I knew I should have stayed home. I overslept and debated just telecommuting in instead of rushing for the train but I decided against it and just barely made the train. I had just fallen asleep when I woke up to the train jerking to a very shaky and smokey stop. I jumped out of my seat, and looked out the window to see the third rail showering sparks at the car I was in. So I moved away from the window.
Turns out we hit an empty truck carrier. The story is here (and I’m in picture 12 of the slideshow, but basically unrecognizable since it’s an aerial shot (lower right hand corner, standing by myself, unsurprisingly)) but apparently the truck - who was on a highway he didn’t belong on - got stuck on the tracks and called a tow truck to come move him. He was waiting for the tow but apparently didn’t think to call the number given on the signal to let the train authorities know. Unfortunately, the crossing is just after a bend in the line, and the conductor had absolutely no warning. By the time he saw the truck, he had it. 20 injuries, described as minor, a lot of frazzled nerves, but luckily no one seems to have been seriously hurt.
You wouldn’t believe how many NTSB reports I’ve read regarding vehicles getting hung up at rail crossings. Nobody ever calls or seems to think about the train until the moment of :eek: The train never loses.
More seriously, though, apparently there were quite a few panic attacks in some of the other cars. I, as an anxiety attack sufferer, am quite pleased to say that I kept my cool quite well. I was even proud of myself for thinking quickly enough to move away from the window before trying to work out exactly what had happened.
I did make a few new friends though, which was pretty cool. Normally commuting is such an impersonal thing, getting to know some of the people I see every single day was nifty.
Glad to hear you are okay. Take care of yourself this evening. From experience, my own and that of others, sometimes you get the shakes later on, when you are alone. And if you were banged up at all take a couple of Tylenol or something, before going to bed.
Always a good thing when everybody survives a train wreck. There was another car-carrier/train collision last week near Ventura, California. Again all were safe, except for four Vintage Porsches being transported by the carrier which were quite destroyed by the train punching through the center of the truck trailer.
TellMeImNotCrazy, I’m very happy that you’re all right. And I’m sure no one begrudges you taking a day or two off. Now you just relax and use that time to think about what you could have done to prevent the catastrophe if you hadn’t been sleeping.
Thanks everyone for your good thoughts I did come into work today, thinking I had a meeting this morning, but of course it was postponed. Service is fully restored to the line; they’re still working on fixing the crossing though so that’s still closed.
Hmmm, if I hadn’t been sleeping, I probably would have leapt into the lap of the nearest person (apparently most of the people who were awake in my car realized the situation just before it happened), which would have been a catastrophe in its own right
You know, pretty much everytime I take a subway or Metro North, I always try to get to the front. I like looking out the window. I guess me and the train operator will be the first to go.
