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That One Special Day


Subdeacon Joe

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Nice photo...

It tells me the tracks are shiny, which tells me that there is train traffic on that line. The tracks are straight, which tells me speeds for trains are probably high. People that take photos like this put themselves in danger to do so. I can’t tell you how many times railroads and transit agencies have had near misses and people have been hit taking photos like this or occupying the tracks.

What people don’t know is if they are nearly hit it causes a lot of work for people at the railroad. Yes, I said “nearly hit”.

This is called a “Near Miss”. The Engineer or Operator has to report it. He or She calls it in to Dispatch. Dispatch logs it and reports go out to management and Safety. The Engineer and Conductor have to fill out a report. This goes to management and safety. If there is video the video must be downloaded. This in itself can take hours depending upon the video system and when the video can be captured. Someone from Wayside working for the railroad has to go to the site of the Near Miss and do an inspection to see how the “trespasser” accesses the track and file a report. If the train had to go into “emergency” brake quite often the track has to be shutdown until a track inspection is completed to make sure the track is okay after hard braking - tracks move and buckle under hard braking loads. If repairs are needed that takes time, manpower and equipment. The FRA or the Transit governing agency must be notified. Reports must be filed, catalogued, reviewed and discussed. If the railroad keeps having trespasser incidents on the same line in the same places they must mitigate those incursions by putting up signage, fencing or any ligicsl means they can to keep people out of the area. Many man-hours are spent on every “Near Miss”. Many dollars are spent on every “Near Miss”. 

Even if there isn’t a Near Miss someone must inspect the area of trespass if it is reported.

If someone is hit by a train that is a VERY big deal and a whole new level of everything I mentioned comes into play, not to mention the mental harm it causes the people involved.

People don’t think about these things.

 

Nice photo...

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PGreat shot. Some great photographers will wait for days in the same spot for the right light to make the perfect photo. 

Michael Fatali is one of those guys. One of his photos is our most prized piece of art.

This pic does not do it justice.

 

A64C47EF-76B3-430C-B052-F54910D3A9B0.jpeg

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