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Trip to Chicago - a crash
SFEnnisSF:
Yes it's been an excitin' week out on the rails for sure. Things happen in three's, so hopefully this is the end of it for now.
But I do want to tell ya'all that it's unfortunate, but folks get hit by trains quite often. There is about one accident a week in the USA on the rails. Most of the time it is people not paying attention and just walking or driving right into the trains path. People have forgotten "STOP, LOOK, and LISTEN" these days. Other times, they are deliberate suicides.
In all my time of riding Amtrak, I have only been on a train that has hit someone only once. So the odds of it happening are quite low. And no, as a passenger, you don't feel anything. But the delay to your train is very unfortunate. Expect a two hour minimum delay if it does happen. But hey, there's the snack car and at least they sell cocktails and beer.
And I don't mean to sound insensitive. But I mean, trains have been around since the early 1800's. And these days people are so pre-occupied with their Ipod's or texting on their phone, and they're in such a hurry, that a lot of folks are just not paying attention. It's unfortunate. And the suicides. What a selfish thing to do as it is. And then delay all of these passengers because of your selfishness... Grrrr!
But Del, I think it's great you were riding the Texas Eagle. How exciting! Where did you board the train at?
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: sfericsf on June 24, 2009, 11:19:51 pm ---In all my time of riding Amtrak, I have only been on a train that has hit someone only once. So the odds of it happening are quite low.
--- End quote ---
True, but what are the odds of it happening on the very first U.S. train ride of my adult life? :P
--- Quote ---But hey, there's the snack car and at least they sell cocktails and beer.
--- End quote ---
We were 30 minutes from Chicago - and restocking. i.e. they were out of food/drinks and had closed the snack bar and dining car. After about an hour and half, they offered free bottled water and snack packs - which they ran out of after about 20 minutes. There were 250 of us on the train and we waited for 5 hours. We started to wonder when the toilets would start to overflow and if this would become the Amtrak version of the BlueJet incident.
I had expected to get to town by 2 pm and have a late lunch with my friend and so didn't take the lunch offered on the train. With the accident, it turned out that it was nearly 10 pm before I was able to get something to eat.
I had noticed their weird practices earlier and thought it bizarre that a train that offered a dining car and snack bar would not stock itself completely. They actually ran out of food. They'd offer reservations for dinner and by the late dinner, they were out of all but a few items. They'd make announcements for first come first serve breakfast and lunch, then call a cut-off time because they were out of food.
Is Amtrak subsidized by the government or what?
--- Quote ---And I don't mean to sound insensitive. But I mean, trains have been around since the early 1800's. And these days people are so pre-occupied with their Ipod's or texting on their phone, and they're in such a hurry, that a lot of folks are just not paying attention. It's unfortunate. And the suicides. What a selfish thing to do as it is. And then delay all of these passengers because of your selfishness... Grrrr!
--- End quote ---
I feel so badly for the family of the victims, but you're right, I forgot about the conductors/engineers/drivers whatever they call them. It can't be pleasant to know that someone was killed while you were driving, but there wasn't anything you could do about it.
--- Quote ---But Del, I think it's great you were riding the Texas Eagle. How exciting! Where did you board the train at?
--- End quote ---
In Texas, it was a 22.5 hour ride to Chicago, stopping in every 1 John Deere tractor town between Texas and St. Louis...
SFEnnisSF:
--- Quote from: delalluvia on June 24, 2009, 11:40:12 pm ---
Is Amtrak subsidized by the government or what?
--- End quote ---
BINGO!! You win. How could you tell, really??
Yes, the service on Amtrak is atrocious!! It's especially bad on the Texas Eagle unfortunately. And it runs out of food because they only get stocked with food in Chicago for the whole trip to San Antonio and back to Chicago.
I am a hard core railfan and I love riding trains, and I can't even handle riding Long Distance Amtrak trains anymore. Which is such a shame! :-\
--- Quote from: delalluvia on June 24, 2009, 11:40:12 pm ---
I feel so badly for the family of the victims, but you're right, I forgot about the conductors/engineers/drivers whatever they call them. It can't be pleasant to know that someone was killed while you were driving, but there wasn't anything you could do about it.
--- End quote ---
Yes, it can be very unpleasant for the Engineer and Conductor to have to deal with. I've heard it said that if you become an Engineer on the RR, it is expected that you will hit and kill at least one person in your career.
--- Quote from: delalluvia on June 24, 2009, 11:40:12 pm ---
In Texas, it was a 22.5 hour ride to Chicago, stopping in every 1 John Deere tractor town between Texas and St. Louis...
--- End quote ---
There are some changes coming to the Texas Eagle. It will soon be a daily through train from Los Angeles to Chicago (and vice versa) with full service. I'm hoping service will improve on the train when this happens. But I ain't holdin' my breath unfortunately. :-\
SFEnnisSF:
:laugh:
I especially love the ebonics wine tasting. :laugh:
Click to enlarge:
Kelda:
My dad was a tueb driver in the London underground for about 15 years I believe (we're not close so not sure fo exact timescales and he took early retirement about a year ago)
He had 2 jumpers in his time - but he knew of one who had had 9. :o
You automatically get signed off on full pay for 3 months.. more if required but you can't take any less. You also have to see a councillor for a specific length of time whether you need it or not.
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