The idle musings of a former military man, former computer geek, medically retired pastor and now full-time writer. Contents guaranteed to offend the politically correct and anal-retentive from time to time. My approach to life is that it should be taken with a large helping of laughter, and sufficient firepower to keep it tamed!
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Another reason to stand back on the train station platform
The big storm that hit north-eastern states over the past weekend has had some unexpected consequences. Commuters at Rhinecliff in New York were the victims of one of them.
You really do have to wonder...exactly what did Knit Hat et.al. think was going to happen when the engine hit that roughly-one-foot-deep drift all the way across the tracks and up to the platform edge? That is, assuming she/they were even thinking at all?
*slow head-shake*
Some folks really don't do themselves any favors, y'know?...
The Alaska Railroad engines have oversized plows on the front, sometimes referred to as "moose-catchers" in winter. Most here have learned to stay well back from the rails. Meanwhile, the iPhone crowd gets caught unaware. Every. Single. Time.
The smart ones were stepping back as the train approached. Every one of the rest appears to have been playing with their phones and not paying attention. This is just Darwin in the electronic age.
The woman in the knit hat, the woman in the red coat just in front of her, and the two men closest to this person taking this were all using their cell phones to record the train coming through. Nitwits didn't realize the amount of snow on the tracks that the train was going to push their way....Darwin at work...heheh.
I hope the pictures were worth it. I think everyone close to the track was trying to capture video. I'm not sure they realized how much power the wave of snow would have.
Well, the person who recorded the video we all watched got hit as well, and there was plenty of time to get out of the way before the wave of snow got that far down the platform.
I think the videographer probably thought it was worth the hit. After all, it's only snow. Just record as long as you can then turn your back and hunker down. Then you get to laugh at yourself after the train passes, and your video goes viral on the net.
In my youth me and my buddies used to stand next to the road after a big snow storm when the snow plow would come...intentionally caught in a wave of snow. We loved it!
What grabbed my attention was the speed of the train entering the station. THAT doesn't look normal. I'm guessing that they don't want to try to creep through that much mass using just their wheel traction.
I see that the report mentions the train overshot the stop. I would expect that, as they would want to clear the tracks a bit, to give themselves a running start before they would hit any snow pack.
I suspect that normal snow plowing of the tracks usually keeps them clear enough that the passengers would not normally encounter this sort of situation.
14 comments:
Everybody and their brother is posting about or linking to this one today, because it is so awesome to watch. Nice selection!
Not observed on the platform: much in the way of common sense.
See the snow on the rails? See the giant snow plough you think is just a train?
OH ME FIRST IN THE TAN KNIT HAT I WANT TO BE THE FIRST ON THE AMTRAK SNOW PLOUGH EXPRESS. :-)
You really do have to wonder...exactly what did Knit Hat et.al. think was going to happen when the engine hit that roughly-one-foot-deep drift all the way across the tracks and up to the platform edge? That is, assuming she/they were even thinking at all?
*slow head-shake*
Some folks really don't do themselves any favors, y'know?...
Love the way some of the folks quietly departed the scene... "Seen this shit before... I am getting out of Dodge!"
The Alaska Railroad engines have oversized plows on the front, sometimes referred to as "moose-catchers" in winter. Most here have learned to stay well back from the rails. Meanwhile, the iPhone crowd gets caught unaware. Every. Single. Time.
The smart ones were stepping back as the train approached. Every one of the rest appears to have been playing with their phones and not paying attention. This is just Darwin in the electronic age.
The woman in the knit hat, the woman in the red coat just in front of her, and the two men closest to this person taking this were all using their cell phones to record the train coming through. Nitwits didn't realize the amount of snow on the tracks that the train was going to push their way....Darwin at work...heheh.
What "victims"?
All I see is dumbasses getting what they deserve. Great video, but the smart ones moved back.
I hope the pictures were worth it. I think everyone close to the track was trying to capture video. I'm not sure they realized how much power the wave of snow would have.
Well, the person who recorded the video we all watched got hit as well, and there was plenty of time to get out of the way before the wave of snow got that far down the platform.
I think the videographer probably thought it was worth the hit. After all, it's only snow. Just record as long as you can then turn your back and hunker down. Then you get to laugh at yourself after the train passes, and your video goes viral on the net.
In my youth me and my buddies used to stand next to the road after a big snow storm when the snow plow would come...intentionally caught in a wave of snow.
We loved it!
And no one there saw the snow on the columns and arches that support the roof?
"Gee, how did the snow get all the way up there?"
"Dunno, hang on I've gotta answer this"
Ignorance is not bliss.
Al_in_Ottawa
What grabbed my attention was the speed of the train entering the station. THAT doesn't look normal. I'm guessing that they don't want to try to creep through that much mass using just their wheel traction.
I see that the report mentions the train overshot the stop. I would expect that, as they would want to clear the tracks a bit, to give themselves a running start before they would hit any snow pack.
I suspect that normal snow plowing of the tracks usually keeps them clear enough that the passengers would not normally encounter this sort of situation.
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