Last week, outside of Akron, Ohio the same brats that put junk on the rails decided to wedge ties in the frog of a mainline switch. 16,000 ton coal train hit it & derailed 2 engines and 10 cars. Crew ok, but mentally shaken. Here's a couple of pics from when I went by it the other day....
kids derailed train
- Thread starter csxengineer
- Start date
Make their mommies pay for it! ...just imagine the look on their faces when it actually DID work! 
That might cause a little dent in their sons' allowance!
That might cause a little dent in their sons' allowance! Chessie6459
Gauge Oldtimer
Some people kids. They will get caught one of these days and will have to pay for what they did. Great Photo's by the way.
csxengineer said:
Those kids are damn lucky - imagine how they'd feel if their little prank turned into loss of life. Or do they even get it? Sometimes I wonder....
Val
Where in Akron did this happen. I lived in Akron years ago but cannot picture where this is located.
They'll get off with a slap on the wrists and a lollypop. Or at least they would in Canada. And thats what p***es me off about our legal system. But, to avoid the politics and give something useful to this post...
Back in the mid-90's, a then-teenager was the sole reason a VIA Rail passenger train derailed in Stewiacke, NS. I won't go into the meaty details of it, as it's not really that important to this thread, but i will say that there were some serious injuries and (i believe) some lives lost. There was also HUGE property damage...VIA lost a car, and had major damages to several others, CN lost a half-mile of track, and the local co-op lost a feed store. The kid took a hammer (!!) to the switch lock, and once broken, tried to move the points. Not far enough to trip the CTC signaling system, but enough that once the massive weight of the lead F40 hit it, it snapped the throw arm and threw over to the diverging route, causing aforementioned massive damage. And, the kids defense was "i didn't know i was doing anything wrong"...not his exact words, but it was something along those lines. He got off with a slap on the wrist and had to make a public appoligy. A year or so later, the kid was picked up AGAIN, this time for stealing peoples cats and hanging them in trees by their necks until they died. I won't go into details about that one, either, as it's not related at all to this thread, but my point was more that kids like that who DO know better should get a LOT more then a gentle slap. You can't possibly tell me that these kids are stupid enough to think that jamming ties into the track isn't going to do anything.
Honestly...where's Darwin when you need him?
AR:curse:
Back in the mid-90's, a then-teenager was the sole reason a VIA Rail passenger train derailed in Stewiacke, NS. I won't go into the meaty details of it, as it's not really that important to this thread, but i will say that there were some serious injuries and (i believe) some lives lost. There was also HUGE property damage...VIA lost a car, and had major damages to several others, CN lost a half-mile of track, and the local co-op lost a feed store. The kid took a hammer (!!) to the switch lock, and once broken, tried to move the points. Not far enough to trip the CTC signaling system, but enough that once the massive weight of the lead F40 hit it, it snapped the throw arm and threw over to the diverging route, causing aforementioned massive damage. And, the kids defense was "i didn't know i was doing anything wrong"...not his exact words, but it was something along those lines. He got off with a slap on the wrist and had to make a public appoligy. A year or so later, the kid was picked up AGAIN, this time for stealing peoples cats and hanging them in trees by their necks until they died. I won't go into details about that one, either, as it's not related at all to this thread, but my point was more that kids like that who DO know better should get a LOT more then a gentle slap. You can't possibly tell me that these kids are stupid enough to think that jamming ties into the track isn't going to do anything.
Honestly...where's Darwin when you need him?
AR:curse:
siderod said:
That's the real disturbing thing about this incident as obviously they achieved what they were hoping for. Serious stuff worthy of a stay in the juvenile justice system until they're 21 in my opinion. Then some big time public service hours for the railroad maybe.
Ralph
Ralph said:
Ralph,
Depends how old they are...I'm not sure of the exact age in Canada, but i think it's anyone over 19 is considered an adult. But, if your younger then 19, and do something serious, and they can prove you knew what you were doing (knew it was wrong, or whatever), you can br tried as an adult. I don't know US law, so it may not be the same. I do, however, think that these teens should be tried as adults, and put into a 'real' Jail for a while.
I must disagree with working on the railroad though...the section gangs arn't what they used to be. I say make them work some relentless, ungodly work...like with the Department of Transport doing manual labour, not riding around in trucks and heavy equipment.
AR
This makes me angry to no end. everytime some idiotic kid does this, it makes it harder for me to see the railroad ( or harder for kids to do anything for that matter) because everyone is freaked out someone might try this again. Its really a stab at the kids out there who are safety minded and such.
personally i think they should be locked away until they are way over 21. their life should be ruined. they could have killed and maimed hundreds, maybe even thousands if that train was carrying some deadly cargo.
I mean, what even goes through these people's minds? And you know they think it was a big joke until something bad happens. they don't even realize the magnitude of what they did. i can't even think of where to begin.
personally i think they should be locked away until they are way over 21. their life should be ruined. they could have killed and maimed hundreds, maybe even thousands if that train was carrying some deadly cargo.
I mean, what even goes through these people's minds? And you know they think it was a big joke until something bad happens. they don't even realize the magnitude of what they did. i can't even think of where to begin.
Green_elite,
I know where your comming from....i'm 17 now, but i was 14 when i first got into model railroad, and railfanning. It's not bad in my local area, the cops know me and most (all?) of the crew on the local shortline know me by name. So i don't get hassled much. Even with CN it isn't bad. But i hear in the US they're really starting to crack down and get hard-nosed about people of any age standing trackside.
It's a shame that some idiots have to ruin it for the rest of us...i have a picture on my website i've titled "The Future of Railfanning". It can be viewed here: http://siderodstrains.boche.net/VIA6416_future_railfanning.jpg
I just hope it never comes down to that...
AR
I know where your comming from....i'm 17 now, but i was 14 when i first got into model railroad, and railfanning. It's not bad in my local area, the cops know me and most (all?) of the crew on the local shortline know me by name. So i don't get hassled much. Even with CN it isn't bad. But i hear in the US they're really starting to crack down and get hard-nosed about people of any age standing trackside.
It's a shame that some idiots have to ruin it for the rest of us...i have a picture on my website i've titled "The Future of Railfanning". It can be viewed here: http://siderodstrains.boche.net/VIA6416_future_railfanning.jpg
I just hope it never comes down to that...
AR
Did you hear the one about the brainiacs who set a forest fire 'cause they wanted to see an airshow???
i agree with you all...... god forbid the thought ( what if this was a chemical train ) :curse: the major disastors it would cause. regardles of the region the should be held as an adult never less :curse: :curse: :curse: