train vs tree

i am a conductor for UPRR. this morning on my run, we ran into a cotton wood tree. it has been raining here for close to three weeks so there is alot of things giving way, trees falling over, mudslides, and the river is about to come out. we come around a corner doing around 45mph, we see the tree about a half mile away, it takes about an 1/8 mile to figure out that this isnt going to be our normal small tree that just explodes into a bunch of leafs and mulch, me and my engineer run to the nose of the engine to take cover. the nose is made of 3/4" steel and is a very safe place to take cover for hitting big objects. i think we ran to the nose a little quicker than we thought we did, cause after a bit we looked at each other like "when are we going to hit this tree?" then it came, it wasnt too loud, and you couldnt realy feel it. all i saw was shards of glass flying throughout the cab. after we get through the tree we go back up into the cab and just look around in amazement, it took us another mile or so to even come to our senses to call the dispatcher to notify him of our situation. at any rate we are both ok, just realy shook up nerves. but this is just one of the many hazzards of railroading.

 

Glad you're ok. Waita plow that sucker. Great pics.

 

Any pics of the tree (other than what's wrapped around the engine)?

 

no pics of the tree. it was about three miles behind us. the track inspector said it was about 1.5' - 2' (feet) thick.

 

That'll buff right out.

All joking aside, its good to know nobody got hurt, and the train stayed on the tracks. This could have been MUCH worse, judging by the damage.

 

Wow! Thanks for sharing the pics. Glad everyone is okay and the train stayed on the tracks. That must have been one big f'n tree!

 

yea it could of been alot worse. all the what ifs that went through my head.
what if it were a hard wood that took the top off?
what if we derailed and were burried by 40+ cars of coal? (we were carrying 145 cars)
what if we werent paying attention?
what if it were bigger and squished us in the nose of the cab?
what if i didnt make it home tonight?
gotta be honest, i had a little cry. its a dangerous job at times. and usualy you dont just "get hurt" on the rail road. injuries are usualy severe.

 

ha ha. if you want to walk back to the location you can have them. they were laying on the walkway and i just kicked them off to the ground.

 

That story/picks is so goddamned awesome. Glad you're alright. Thanks for sharing.

 

Holy crap! I hope you've got good insurance Really glad to hear you & the engineer are ok.

 

damn! that engine fared well. glad no body got hurt.\

Dang! you can see how much water theres been in the 7th pic. you guys really have gotten a lot of rain!

 

Glad to hear no one was hurt and the train stayed where it's supposed to be.

 

Man thats crazy. Glad you guys are safe!

And I would have bought a horn too bahah.

 

Very impressive.

Good thing the train is yellow, cause I would've pissed myself.

 

X2

 

Damn! That'll give you an adrenaline rush!

 

Wow! Impressive story and I'm glad everything ended the way it did.

 

Glad you're ok!

 

I see your silent witness camera there, where is the Video?

 

Wow thats crazy...glad you guys are okay! You gotta pretty cool job