Passenger Trains > ACE vs Tresspasser @ Drawbridge

I guess Monday nights strike was not a fatal.

Man survives impact with train
By Ben Aguirre Jr.
The Argus
Article Created: 07/01/2008 10:43:24 AM PDT

A 43-year-old man suffered head injuries and a compound fracture of his right arm Monday night when he was struck by a commuter train passing through an area near Drawbridge, an abandoned town in the marshlands near Fremont's southern border.

The man, a transient who was walking through the area when he was struck about 6:10 p.m., was flown by helicopter to Stanford Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated for his wounds.

Before he was transported, he had to be carried more than a quarter-mile through the marshlands to an area near Alviso, the closest place the emergency helicopter could land, Fremont police Detective Bill Veteran said. Officers from Fremont and San Jose responded to the scene, as did deputies from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office and firefighters from Fremont and San Jose, he said.

Ultimately, Union Pacific police took jurisdiction because it happened on the tracks, Veteran said. Calls to that agency were not returned Tuesday.

According to Fremont police, officers were dispatched to the abandoned town of Drawbridge after Union Pacific Railroad dispatchers in Nebraska called to advise Fremont authorities of the incident, Veteran said.

Fremont police records indicate that an Altamont Commuter Express train hit the man, after which the engineer stopped the train and ran back to check on the victim, Veteran said.

Responding officers had trouble finding the victim in the rural area but

eventually located him about a half-mile south of Drawbridge, authorities said. Responding emergency personnel stabilized the man until he could be airlifted from the area about 7 p.m., Veteran said.

This one takes the cake for STOOPID. There is NOTHING out there for miles in any direction except the tracks, levees, and marsh.

djansson Wrote:
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> This one takes the cake for STOOPID. There is
> NOTHING out there for miles in any direction
> except the tracks, levees, and marsh.

Drawbridge is a ghost town. While passing through there i've seen people here and there walking along the mainline to see the old buildings. Its interesting enough that there are tours of the place and Huell Howser has done a show on it.

Who pays for the helicopter and ambulance? Does the trespasser get a bill?

OK, so there are a few falling down shacks there. Is that any reason to ignore this bag-ass noisy purple and white TRAIN with HORNS AND LIGHTS AND BELLS coming down a fixed guideway right at ya?????

Ye Gods!

I thought that no trains went through Drawbridge.

stash Wrote:
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> Who pays for the helicopter and ambulance? Does
> the trespasser get a bill?

The trespasser will not get a bill (Well, technically he might...but realistically he will not). Taxpayers pick up the tab.

If you want to see what government controlled health care looks like (as the Democrat party has on their platform), go to any county hospital in any major city. It's a zoo, and chances are you will be the only US citizen in the room---seriously.

djansson Wrote:
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> OK, so there are a few falling down shacks there.
> Is that any reason to ignore this bag-ass noisy
> purple and white TRAIN with HORNS AND LIGHTS AND
> BELLS coming down a fixed guideway right at
> ya?????
>
> Ye Gods!


Calm down Dave...

Lots of trains go right smack through the middle of drawbridge every day. It's between roughly MP 36.3 and 36.8 on the Coast Subdivision. Lots of Amtrak Capitols, all the ACE trains, both Starlights and myriad UP freights all pass by daily.

To see what Drawbridge looks like:
http://www.ghosttown.info/ca/drawbridge/

Jamie

There is no public access to Drawbridge. It part of the San Francisco Bay Wildlife refuge. The wildlife refuge used to give guided tours about once a month but that stopped when the Capitol Corridor trains increased service to San Jose. Too many trains a day through there now to safely give tours. The only solid ground out there is the RR right of way. The last public tour to Drawbridge was in 2003 when ACE ran a special train to Drawbridge. Passengers however were not allowed off the train.

stash Wrote:
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> Who pays for the helicopter and ambulance? Does
> the trespasser get a bill?

Nope you and I do the sap taxpayers once again pick up the bill for another bum

silagi Wrote:
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> The only solid ground out there is
> the RR right of way.

I frequently ride the ACE train, and usually we go through Drawbridge at track speed. Once & awhile we'll be slow through the area, which allows for close examination of the old buildings. Most of them have water on the floor, and the paths between them are really small waterways more suited for a canoe than walking.

alex14ramos Wrote:
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> djansson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This one takes the cake for STOOPID. There is
> > NOTHING out there for miles in any direction
> > except the tracks, levees, and marsh.
>
> Drawbridge is a ghost town. While passing through
> there i've seen people here and there walking
> along the mainline to see the old buildings. Its
> interesting enough that there are tours of the
> place and Huell Howser has done a show on it.

Yes, but the regular tours are scheduled and in contact with the DS. When Huell filmed there, he had Mike Furtney, UP PR, riding shotgun with the two way radio and constant contact with the dispatchers.
It ain't a place to be meandering solo oblivious to train traffic.
C.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA