Boy hit by train in Gardner MA - 5/1

Today's Boston Globe said a 18 year old boy was hit by a freight train at Gardner MA. The boy was walking on the tracks, and the train hit him going a whopping 8mph. The paper didn't say what train it was, but I am assuming it was Guilford. Supposedly the boy sustained serious leg injuries. The train had to back up in order to get him free.

Now, it takes work to get hit by an 8mph train........

It's sad, but it happens all the time.

I just thought of something... this could have been the P&W as well. And yes, fences seem to have holes after a few days...

Can I say that this is an example of somebody who ruins it for the rest of us without be accused of "insensitivity?" My guess is that an IPod is involved in this inncident. Please, hold the lecture about how walking along tracks is dangerous no matter what, I'm aware of that. It so happens walking down the street statiscally is far more dangerous.

Am I missing the picture here!!! The train is moving at 8mph; why did the crew not stop or blow the horn? No IPod is going to block out the sound of a horn when the train is right next to you. I can see if the 18 year old man ran out on to the tracks as the train was right there, but how do you miss it? Maybe the paper is missing a lot of facts, or only telling us what they want us to here, but if that's the case something does not seem right. Are the local authorities going to investigate this to see who's at fault? (Yes it is illegal to walk on railroad tracks), but that doesn't give the train crew [which is only moving at 8mph] to go head and hit someone. That's a reason why trains come with horns. Now if there is a whistle ban in the location, I think someone on the tracks would be justifiable for the horn to be used. If an investigation is taking place (most likely is) the boy will be charged for walking on the track but the train crew could also be held responsible IF they saw him in plenty of time for them to stop the train or if they failed to blow the horn. Now if the boy jumped out right in front of the train well then you have to question the 18 year olds state of mind. ????

I hate to say it but maybe the kid was drunk or on drugs. He may have been acting irradically and the crew did not see him in advance. A lot of time kids just pop out of the trees and if the was drunk or under the influence of drugs or ipods he did not noticed the oncoming train. I know colleges have had cases of students under the influence of drugs/alcohol have been hit by trains in all sorts of situations. Recently near where I live on Long Island, a young boy with headphones got hit by a train at a crossing so things like this do happen and unfortunatly too often...

The article was very small. And the Globe has been known to report in THEIR way...

Maybe we will be reading a bit more about this soon. Maybe in Railpace? Funny, though, that when these events involve the MBTA, Amtrak, or a Class 1 railroad, everyone knows about it. In this case, we don't even know if this was Guilford or the P&W!

As far as the boy being drunk or stoned, or listening to music, you never know... But without more facts, its hard to really form an opinion. Did this accident happen on a curve? Did the crew not have time to see him and stop? Were they already slowing to stop at Dunkins like they do at Gardner? Were they switching? Did the boy appear out of nowhere from behind a string of cars?

Lots of questions...

There is more detail in the following article in the Woircester Telegram:

http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... 7043865109

The train in question was a Guilford train. The RR is in a cut here and on a curve, liniting visibility. The train crew immediately put the train into emergency but was unable to stop in time, but at least prevented a death.

Jon

We're assuming that the train was travelling at 8mph when they first saw the kid. More likely, it was travelling at speed, went into emergency and was down to 8 mph when they hit him. I've never met any crew that would be as callous as some imply here. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt.

mwhite, I wouldn't say that anyone here was implying that the crew was "callous". In my post I was just trying to point out the legal point of view from what I gathered from the information in the paper, although we all know the paper is not the most reliable source of information out there.

That link won't work unless you have a log-in. Can you cut & paste for us?

b&m 1566 wrote:The train is moving at 8mph; why did the crew not stop or blow the horn? No IPod is going to block out the sound of a horn when the train is right next to you.

Even though I wasn't there, I'm quite certain that the engineer applied the brakes and the horn. He will surely lose his job if he didn't. Locomotives have a "black box" which records brake application, horn application, speed, etc.

If you've got headphones on and they're blasting, it most certainly CAN prevent you from hearing a locomotive horn. It happens all the time. Just ask those of us who volunteer with Operation Lifesaver and are familiar with the statistics.

Without placing any blame on the railroad in question, it is worth mentioning that the horns on some of Guilford's locomotives are "weak" and don't operate as loud as they ought to. Nevertheless, if the victim was listening to music and/or was under the influence of substances, a fully-functional horn may not have made a difference.

I would think a train traveling at such a low speed and with horn blasting would cause enough vibrations to be noticed coming up behind somebody.

Back in my high school days, the only way to walk to school was to cut over the tracks. Otherwise we were looking at maybe a 20-30 minute walk, depending on which of the other 2 routes you took and what time of year it was.

These are the MBTA tracks in Belmont. Back then, they may still have been the B&M, not sure ('90-'94). One day, while walking ALONG the tracks, I noticed a "little light" down the tracks. "One of those signal things". Well, I turned around and there was a commuter train right behind me. Learned my lesson that time, and from then on walked on the dirt path NEXT to the tracks, looked both ways, then crossed over quickly.

Point it, commuter trains sometimes can't be heard, even from a close distance. (But from our house, you can clearly hear the train stop and pull away from Belmont station.) BUT, ever heard a Guilford freight pulling at 8mph right next to you?? Ever heard one rumbling on its way from Shirley while standing in Ayer? There is a bit of a difference!

I just don't get how this kid could not know the train was coming. A loud Walkman (yes, I am old fashioned) HAD to have played a role... I think... maybe... not sure... Still don't get why this doesn't make big news, but mishaps on larger railroads do.

Can we say, "Hush it up"?