This may not end well...

T

Todd Merrifield

From a family friends Facebook page:

limo.jpg


They were taking prom night pictures and spotted this. Her description of events:

It was totally scary and hilarious at the same time. Nobody was inside the limo obviously. The driver was crossing and it got stuck. Then the gates went down and he freaked - who wouldn't! The police and train company came - several guys tried to push the limo forward or backward but they couldn't get the thing to budge! Finally they called a wrecker with a flatbed backed up to the front and yanked the thing forward. Who knows what damage was done but very very thankful nobody got hurt because they were able to get word to the engineer as there was a train coming down the tracks. It wasn't even 10 minutes after it was set free that a train came!
 
Acworth, GA

Please note this picture is not a good representation of Southerners. While I know exactly where this is, and it's about 10 minutes from my house, we are not all that dumb. :D

And oh Danny, please tell me this wasn't you!!!
:pat:
 
not a southern thing

Most of us understand this is not exclusive to southerners. We had a girl doing her makeup while going the wrong way on a one way street the other day. She did finally catch on.
Mike
 
Danny do that?

Adam Borkat said:
Please note this picture is not a good representation of Southerners. While I know exactly where this is, and it's about 10 minutes from my house, we are not all that dumb. :D

And oh Danny, please tell me this wasn't you!!!
:pat:
Click to expand...
I cant see Danny ever doing something like that. Unless,:burp:

Josh
 
Josh Gentry said:
I cant see Danny ever doing something like that. Unless,:burp:

Josh
Click to expand...

Weren't me! I can't believe anyone driving one of these on a regular basis could get in this perdicament. If the car was drug off the tracks it was probably severly damaged. All anyone would have had to do would be take a roll back and stick under front wheels and lift up and set back a few feet and "tah dah". :thumb:
 
Dunno, a wrecker and a long roll back. Or a wrecker and a lowboy may get it off with out too much additional damage. If you've got the time, maybe air bags, cribbing and planks. Maybe I'm over thinking this.
 
As a long-time train-watcher, I have seen a lot of stupid/careless/thoughtless stuff at r.r. grade crossings. Without preaching, I will say simply that all of us need to exercise alertness and good judgement when around the tracks. The old railroaders' motto of "expect movement on any track in either direction at any time" is just as valid 2day as ever. Most crossing signals have on them an 800-number and 2 i.d. numbers for that specific x-ing. If something is amiss with the equipment or in any way, call that number and give the r.r. person the i.d. #'s. I have done this many times. The CSX number is 1-800-232-0144, and the N.S. # is 1-800-453-2530. Be safe and careful out there.
 
Rr crossings

I have had an expierence with a rail crossing.I drive a car carrier for a living,and live in fear of rail crossings.a number of years ago i got hung up on a crossing,but was able to back up,and make it across. no damage to the carrier or the cars,left scrapes and a lot of rust on the crossing,scary stuff!!!!!:stop:
 
learned something

Thank you Jim,
A lot of us learned something here today. I never knew the numbers to call were on the rr crossing. The several times I saw a problem I called the local police. It is good to know we can call the RR directly. Thank you for posting this info.
Mike

:lightbulb:
 
Jim- thanks for those phone numbers. We have CSX here but all the tracks in Sarasota County end in the north end. The rest (i.e. what the circus used to use) have been converted (rails to trails). We have a real stupid rise and drop in a Target parking lot and a car carrier got caught there once. I guess the limo driver thought all roads were designed for low stretch frames. I don't laugh out loud much but that photo sure did it!!!
Thanks
Kev
 
just wait, UP is talking heavy talk of running the trains with out a crew. operator in St Louis will do them by remote control like a big train set.
 
John, the r.r.'s are like every other business today - trying to cut out every poss. expense to fatten the bottom line. Remote-control locos are already in use in many freight yards, and there is a lot of discussion about how safe that practice is or isn't. The carriers would like to toss the 2nd person - the conductor - from the cab on road hauls, leaving only the engineer to man a train that may stretch 2 miles or more and weigh anywhere from 5,000 tons to upwards of 20,000 tons. Very few motorists realize just how heavy trains are and how long it takes to stop one. BTW, for those of you living in U.P., BNSF, CP, CN, KCS and other areas r.r.-wise, the ph and i.d. numbers for those roads are also on the crossing signals. If you encounter gates that are stuck down with no trains around, please call so someone will come to the crossing and correct the problem. This is known as a "false activation," and the dispatcher will radio the train crews with the info until the prob gets fixed. Thank you. Remember, I'm pullin for ya; we're all in this together.
 
It's prom season. The chauffeur probably isn't a "regular" and probably wouldn't have even thought about the potential for a problem. When I drove for a limo service, that was never brought up in our brief "training". We have few crossings with the rise like that - but then, we also did take runs out into more rural areas where that situation could present itself.

As mentioned, the major railroads do have their emergency number on a sign at the crossing for just such an occurrance. Smaller railroads may or may not. Also, the 911 dispatchers should have the railroads' emergency contact info, so if nothing else, call 911.

Did you see the Detroit fire truck that parked on the railroad tracks at the scene of a car crash a couple weeks ago? That did NOT end well. Video here.
 
When it's motor vehicle vs. train, even a tie is a loss for the former. A typical loco today weighs about 220 tons, and most trains have 2 or more locos pulling, with thousands of tons strung out behind. Ain't no anything on rubber tires that is gonna win a fight with a 6-axle, 4,400 h.p. GE or EMD horse. Be careful out there........................
 
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