El Choo Choo Loco: Man attempts to ram USNS Mercy with train

[swampratt]

you can get a pilots license and nuff said on that.

The train looks to have went across a small ditch.. notice the ditch under the Conex box
I bet the ditch was straddled and drive wheels are hanging in it..No traction.

 

[TerryMiller]

I think I saw in a news article that the "engineer" is one that only operates a "switcher" engine for the company that runs them at the docks and such. It might be that since the company isn't really a railroad company and going longer distances, the engineer didn't have to have the same certification as an engineer of a regular train.

 

[Pulp]

A friend was a brakeman/conductor for a small RR. He had a yard license in case of emergency, but that license did not apply to mainline operation.
My stepson drives mainline freight for Burlington Northern in N. Texas/S. Oklahoma.
Not sure about licenses for passenger train drivers, I’d reckon they need a different certification than freight drivers.

 

[chuter]

Now we're going to have to start tracking locomotive violence, have red flags for that, etc.

 

[Catt57]

Now we're going to have to start tracking locomotive violence, have red flags for that, etc.

That's easy, just follow the tracks....

 

[NightShade]

All I can say is it's the New York area, I am surprised there hasn't been a WHOLE LOT more of this already. Probably at least a few thousand sitting in their hovel with their tinfoil hats expanded to body suits right now.

 

[dennishoddy]

Admittedly, I haven't read the story...but how do you intentionally derail a train and *think* you can run it into something? Unless the ship was at the end of the line, there seems to be some confusion of the train engineer's thinking about how to do this.

End of the line rail lines always have a derail or a block to stop the locomotive that I've seen to prevent runaways? I'm sure I've not seen it all.

 

[dennishoddy]

It was the engine only and (amazingly) he managed to run it across a parking lot and almost to the water (the news showed pics).

Not sure what his plan was after it hit the water. Maybe his childhood involved a lot of skipping rocks across a pond...

I've seen some drunk rednecks on ATVs think they can cross water on their ATV at high speed like a skipping rock. Makes for some really good videos and they are all over the internet.

 

[dennishoddy]

Izzat your twenty on the ground behind you?

I've had a couple of people try that on us.

 

[dennishoddy]

Naw. We don’t allow his kind here. And by his kind, of course I mean people who believe in alternative transport besides pickup truck

What other kind of transport is there?