Re: Craziest Efficiency Testing
Author: Mikado
Date: 08-24-2013 - 19:19
Mark Wrote:
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> Anybody have a crazy effiency testing story? I'll
> start with one that's been circulating in the
> midwest for years.
>
> A bumbling MOP and MTO decided to perform their
> own version of a fusee test. They hid in a culvert
> to launch a fusee at the very last minute - in the
> hopes of catching a crew not paying attention. The
> next train was not the slow moving freight they
> expected, but Amtrak moving at 79 MPH. So they
> were late climbing out of the culvert. The Amtrak
> engineer didn't realize it was a fusee - all he
> saw was a ball of fire - which landed between the
> main and the siding seconds before Amtrak got
> there. Given their behavior and the location, a
> wooden culvert, the idea of an efficiency test
> never crossed the engineer's mind. He figured
> arson or terrorism and toned up the dispatcher
> with a 911 call. The dispatcher got a clothing
> description and turned it over to RMCC.
>
> These idiots never heard the radio conversation
> because they left their radios in the company
> vehicle. A few minutes later they learned Amtrak
> was stopped a couple miles ahead. The MOP/MTO
> believed it was for the fusee test. In reality, it
> was because the dispatcher told them to stop until
> the police and special agents assessed the
> situation. Again, the MOP and MTO had heard none
> of this, but drove to Amtrak's location anyway.
>
> Police were beginning to swarm the area and
> stopped to question the Amtrak engineer. About
> this time the MOP and MTO come walking his
> direction, to which the engineer emphatically
> yelled to the cops, "that's them ... those are the
> guys right there". The cops turned around with
> guns drawn and ordered the MOP and MTO to the
> ground. I guess they were detained for about an
> hour until everybody agreed it was a mix up.
That is a fantastic story!
Matt
Fresno,CA