Well everyone, working with the railroad can bring in quite a few stories. Some good, some bad. Some exciting, some scary. And then there's the ones you just can't make up. So I figured I'd share them with you as they happen. Won't be sharing them all, but I'll certainly share the ones I feel are interesting!

[u][b]On the Ground[/b][/u]
Well isn't this great as a student conductor? We had a work order to pick up some grain cars from an industry in route, and I was calling the engineer back to make the joint. I had lined, locked, and checked all the switches as required. Derails had been taken off, and I was about three cars from the engines. I told the engineer I'd be getting on in about three, and the joint was in about twelve. Well pretty soon I had to give him the order to stop, and so did my instructor (who was probably about four cars further than me). It turns out the track was wide gauge, and we came off on the switch. Luckily nobody was injured, but the switch had to be taken out of service. Very scary for a student, especially since I was in charge of the movement!

[b][u]A Hunting We Will Go[/u][/b]
So where is the best place to hunt duck? I'll give you a hint - it's not the tracks! Speeding eastward at 49mph, we noticed something ahead on the tracks. It looked like this big orange blob from a distance. As we got closer, we were able to see that it was in fact two people and their dog. My engineer blew the horn, and the dog instantly ran off the tracks. The hunters? Well they just looked at us and casually walked away. And by walking away I mean they just stood about twenty feet away from the tracks as we went by -.- I opened my window and gave them that "what's the matter with you" look. They just smiled like idiots and waved, to which I just shook my head. There's a moral to this story, and it's sad I still need to mention it - Do not play, hunt, walk, run, sit, photograph, or ANYTHING, on the tracks. It is dangerous and can result in death. And if it doesn't, it can end up with very heavy fines. Don't do it. Be safe. Think twice. Stay off the tracks.


Well those are two for me to start off with. Any questions you have about railroading feel free to ask me!

Regards,
Scott