Amtrack derailed!! (parks, areas, hours)

[Gunluvver2]

[quote=itsMeFred;20620018]Despite what the news is saying, it was not at Max, NE. (Though that's how Amtrak called it in. When the VFDs first headed out, they went the wrong direction).
It wasn't until a local called it in as being by Parks that they found it!
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I was glad to hear that there weren't any fatalities. I have been planning a fishing trip taking AmTrak to the McCook area for September. Maybe the fares will come down now. If I take it though I will get a seat in one of the cars in the tail end. Amtrak is still one of the best ways to travel in my opinion.

GL2

[itsMeFred]

It was a private person who had bought the elevator to resell the lumber. He was doing the tear down himself. I know for a fact he had no permit and wasn't required to be insured.
I'm seriously in doubt that he was insured for his own benefit, either.

In which case, it comes down to blood from a turnip...

Though I hadn't considered the fact that the county might end up in a pickle for not overseeing the railroad right of way.

Nebraska people pretty much ignore all of the ridiculous Federal mandates and busybody attitudes that cost money and time to conform to. But unfortunately in this situation, this might bite them in the butt.

Yep, this has been talk around my house for the last 24 hours...

PS Fred - in my experience as a first responder, Amtrak rarely knows where they are, especially in an emergency. One time a derail call went out in our area, and no one could find it for over an hour - I went into the woods behind my house (15 miles from where they SAID they were) towards the noise, and called it in to the right location.

What's bad is that a mere 5 minutes or so after Amtrak called in the wrong location, a neighbor of ours tried to call 911 to report the derailment. He said he got so far as "Yeah, I just need to make sure you guys know about this derailment" and was cut off with "Yes, we know about it!!"
Click.
Unfortunately, they didn't know the right location.

Here are a couple more pics.

DH got this one:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/306100_2003254161050_1234490460_32033746_6915123_n .jpg (broken link)

And one of my students got this one:
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/297341_278168662199995_100000205898034_1340242_483 1287_n.jpg (broken link)
Apparently things were a little off-track in the high school yesterday, too. lol

[Wyomama2]

Good grief, what ever happened to things being accidents? It's not like the crane operator intended for that to happen, that's why they're called accidents. Everyone is so hell bent these days on holding others accountable and skirting the responsibility if it's their own fault, drives me crazy!

[itsMeFred]

I think the question really is: At what point is it an accident rather than negligence?

[SCGranny]

"First, lets kill all the lawyers"... Willie Shakespeare

Common sense has left the building when a single uninjured person can get $60,000 because someone left out something that they tripped on or slipped on - and the lawyer makes at least a third for producing a lot of paperwork and a few phone calls. Not all lawyers are that way, but all you need is one greedy guy who thinks he can make a fortune on a soft collar splint and an ambulance ride, and it's over. Like I said, I came from a sue-happy state where one woman I know never worked and never had to go on Welfare - she raised her kids and paid for her home by pulling out in front of people with out-of-state license tags. (In SC, a rear-end collision is automatically the fault of the guy in the vehicle in the rear.) Another sued Wal Mart for having "an attractive nuisance" - her 7 YOA was climbing on the clothes racks in the ladies' dept (Mom was trying on clothes), and the clothing rack collapsed. $100,000 and she never even had to go to court, and the child didn't even get a bruise or an ambulance ride...

With Feds involved, there will be a lot of attorneys and a lot of mayhem. I hope not - like I said, we moved to NE because the people here seemed to have common sense - but what we all see as a dumb accident others will see as negligence, and someone will pay for it. Lost time, lost wages, ruined vacation, whatever - no one shakes hands and shrugs any more.

[itsMeFred]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

"First, lets kill all the lawyers"... Willie Shakespeare

Did you know that's one of the most misunderstood quotes of our time?

From Henry the VI, it was thrown out by two jokers who also happened to be villains plotting a murder. It was funny, just because that's a lawyer joke for you...But they were describing the ideal world. For themselves and other criminals of their ilk!

[Wyomama2]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

I think the question really is: At what point is it an accident rather than negligence?

Don't get me wrong, there are times when people need to be held accountable for their actions. And this could be one of those times, it's just that everyone is so quick to judge and make assumptions and that bothers me.

[SCGranny]

Originally Posted by itsMeFred

Did you know that's one of the most misunderstood quotes of our time?

From Henry the VI, it was thrown out by two jokers who also happened to be villains plotting a murder. It was funny, just because that's a lawyer joke for you...But they were describing the ideal world. For themselves and other criminals of their ilk!

Yup, and having been in conversation with you over the years, I'd'a been disappointed if you hadn't've gotten it! LOL

[2nd trick op]

As a former railroader and longtime train buff, what bugs me is this:

A jet loses its hydraulics just before landing (at Pittsburgh); Over one hundered people are turned into hamburger, but the accident is all but forgotten within a few months.

But let anything happen involving an Amtrak train, even with only minor injuries, and the media attention becomes intense.

There is clearly some sort of double standard here; most likely because the majority of Amtrak service is offered in densely-populated areas, where it's more readily visible. But the newsies will make an extra effort to film a good ol'fashined train wreck.

[itsMeFred]

Shoot the Amtrack derailment at Parks was over and forgotten within a few hours! lol At least by the rest of the nation. We'll be talking about it around here for years to come.

However, I would mention, maybe Amtrack is offered in densely-populated areas in your part of the country, but for most of the cross-continental trip, it's anything but.