told us Pacific Parlor car passengers that he was going to have Klamath Falls' finest meet the train.  A young man had been smoking weed back in the coaches and generally being obnoxious.  The men in blue were there at 10pm to receive the miscreant.  The conductor asked the coach attendant to bring the kid's backpack down.  He denied it was his, so it went back on board to continue on to Los Angeles while got a free ride to the local lockup.

Stephanie Ann

I was on Amtrak 14 a few years ago, and we stopped in Oakridge, OR to eject two coach pax. Conductor radioed head end to stop at a crossing, and that was that... No police involved.

Posted from iPhone

The sherrifs usually pick up A few misbehaving passengers off 3&4 in Needles every week.

Posted from iPhone

About 13 years ago, I was on #49 and there were 4 passengers who had a few too many beers onboard so the conductor and the cafe car LSA cut them off but they continued to be belligerent and make trouble.  Shortly thereafter, the conductor calls the engineer who in turn calls the dispatcher, and eventually a call is placed to the police (not sure by who), and it's decided to stop the train at a road crossing in Lyons, NY west of Syracuse.  2 of these guys were put off the train there and greeted by no less than 4 police cars at the crossing.  We left there and eventually arrived in Buffalo (my stop) 5 minutes EARLY!!! The conductor told me "nobody messes with my train!!!" 

I was on an eastbound CZ when the crew discovered a lady of the evening practicing her trade during the day, onboard.  To restrain her, they discretely took her up to the crew car where she was very abusive to the crew -- berating them as suckers working for "chump change."  The conductor -- probably ex-D&RGW -- arranged for the train to stop at Rifle, CO (no, it is not a regular stop) where the local police met the train with red lights activated and walked her across the ballast -- in heels and tight skirt -- to spend the night in their jail.  WIth quiet assurance, the conductor remarked that Rifle was not served by bus or other public transportation, and of course was not a regular stop for CZ.  
The final comment was by an female diner server who had been the target of some of those earlier abusive remarks: "When she gets out, maybe she can go hump a tree!" :-)



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/27/16 05:03 by hazegray.

In the late 80's a crew member on 21 told me the story of a "long-haired type" who was creating
a problem approaching Temple, Texas.   The local ATSF Special Agent was on the platform
to take custody of the trouble maker.  The long-hair was not from Texas and unfamiliar with their
brand of policing.  Apparently he did not obey some command from the Special Agent and as the train
departed the crew saw the Agent repeatedly slamming the miscreants head into the station platform.

That was the Texas penalty for getting thrown off a train.

On the Atlanta-Chattanooga steam excursions that Southern used to run -- nominally a 14-hour day from departure to arrival back in Atlanta -- it was not unusual for a few passengers to get drunk during the layover in Chattanooga. If one of them became disruptive on the way back, the conductor and onboard special agents would arrange a meet with a sheriff at a road crossing to have the passenger arrested and removed. Saw it more than once.  

Englewood Wrote:
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>
> That was the Texas penalty for getting thrown off
> a train.

Don't mess with Texas.

P Wrote:
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> Englewood Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > That was the Texas penalty for getting thrown
> off
> > a train.
>
> Don't mess with Texas.

Nothing he did justified repeated violent abuse by the SA as described. And people wonder why the cops are distrusted these days.
 

toledopatch Wrote:
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> P Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Englewood Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > >
> > > That was the Texas penalty for getting thrown
> > off
> > > a train.
> >
> > Don't mess with Texas.
>
> Nothing he did justified repeated violent abuse by
> the SA as described. And people wonder why the
> cops are distrusted these days.
>  
Neither one of us were there and anytime you make a judgement based on an observers statement, you are no better than the person you accuse of wrongdoing.   

Down town Chiloquin OR is a favorite stop too, cops on hand to give them a lift to Klamath Falls OR.
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was on Amtrak 14 a few years ago, and we stopped
> in Oakridge, OR to eject two coach pax. Conductor
> radioed head end to stop at a crossing, and that
> was that... No police involved.
>
> Posted from iPhone

Just like one railroader acting badly or in an unsafe manner creates a problem for every railroader, it's the same issue for police officers, politicians, newspapers etc.

How are people supposed to trust the law / authority when those charged with enforcing it violate the trust?

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> toledopatch Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > P Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > Englewood Wrote:
> > >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> >
> > > -----
> > > >
> > > > That was the Texas penalty for getting
> thrown
> > > off
> > > > a train.
> > >
> > > Don't mess with Texas.
> >
> > Nothing he did justified repeated violent abuse
> by
> > the SA as described. And people wonder why the
> > cops are distrusted these days.
> >  
> Neither one of us were there and anytime you make
> a judgement based on an observers statement, you
> are no better than the person you accuse of
> wrongdoing.   

Anyone who is in a position to repeatedly bash another person's head into a hard surface is committing a crime by doing so, even if he or she is wearing a badge.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?18,3576144,3576544#msg-3576544 Date: 11/14/14 13:51 Re: Train crew, how far to go? Author: TAW

TAW

I was a fireman on No. 99 out of Santa Barbara one day in the 70s with Nuts & Bolts Dillon as the hoghead and Broadway Brown as the conductor.  We got a communicating signal (ooo) to stop at the next station while going through Hope Ranch. That would be Goleta. The depot was on my side but closed as usual and we stopped where the trap was open, at the office. I guy in shorts got off, we got a highball and took off for SLO.  When we were tieing up in SLO, I asked Brownie what went on at Goleta. He said I was going through the coaches picking up transportation and came upon a kid that didn't have any and no money. The kid then told me, "The Lord said I could ride this train for free." That's when I told him, "Well son, the Lord told me to set your ass out in Goleta, California.", and so I did. 

Simple times back then.

Nudge

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just like one railroader acting badly or in an unsafe manner creates a problem for every railroader, it's the same issue for police officers, politicians, newspapers etc.
>
> How are people supposed to trust the law / authority when those charged with enforcing it violate the trust?

Obey the doggone law(s) and it's not an issue!!!!!!!!!!