Near Miss At Durand 5-7-10

[bnsfben]

This was the closest call I have ever seen in my life. I know the train was still a distance away but, from my eye it seemed to be only 10-20 yards away from the kids. I was honestally thinking about running... I did't want blood or body parts on me. Anyway, I dont know if you guys have ever seen a closer one in person, but this was pretty close.

Here is the video link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HEpfcqQ80

[CharlieX90]

I saw one a few months back in Wyandotte..CN 387 was doing 35 to 40 mph..Gates go down,i start recording..The kids are a good 70 feet from the crossing yet they decide to run...first kid makes it with about 10 seconds to spare,his friend trips on the rail and falls on the tracks..I literally looked away as i thought he was going to be smashed.somehow he gets up and jumps over the second rail with about 2 seconds to spare..How he got out of the way is behond me..

[pica]

That is just pure stupidity. However not as stupid as what I saw in Fostoria a couple years ago. I was at the Depot one night late and a girl comes stumbling out of the bar (The Rail). She proceeds to disregard the crossing gates and walks right in the path of a CSX train. The train was only going a couple miles an hour and was able to stop in time. It could have been a very messy scene.

[Steel Inferno]

Ben, did you hear the crew report a near miss? I remember this happening a few weeks ago in Durand. However this was an EB and some teenage boy ran in front of the train twice. Luckily the train wasn't going full speed through Durand. I thought for sure the crew would've reported a near miss.

[Jochs]

Sometime in the early 1990's, my brother and I and a few friends plus other railfans were at Porter, IN before every tree and pole was posted with bi-lingual no trespassing signs, back in the busy Conrail days.
The gates came down, and a train was approaching. The train was just about to the crossing when a kid on a bike goes around the gates. We all looked away, not wanting to see a gory kid on bike/train incident. Fortunately, the kid cleared the crossing a couple of seconds before the train arrived.
At the time, the crossing was littered with pieces of vehicle and the building near the crossing was sporting patches of new metal siding and a sign that said "PLEASE, when the gates are down, don't go around."

[bnsfben]

Ben, did you hear the crew report a near miss? I remember this happening a few weeks ago in Durand. However this was an EB and some teenage boy ran in front of the train twice. Luckily the train wasn't going full speed through Durand. I thought for sure the crew would've reported a near miss.

I did not hear the crew report a near miss. They probably did though as I did not have my scanner with me at the time. But when the train was around Bancroft we heard a conversation between a 393 (the one almost hit the kids) and Desk 9. I was not able to pick the talk up well on my scanner, but they might have been talking about the near miss.

[AARR]

We've debated the CN police giving out tickets to pedestrians for crossing the tracks and I'm in the minority that I think their time would be better spent elsewhere. But in this case I wish the CN police would catch up with those kids. They're going to be Darwin Award winners someday if they don't smarten up.

[CSX_CO]

9 seconds from the time they cleared the tracks until the time the train occupied the same spot. Not that close of a call. When the kids disappear from the engineer's view out the front of the engine, then that is a close call.

Practice Safe CSX

[AARR]

9 seconds from the time they cleared the tracks until the time the train occupied the same spot. Not that close of a call. When the kids disappear from the engineer's view out the front of the engine, then that is a close call.

Practice Safe CSX

The way the engineer was laying on the horn leads me to think they thought it was too close

[CSX_CO]

9 seconds from the time they cleared the tracks until the time the train occupied the same spot. Not that close of a call. When the kids disappear from the engineer's view out the front of the engine, then that is a close call.

Practice Safe CSX

The way the engineer was laying on the horn leads me to think they thought it was too close

Kids were clear of the tracks before he even laid on the horn for the first time. If he was THAT worried, he would have started sooner. Probably just giving them a couple 'toots' to make sure they don't turn back. Again...9 seconds between the time they cleared and the time the train hit the same spot. I've seen 'railfans' do closer calls then that.

Practice Safe CSX

[AARR]

9 seconds from the time they cleared the tracks until the time the train occupied the same spot. Not that close of a call. When the kids disappear from the engineer's view out the front of the engine, then that is a close call.

Practice Safe CSX

The way the engineer was laying on the horn leads me to think they thought it was too close

Kids were clear of the tracks before he even laid on the horn for the first time. If he was THAT worried, he would have started sooner. Probably just giving them a couple 'toots' to make sure they don't turn back. Again...9 seconds between the time they cleared and the time the train hit the same spot. I've seen 'railfans' do closer calls then that.

Practice Safe CSX

I see what you're saying. Having never bore down on a pedestrian from the cab POV it looks like a close call to me but 9 seconds is a long time...there was a time I could run 90 yards in 9 seconds...now I can run 90 yards in 30 seconds

[CSX_CO]

I see what you're saying. Having never bore down on a pedestrian from the cab POV it looks like a close call to me but 9 seconds is a long time...there was a time I could run 90 yards in 9 seconds...now I can run 90 yards in 30 seconds

The 'closest' I've come was the kids disappeared out the front window. Didn't even look up while we were coming at them. Though they had a 'oh crap' look on their faces when they felt our wind whoosing behind them.

The closest with a vehicle was where I could see both ditch lights individually reflecting off the side of a Grand Am. That was probably a near hit by about 1 or 2 seconds. They were lucky I'd started to slow down early for the 40 mph in Terre Haute, IN on a trailer train. I was doing 52 and would have nailed them if I'd been doing 60. They didn't even think about slowing down at the gates. Usually I'm coming in there at 60 in an attempt to 'dive bomb' the 40 mph.

Practice Safe CSX

[Mick]

Yeah, but even nine seconds...Doesn't leave much margin of error---like a stumble, a slip...or an "I dropped my eye-phone-blue-tooth-pod and I was in the middle of a text to Trevor---I have time to get it..."
How long did it take that train to pass, a minute or two? Come on people...none of us is in that much of a hurry.
You guys who work in the cab for a living---props to ya'.


Mick

[BerkshireKid]

Oh boy here comes Dane!
From the time that the girls cleared the #1 main that the train was traveling to the time the train occupied the same area was 3-4 seconds. AGAIN That was 3-4 seconds not 9 seconds.

[GTWChris]

Dane is right, the engineer sounds their horn when the pedestrians have just clear the Port Huron wye and not main one. The pedestrians start running after the engineer has sounded the horn at that point they run over main 1. The engineer also probably did not even see the pedestrians until they were on the Port Huron wye which was fairly close to the point when the engineer sounded the horn.

[CSX_CO]

Dane is right, the engineer sounds their horn when the pedestrians have just clear the Port Huron wye and not main one.

Ok, so 3-4 seconds, I stood to be corrected. 50 mph works out to 73.3 ft per second. 4 seconds works out to 293 ft. Almost the length of a football field. I don't know the speed of the diamond at Durand. Its a frieght, so I'm going to assume they are doing 50 tops. At 40 mph it works out to 234 ft. Either way, not THAT close of a call. Get that down under 100 ft, then you can wait for the 'thud'.

I'll bet the vast majority of us on here have pulled out into traffic with just as small distances, at the same speeds, in our vehicles. Yet we don't talk about the 'what-ifs' on that, what-if my car spins out, what-if the engine stalls, etc.

But then again, this is coming from railfans, most of whom think everyone that goes around the gates is a "Darwing Canidate". Your lucky you don't work in the cab if you get your knickers in a bunch over a four second near hit.

Practice Safe CSX

[bnsfben]

It looks to me the train was doing about 40 MPH. I kinda wish I was closer so we could get a better look at how close it was. But on the other hand, I would not want to be closer, in case one tripped.

[Justin]

I have seen a few close calls like this, some here in town, a couple in Fostoria 2 years ago when I was there, including a few on bikes, I have those in the videos I shot. I have yet to see some at Durand but my saying goes, if you are stupid enough to play with something thousands of times your size and have no respect for their right of way, then if you get hit I have no sorrow , the only sorrow I will have will be for the crew as they will have to live with that imagine for the rest of there life. I spent about 5 hours in Durand last night (trip report later) and saw many people tresspassing, luckly no trains were coming at the time, but the way they were hauling through there last night, a hit could and would have been messy. Nice video by the way Ben.

[Shorthaul]

This was the closest call I have ever seen in my life. I know the train was still a distance away but, from my eye it seemed to be only 10-20 yards away from the kids. I was honestally thinking about running... I did't want blood or body parts on me.

I highly doubt that any of the ensuing mess would have flown the 50+ feet and hit you, but I guess you never know
I will admit to crossing streets with cars that close many times. As small as we humans are, a 2-ton car will hurt just as badly as a 200+ ton locomotive will at that speed.

[Y@]

a 2-ton car will hurt just as badly as a 200+ ton locomotive will at that speed.

You might not be around long enough to feel any pain after you get hit by that 200+ ton locomotive...