Western Railroad Discussion > UP 7400 clobbered HS Band truck

Few less instruments to be played in Texas.

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/vandegrift-band-trailer-hit-by-train-parent-reacts-to-community-response

UP could score some big public relations points by helping to replace the band instruments.

says most of the pieces were ok

Wow! Impressive that they had a trailer that size for their equipment. Hopefully won’t cost too much to replace.
Back when I was in the Lake Park Marching Lancers, we used an extra school bus for our equipment. Worked well enough for us to win the state marching band championship in 1979.

Posted from iPhone

UP and other Class 1s are sooooooooo far beyond public relations or corp image at this point, which is sad.  Completely agree a little would go a long way in that regard with this!

kevink Wrote:
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> Wow! Impressive that they had a trailer that size
> for their equipment. Hopefully won’t cost too
> much to replace.
> Back when I was in the Lake Park Marching Lancers,
> we used an extra school bus for our equipment.
> Worked well enough for us to win the state
> marching band championship in 1979.

Here in Southern California, many high school marching bands now have trailers that have been donated/paid-for by booster clubs and/or sponsers, and the trailer is moved by a individual/company donating the time and use of a truck and driver.

Glad no one was hurt.

A number of bands around us here in Utah have a big semi trailer now. Guess it’s now the thing if you have a big HS band.

Nathan

Posted from iPhone

Way back in the Nineties my daughter's Championship Marching Band used a 15 passenger van and a closed utility trailer for the equipment. I remember many nights waiting at the High School for the buses to return usually after Midnight. When they got to the state championships we packed up her little bros, one still in diapers to go cheer them on. Nothing like a cold night and the one in diapers, inside of my heavy coat, would load up his diaper, Phew! Awful! Then one night in the car all the way home, like 2 hours, he was screaming all the way. It turned out he was cutting a tooth. What parents do for their children! And once mom and little bros were home I still had to go back over to the high school to wait for big sister!
I'm not a lawyer but I'm thinking in today's litigious world, if UP offered to buy new Instruments for the band they would be admitting some guilt in causing the accident and open theirselves to  lawsuits. As for the person that managed to get the truck stuck on the crossing... Maybe they should open their wallet?
Gonut
 

Gonut1 Wrote:

> I'm not a lawyer but I'm thinking in today's
> litigious world, if UP offered to buy new
> Instruments for the band they would be admitting
> some guilt in causing the accident and open
> theirselves to  lawsuits. As for the person that
> managed to get the truck stuck on the crossing...
> Maybe they should open their wallet?
> Gonut
>  

I was thinking the same thing about UP "admitting" responsibility, if not guilt.

I assume the driver and band had insurance, which would be normal for any road vehicle.

atsf121 Wrote:
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> A number of bands around us here in Utah have a
> big semi trailer now. Guess it’s now the thing
> if you have a big HS band.

Fall is field show season and the programs put out by these schools are over-the-top. My daughter's high school was one of the top Southern California bands and her school spent $50k+ a year on hiring professionals to write their field show.  The various championships events are an amazing spectacle to watch.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

As many trailers get stuck on crossings and hit  I doubt UP will help the schools.  It is the truck drivers fault.

webmaster Wrote:
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>
> Fall is field show season and the programs put out
> by these schools are over-the-top. My daughter's
> high school was one of the top Southern California
> bands and her school spent $50k+ a year on hiring
> professionals to write their field show. 

Wow. And to think that in 1967, our Junior-Senior year band sold cookies and Christmas cards to raise money to replace the 20 year old uniforms. (That would be the school just west of Stone Ave station on the Q in La Grange, not exactly an impoverished district.)

TAW

kevink Wrote:
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> Wow! Impressive that they had a trailer that size for their equipment.
> Back when I was in the Lake Park Marching Lancers, we used an extra school bus for our equipment.

Most of the schools in my area have long low trailers. Easier to load. We had a small trailer when I was in band, but we were a marching BAND - no flag corp or props. The trailer was needed for percussion and larger instruments. 

Same with us. Band members and parents were always selling the marked-up decorations, cookie dough etc. from the company I can't recall. to fund uniforms and big instruments. Sis and BIL used to work the concession stand at the Indy Colts NFL stadium to fund their sons' Beech Grove High School Tuba Force.

Rebecca Morgan
Jacobsburg, OH

kevink Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Wow! Impressive that they had a trailer that size
> for their equipment. Hopefully won’t cost too
> much to replace.

Our school used a big trailer to transport all of our equipment. Nowadays bands use stuff like speakers for electronic instruments not to mention the size of percussion and keyboard instruments. I dont think there isnt a good sized marching band that doesnt use an external trailer to move their equipment. 

justalurker66 Wrote:
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> kevink Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Wow! Impressive that they had a trailer that
> size for their equipment.
> > Back when I was in the Lake Park Marching
> Lancers, we used an extra school bus for our
> equipment.
>
> Most of the schools in my area have long low
> trailers. Easier to load. We had a small trailer
> when I was in band, but we were a marching BAND -
> no flag corp or props. The trailer was needed for
> percussion and larger instruments. 

In Albuquerque, no problem with RR crossings, the small trailers have been stolen!

As an OLI Presenter, I always point the blue ENS located at every grade crossing. Had someone called the 800 number maybe, just maybe this would not have happened. As retired engineer, absolutely the last thing you want to see.