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Forum nameLouis L'Amour Discussion Forum
Topic subjectRE: Quote from my second grade teac
Topic URLhttp://louislamour.com/dcforum/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=221&topic_id=727&mesg_id=729
729, RE: Quote from my second grade teac
Posted by Mike Shaffer, Thu Jun-04-20 04:19 PM
No. With safety concerns on the railroad quite often you don’t get a second chance. Example...signal guys were working near a large interchange and hump yard. One guy was sent over for a simple correction. The rest of the signal gang was nearby, but working on something that required several signalmen. Suddenly there was a derailment down in the yard. The sound of metal on metal and cars hitting and scratching reached the gang. The sounds were coming from the area where the lone signalman was working. The gang rushed to the overlook and looked down at twisted rails with engines and cars spewed about in a twisted mess. Standing in the middle of the carnage was the lone signalman with cars and track laying obscenely in a rousted puzzle around him. He looked up at the gang with upraised arms and said with wonder, “You should have seen it!” My brother was their boss. I have also seen a guy who was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was impaled on the couplers, stuck between cars. He was still alive. They notified his family and waited until they had some final moments with him. After they had left they uncoupled the cars. He was dead within seconds. On the railroad they beat you morning, noon, and night with safety.