Always Expect a Train

[dennishoddy]

Back when I worked for Our Crazy Uncle, a guy in my unit was squashed by a train whilst he was walking down the tracks. It happened at night;the train operator probably never saw the guy, and in fact stated as much.

It makes one wonder how a train could sneak up on a pedestrian, but it certainly appears that is exactly what happened.

We had a dance hall/saloon North of Ponca back in the day.
Train tracks run right past it and in to town. Folks that were too drunk to drive or got left without a ride would walk down the tracks to get back to town. Several of them either passed out on the tracks or stopped to take a nap. In any case, they were ran over by a train and killed.
South of Ponca is the Ponca Tribe right on the tracks. Several of their members have been killed over the years with the same scenario above.

 

[Profreedomokie]

I know two different people that got hit by trains. Both were in pickups. One was in Newkirk and one in the refinery in PC. Both lived through it.

 

[Fyrtwuck]

If you ever go north of NE 36th on Midwest Blvd in Spencer there are no signs or barriers. They were replaced with other signs twice when I was working out there.

 

[Snattlerake]

I saw an old farmer in a pickup get hit by the train west of Cherokee. It was moving so fast it clipped the front bumper off his Ford pickup, swung the farmer 180 degrees and it looked as if the farmer never noticed. He just kept traveling this time in the opposite direction... minus a front bumper.

 

[n423]

Back when I worked for Our Crazy Uncle, a guy in my unit was squashed by a train whilst he was walking down the tracks. It happened at night;the train operator probably never saw the guy, and in fact stated as much.

It makes one wonder how a train could sneak up on a pedestrian, but it certainly appears that is exactly what happened.

When we went to the lake as a kid we used to p/up railroad spikes near Onapa, for my stepdad. He would pay us like a nickel each. Had some close calls.

 

[okietool]

Miami Texas has the busiest crossing I’ve seen. Long trsins of 100+ cars are common. And they are moving fast.

 

[HFS]

I will add that if you see one train, look for the other one (on dual tracks).
The rumble and the blowing horn from one train may be enough to disguise the other one until it's too late for you.

 

[SoonerP226]

The worst crossings I've seen were in northern Mississippi. On some of them the crossing was at an angle and the trees were so thick you couldn't see through them--and the gap in the trees for the tracks weren't much wider than the train. You almost had to get on the tracks before you could see if a train was coming, and the only markers were the round black X on a yellow background road signs.

To make it even better, on one of those roads, we had to drive over that crossing, go to the end of the road, turn around, and drive back out. That was not my favorite memory of that state.

 

[dennishoddy]

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[dennishoddy]

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