Passenger Trains > Amtrak hits a backhoe in Iowa

Backhoe Hit by Train West of Welsh, Driver Injured
by The Associated Press

WELSH, La. — May 3, 2016, 8:59 AM ET

State police say a Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury employee received minor injuries
when an Amtrak train struck the backhoe he was driving, just west of Welsh.

Sgt. James Anderson tells the American Press the unidentified
employee was preparing to cross the railroad tracks about 1:20 p.m. Monday when the
front end of the backhoe was struck by a westbound train.

Anderson says no one on the train was injured.

He says charges are pending.

The railroad crossing does not have crossing gates, but is marked by railroad
crossing sign and stop signs.

In February, troopers say Donna Daigle of Iowa (EYE'-oh-way) was killed and
another woman injured after their vehicle was struck by a westbound freight train
at the same crossing.

LINK:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/backhoe-hit-train-west-welsh-driver-injured-38839033

NOTE: I don't know how "EYE'-oh-way" got into that story but could it be some
"sophisticate" with a warped urban sense of self-importance was making fun
of our fellow countrymen in the corn country?

GenePoon Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Backhoe Hit by Train West of Welsh, Driver
> Injured
> by The Associated Press
>
> WELSH, La. — May 3, 2016, 8:59 AM ET
>
> State police say a Jefferson Davis Parish Police
> Jury employee received minor injuries
> when an Amtrak train struck the backhoe he was
> driving, just west of Welsh.
>

<SNIP>

>
> NOTE: I don't know how "EYE'-oh-way" got into that
> story but could it be some
> "sophisticate" with a warped urban sense of
> self-importance was making fun
> of our fellow countrymen in the corn country?

Looks like bayou country, not corn country, to me. Note the inclusion of Louisiana in the dateline.

The accident appears to have happened in Iowa, a town in Jefferson Davis parish of Louisiana.  It's near Lake Charles.

(I can't imagine a town in the state of Iowa being named for the former leader of the Confederate states)

"Eye-oh-way" is a town, just east of Lake Charles, La. I've never been there, but that must be how they pronounce it locally.

Paul Wilson
Arlington, VA

Dcmcrider Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Eye-oh-way" is a town, just east of Lake Charles,
> La. I've never been there, but that must be how
> they pronounce it locally.


Ah, so that explains it.  So it DIDN'T have anything to do with "All I Owe I Owe I-O-Way" by
those urban sophisticates Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

And that's probably where the interchange between UP and BNSF on the Sunset Route, Iowa Jct.,
gets its name.

Thanks, Dcmcrider.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/16 14:51 by GenePoon.

LiveWire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> GenePoon Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Backhoe Hit by Train West of Welsh, Driver
> > Injured
> > by The Associated Press
> >
> > WELSH, La. — May 3, 2016, 8:59 AM ET
> >
> > State police say a Jefferson Davis Parish
> Police
> > Jury employee received minor injuries
> > when an Amtrak train struck the backhoe he was
> > driving, just west of Welsh.
> >
>
>
>
> >
> > NOTE: I don't know how "EYE'-oh-way" got into
> that
> > story but could it be some
> > "sophisticate" with a warped urban sense of
> > self-importance was making fun
> > of our fellow countrymen in the corn country?
>
> Looks like bayou country, not corn country, to me.
> Note the inclusion of Louisiana in the dateline.


Whatever...
It's about Amtrak, and it has a negative aspect to it-  works for me!
SR

Hints...

What State has 'parishes' , not counties?
Does Iowa honor Jefferson Davis, as a favorite son?
Where in Iowa is a place called Welsh?
Is Iowa known for its Bayous?

Somebody needs a little brushing-up on English, geography, & political boundaries...
Inquiring minds want to know...

W.
 

Alaska doesn't have counties. It has 'Boroughs'
...Lorenzo

Charges are pending? Give me a break, I bet the engineer on No. 5 blew the horn heading towards that crossing and it seemed the backhoe driver didn't pay attention or the engine was too loud or something!

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charges are pending? Give me a break, I bet the
> engineer on No. 5 blew the horn heading towards
> that crossing and it seemed the backhoe driver
> didn't pay attention or the engine was too loud or
> something!

I guess if the engineer on No. 5 blew his horn, the backhoe operator for sure would never hear it.

The crossing in question is between Welsh and Laccassine on a road through the middle of the Welsh Oil field.  I have crossed the RR there many, many  times when I was drilling and operating wells there between 1984 and 2003.  The railroad is up on a high fill with a very steep approach on both sides.  Both sides of the crossing are screened by trees so that the approach of a train can not be seen at all before starting up the grade to the crossing. We could not move oil field equipment from one side of the field to the other using this crossing, but instead would have to go into either Welsh or Iowa to cross the tracks with anything on a semitrailer  

In fact, the vision is so obscured that you actually cannot see a train until you are within a few feet of the tracks, and quite possibly not even within stopping distance should you see a train approaching.  All the years that I worked there, that crossing terrified me.  

Yes is marked by cross bucks and actual stop signs, but unless you stop, get out of your vehicle and walk up and inspect the tracks, you are never quite sure that it is clear.  That is precisely what the workers in the field were instructed to do, if it was necessary to cross the tracks.  We finally solved the problem by having different crews working on each side, leaving them with very few reasons to cross over the tracks.  Only the fact that it is strictly a very local crossing has prevented more accidents and fatalities.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/16 12:34 by elueck.

Iowa Jct, is the former location where the MP line to Lake Charles crossed over the SP sunset route.  UP has abandoned the former MP into Lake Charles south and west of this point and uses the former SP into Lake Charles.   The Junction is east of the town of Iowa, between it and Laccassine, LA.  BNSF has built a new yard at Laccassine which is taking over some of the functions of Lafayette, I am told.  The crossing in question, that I described above, is east of Laccassine, between it and Welsh, and is the only non signal protected crossing in the area that I know of.

Thanks for that background.

It sounds like the crossing is a confluence of risk factors (on a high fill, vegetation, no lights/gates, etc) all in one place.

ProAmtrak Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Charges are pending? Give me a break, I bet the
> engineer on No. 5 blew the horn heading towards
> that crossing and it seemed the backhoe driver
> didn't pay attention or the engine was too loud or
> something!

So how much money did you loose on your bet?