.

The Feb. 2008 issue of National Geographic Magazine has a feature called "Mexico's Other Border" that contains a photo of migrates crammed on the tops of tanks and box cars:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2008-02/mexicos-southern-border/webb-photography.html

The article says "There is a celebrated recuperation facility in Tapachula, run on donations, that takes in migrant amputees who have fallen from the freight trains and lost arms or legs beneath the metal wheels."

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2008-02/mexicos-southern-border/gorney-text.html

Guess Shack doesn't run that train.

Bob

That's exactly why I'm not afraid to be firm. I make the people move, and if they grumble or call me a jerk, oh well... If they won't move, I stop the movement until they do. I have held up more than one photo runby until a photographer figured out the train wasn't going anywhere until they moved.

Here's another idea for all the train crews out there. Before you move a passenger train, look under the cars. There is a family of four (Yes, 4 people, two kids, two adults) that possibly owes their life to this practice. I was getting ready to move the train out of the station, literally had the mike in hand, finger on the transmit button. I looked down the train, and noticed two small objects under the open car. I immediately radio'd "DO NOT MOVE THE TRAIN!" (even though I hadn't told him to go anywhere yet) and headed over there.

As I grabbed the kids by their coats and dragged them out from under the car, their two parents (!) came out from under the car as well. They said they didn't want to walk around... It was the last car in a 3 car train. Walking around would have been easier. I was already somewhat angry with the kids, but figured maybe they didn't know better, they were young, possibly had wandered away from their parents. When I saw the parents were with them, I really got upset.

The four of them stood there, backed up against the car, while a raging madman (me) screamed at them. I was shaking like a leaf, and extremely upset about how close a call it was. My impromptu "operation lifesaver" presentation probably wasn't the best, but at least they were still alive to hear it...

That's certainly not the only "stupid tourist trick" I've seen. As crews, part of our job is to try and protect them, even when they do stupid stuff. If they're in the fouling zone, make them move. If they won't move, stop the train. An annoyed, but alive and healthy, railfan is by far the better option.

Bob,

Perhaps you could have been a little calmer about it, but the really important thing is that no one was hurt. Railfans may be a little more conscious of the dangers involved in railroading, but the general public certainly is not.

A serious accident on any tourist line would ruin the day for everyone. If anyone had been killed, all those other passengers probably would never go near a train again.

It could even have fatal legal consequences, and even it it didn't, it would be the worst possible PR.

Safety must be a top concern even when complete morons are involved.
Glen

> Perhaps you could have been a little calmer about it...

Well, possibly, but on the other hand I was staying as calm as I could. The intense emotion of realizing that I'd come close to injuring or killing somebody due to pure stupidity had me quite a bit on edge. The "fight or flight" reflex had kicked in from the adrenelin. I'm certain I was bright red, and yes, quite angry. When I saw my wife 1/2 hour later, she took one look at me and said "what happened?" based purely on the look on my face.

> but the really important thing is that no one was hurt.

Yes, exactly. That's why I suggested that everyone adopt the practice of one last quick check under the cars before moving. We routinely walk the consist as well, but we also do a quick look at the last moment. Up until that day it had only spared a couple of stray dogs from getting their tails docked or worse, but even then it's worth the trouble.

I can't count the number of times I've had to keep someone form "diving" under the consist to retrieve junior's pacifier, toy, baby bottle, or mom's cell phone, etc. Gotta keep a watch out all the time!

Bill