Western Railroad Discussion > UP 844 VS Pedestrian

https://kdvr.com/2018/07/21/pedestrian-struck-by-train-near-henderson/

Posted from Android

Tragic incident-condolences to all involved!  Woman passed away...

Terrible news on so many levels... === === = === JLH

Play stupid games, Win stupid prizes. There's no excuse for being hit by something on a self-guided path. I'm so glad the media is bending over backwards and is working so "hard" to bring this tragedy to the ultimate conclusion.

Posted from Android

Not to sound insensitive, but it will be interesting to see what the outcome of this investigation will be.

Probably somewhere along the lines of having to institute damn near impossible policies trackside from now on. Someone within will be calling to shut down the steam program now I'd bet. They've had so many near misses because steam draws out the most selfish, illiterate and uneducated of the foamers trying to get that perfect backlit handheld shaky shot. I'm sure they'll be plenty of changes come down the pike. It's a shame but it was bound to happen the way people are today.

Posted from Android

NS7214 Wrote:
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> Probably somewhere along the lines of having to
> institute damn near impossible policies trackside
> from now on. Someone within will be calling to
> shut down the steam program now I'd bet. They've
> had so many near misses because steam draws out
> the most selfish, illiterate and uneducated of the
> foamers trying to get that perfect backlit
> handheld shaky shot. I'm sure they'll be plenty of
> changes come down the pike. It's a shame but it
> was bound to happen the way people are today.
>
> Posted from Android

This is why NS isn't hosting steam anymore, why CSX nearly never has, why CP refused to run 765 on the D&H in summer 2015, and why Amtrak is killing charter operations... It's because steam excursions bring out every idiot in a 500-mile radius, and they all disregard unwritten rules (stay out of other peoples' shots! Not that hard!) as well as the written ones, such as trespassing... Common sense gets thrown out the window just for that next shot or closer view... Crowds of uninformed people doing stupid things around dangerous places is what causes insurance costs for these events to soar, and this is why steam trips are so rare in this country... In the end, this behavior can only have one ultimate result, and I'm sorry to say here it is...

I'm not trying to downplay the tragedy, mind you... This individual likely just wanted to see the steam train, and met an untimely unfortunate end... I feel bad for the person, their family or friends that may have been with them, other folks nearby who witnessed the incident, and especially the crew that could only helplessly observe it... I also hope the lawyers don't swoop in and kill off the UP steam program, or make future excursions less frequent or harder to see the train from trackside...

People, please be sensible trackside... Don't trespass, don't stand stupid close, keep off the right-of-way, stay out of other people's shots, stop talking if you see what is clearly a video camera, don't do 115 miles per hour to outrun the train to the next spot, don't create gridlock on a two-lane road for a 45-minute pace shot, and I could go on for quite a while... Bottom line: if we don't behave with courtesy for others and a sense of safety for ourselves, tragedies like this will continue to happen, and mainline steam will vanish forever...

This is an undoubtedly tragic event, and condolences to those involved. Unfortunately, this side of the pond similar behavior occurs whenever the Flying Scotsman is on the move. People seem to assume that it is a license to trespass.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/18 00:05 by SD70M.

I wonder when then last time that Iron Horse greased someone. Tragic story btw, but it's tragically not the last we'll hear on the rails.

Posted from Android

"Of all the locomotives of all the trains in all the world, and she walks into mine."  

SD70M Wrote:
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> Unfortunately, this side of the pond similar behavior occurs whenever the Flying Scotsman is on the move. People seem to assume that it is a license to trespass.

Yes, indeed.  Here was a close call.

https://youtu.be/16kCRTFJr04
 

It will be interesting to see if this affects the UP 4014 going to Utah next year.

If and when...........it does there will be plenty of security even then might not be enough to satisfiy the big brass. What a DA why in the hell pepole think they are entitled I have no idea but in the last twenty years have run into plenty.

NS7214 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Probably somewhere along the lines of having to
> institute damn near impossible policies trackside
> from now on. Someone within will be calling to
> shut down the steam program now I'd bet. They've
> had so many near misses because steam draws out
> the most selfish, illiterate and uneducated of the
> foamers trying to get that perfect backlit
> handheld shaky shot. I'm sure they'll be plenty of
> changes come down the pike. It's a shame but it
> was bound to happen the way people are today.

The incident on UP when 4014 was being towed to Cheyenne, where someone had to literally pick up a young person and drag them away from the tracks before being hit from behind by another train, certainly comes to mind.

Come on people. Unless this woman was a railfan chasing the train, it's just another person hit by a train and we all know that happens almost every day. Granted most people hit by trains are not led by steam locomotives. It would appear that the only problem this presented to the UP was the lack of a rested steam crew for today's train. As for 4014, I wouldn't see why this incident would impact it going to Ogden unless it was a railfan that was trespassing rather than possibly someone tired of living. Just my thoughts on the matter!!!
I'm sure the crew appreciates the day off but not because of the circumstances. Keep the crew in our thoughts!!!

Can anyone provide a description of the incident?
I want to understand.

railstiesballast Wrote:
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> Can anyone provide a description of the incident?

Description?  How about "She was standing too close the track."?  According to witness statements, she was videoing with a smart phone, so,,,,,,,,maybe a "selfee"?

> I want to understand.

To up-date, there is a drone video "out there", that shows the woman STANDING ON THE END OF THE TIES!  There is plenty of sun light, and she is on the Fireman's side, facing the train coming at her. The video is terrible to watch (I only viewed it once, which was enough). I do not know how to link to it, and wouldn't anyway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/18 13:15 by HotWater.

So 1 person was stupid--what else is new?  And, she was using a cell phone too close to the tracks.  What else is new?  Stupidity loses.  Life goes on.  No reason at all to cancel the steam train journeys.

Don't believe me?  Consider:

--beach people at St. Martin's Aiport in the tropics who stand directly behind jets (on the beach) while a jet takes off a full throttle.  People get sand blasted, some get blown into the water.  OMG!  WHERE ARE THE LAWYERS??  No, no--it's just people being stupid.  And guess what?  The flights continue to fly, every day.

--people running with the bulls.  People get gored, some die.  OMG!  WHERE ARE THE LAWYERS?  No, no--it's just people being stupid.  The event continues on each year.

--people sitting in seats right next to a DAYTONA 500 race track, where cars are going by at 150+ mph.  Sometimes, crashes occur, and cars or car parts going flying into the stands, and spectators get injured, or die.  OMG!  WHERE ARE THE LAWYERS?  No, no--it's just people being.....fans.....and the event continues each year.

In my opinion, the RR's are way, way too freakish and paranoid.  And their lawyers should use the above examples when arguing before a jury about risks people willingly take, despite how stupid those risks may be.  An individual's personal choice of risk has NOTHING to do with RR responsibility, much less a RR running a steam locomotive occasionally for the benefit of the community, or even the RR.  Extending that logic, all trains should be banned NOW because people may step in front of them.  So dumb.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/18 12:01 by coach.

Edit: the video has been taken down.

I just watched the video posted to Vimeo (I'm not going to provide the link, go find it if you wanna see someone get hit), the person basically had their left foot on the ties and was shooting on their phone, not a selfie, just too damn close. Hopefully they will be made an example of what not to do, and that'll save people down the road.
Aside from the crew and family (they're obvious), my thoughts go to anyone who had to witness this, it could mess someone up emotionally for awhile.
~wko - I'm not specifying gender, as that hasn't officially been released, and you can't tell in the video.

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/18 18:40 by wko.

Reportedly the video has already been taken down. Not surprising.