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Re: Photographer hit by train in Sacramento yesterday (fatality)
Author: Ears On
Date: 12-10-2012 - 20:13
OldPoleBurner Wrote:
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> Even so - it is hard to believe that there is a
> single sole out there, that would not consider it
> foolhardy to stand in the middle of a highway
> lane. So why in the hell is it OK to stand in
> middle of a railway "lane"! I can't even begin to
> count how many times over the years I have come
> across people doing that. I yelled at every one
> of them - for all the damn good that ever did - GO
> FIGURE!
Well, trains on their tracks are much less frequent than cars in their lanes.
But someone's question (at least implied) (somewhere) about how people can be unaware of a train quietly sneaking up on them can perhaps be answered by putting some blame on our entertainment industry and our folklore wherein trains are ALWAYS noisy. Our usual encounter with trains is at or near crossings where their impending presence is announced a long way away. And when you're standing near a track where a train is moving or starting or stopping there's usually a dramatically large volume of noise. But on level ground or a downgrade, the engine can be loafing fairly quietly, taking advantage of the efficiency of steel wheels on steel rails. And trackside foliage can muffle sound.
So, people need to have it demonstrated,safely, and in person, how quiet a moving train can be.
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> Even so - it is hard to believe that there is a
> single sole out there, that would not consider it
> foolhardy to stand in the middle of a highway
> lane. So why in the hell is it OK to stand in
> middle of a railway "lane"! I can't even begin to
> count how many times over the years I have come
> across people doing that. I yelled at every one
> of them - for all the damn good that ever did - GO
> FIGURE!
Well, trains on their tracks are much less frequent than cars in their lanes.
But someone's question (at least implied) (somewhere) about how people can be unaware of a train quietly sneaking up on them can perhaps be answered by putting some blame on our entertainment industry and our folklore wherein trains are ALWAYS noisy. Our usual encounter with trains is at or near crossings where their impending presence is announced a long way away. And when you're standing near a track where a train is moving or starting or stopping there's usually a dramatically large volume of noise. But on level ground or a downgrade, the engine can be loafing fairly quietly, taking advantage of the efficiency of steel wheels on steel rails. And trackside foliage can muffle sound.
So, people need to have it demonstrated,safely, and in person, how quiet a moving train can be.
