Railroaders' Nostalgia > Not Quite the Tortoise and the Hare.....

The other night I was chasing a jack rabbit down the track at 10mph in the scablands of the Columbia Basin. This went on for hundreds of yards and the rabbit just kept on running along between the rails as that area was lit up by my headlights, and everything else was dark for miles. Well that rabbit damn near ran into the hind end of a dark porcupine that happening to be waddling it's way down the tracks between the rails. If the rabbit hadn't veered around the porcupine at the last second, it would have been a sticky situation. Still the Rabbit won the race and survived, that porcupine on the other hand.........

Ted Curphey
Ontario, OR

funnelfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The other night I was chasing a jack rabbit down
> the track at 10mph in the scablands of the
> Columbia Basin. This went on for hundreds of yards
> and the rabbit just kept on running along between
> the rails as that area was lit up by my
> headlights, and everything else was dark for
> miles. Well that rabbit damn near ran into the
> hind end of a dark porcupine that happening to be
> waddling it's way down the tracks between the
> rails. If the rabbit hadn't veered around the
> porcupine at the last second, it would have been a
> sticky situation. Still the Rabbit won the race
> and survived, that porcupine on the other
> hand.........

In Eastern Canada, there is an old joke that goes:
Why did the chicken cross the road?
Answer: To show the porcupine that it can be done ....

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

thehighwayman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> funnelfan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > The other night I was chasing a jack rabbit
> down
> > the track at 10mph in the scablands of the
> > Columbia Basin. This went on for hundreds of
> yards
> > and the rabbit just kept on running along
> between
> > the rails as that area was lit up by my
> > headlights, and everything else was dark for
> > miles. Well that rabbit damn near ran into the
> > hind end of a dark porcupine that happening to
> be
> > waddling it's way down the tracks between the
> > rails. If the rabbit hadn't veered around the
> > porcupine at the last second, it would have been
> a
> > sticky situation. Still the Rabbit won the race
> > and survived, that porcupine on the other
> > hand.........
>
> In Eastern Canada, there is an old joke that
> goes:
> Why did the chicken cross the road?
> Answer: To show the porcupine that it can be done
> ....


I dream of a day when chickens can cross the road without having their motives questioned!

My most memorable wildlife moment was on the Toledo line, back in the day when we ran higher speed limits. Just past Nashville eastbound (towards Albany), I saw a set of eyes running towards us in the dark. Just before it hit our plow, the now identified bear cub spun on its heels and took off ahead of us doing at least 30 mph. I couldn't keep up with it at a lowly 20 mph that we were allowed.

We also saw Cougar once in a great while. This time, about a 1/2 mile west of Blodgett I spotted a large cat just to the left of the tracks a bit ahead of us. As we approached, it got onto the tracks and ran ahead of us for a few hundred yards before disappearing into the woods. My conductor's only words were, 'I am not walking the train if it goes into emergency!'



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/07/17 19:56 by roustabout.

I discovered a trick when motorcycling in the desert, after hitting several rabbits frozen in my headlight.
The horn! They unfreeze, and flee.
And save the nasty cleanup.
...Lorenzo

Rabbbit meat on a porcupine quill skewer?  Get me some charcoal, it's dinner time!

patd3985 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> thehighwayman Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > funnelfan Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > The other night I was chasing a jack rabbit
> > down
> > > the track at 10mph in the scablands of the
> > > Columbia Basin. This went on for hundreds of
> > yards
> > > and the rabbit just kept on running along
> > between
> > > the rails as that area was lit up by my
> > > headlights, and everything else was dark for
> > > miles. Well that rabbit damn near ran into
> the
> > > hind end of a dark porcupine that happening
> to
> > be
> > > waddling it's way down the tracks between the
> > > rails. If the rabbit hadn't veered around the
> > > porcupine at the last second, it would have
> been
> > a
> > > sticky situation. Still the Rabbit won the
> race
> > > and survived, that porcupine on the other
> > > hand.........
> >
> > In Eastern Canada, there is an old joke that
> > goes:
> > Why did the chicken cross the road?
> > Answer: To show the porcupine that it can be
> done
> > ....
>
>
> I dream of a day when chickens can cross the road
> without having their motives questioned!

LOL!

patd3985 Wrote:
>
> I dream of a day when chickens can cross the road
> without having their motives questioned!


Forget the chicken. Why did the pig cross the road, roll around in the mud, and then come back across the road again?

Because he's a dirty double crosser!


Greg

Oh no!

When I first moved to Oregon, the same chicken question was asked.
The answer was “ Too prove to the Skunk, Possum and Nutria” it could
be done....,,,,,,,,,,,,,Swede................Albany,OR.....

What did the baby porcupine say when he backed into the cactus?

"Is that you, ma?"

mapboy

Nyuck Nyuck Nyuck

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