You all got me to thinking, and perhaps I misspoke. In the 17 years I spent in engine service, I prevented a DOZEN fatalities. That's a fine record, and I'm proud of it, and many of my fellow enginemen have also prevented fatalities by staying alert enough to do the right thing quickly enough to make a difference. However, we were just doing what the railroad was paying us to do --- DON'T RUN OVER ANYBODY.

Very few of us put ourselves in harm's way to prevent injury to others, I know I sure didn't. We aren't heroes or heroines. WOULD we risk our lives for somebody else ?? I suspect most of us would if fate dealt us that card, but being willing to do so isn't the same as having actually done so....

So, I retract the statement that I quoted above. There are many more railroaders who have done the right thing, than there are cases where they could be considered heroes or heroines in the sense that Jesus Garcia, Kate Shelley, or Casey Jones are.... however, I also believe that there are many more unknown railroad heroes and heroines, than there are recognized ones.