One reason to roll by that train

Accident hospitalizes UPRR conductor

By PATRICIA DANNATT, The North Platte Telegraph

08/26/2006





An incident involving two Union Pacific Railroad trains Friday has one employee hospitalized with abdominal injuries at Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte .
In a telephone report Saturday morning, Mark Davis, spokesman for UPRR, said the employee's injuries are not life-threatening.
Davis said that at 12:50 p.m. CDT Friday near Ogallala an east-bound train that was coming to North Platte from Hinkle , Ore. , met a west-bound train that had left North Platte headed for the West Coast.
A North Platte conductor was in the east-bound train. He was out of his seat and standing up, helping the engineer look for a signal.
As the trains passed side by side, a 2-by-12 support lumber that was protruding from a railcar on the west-bound train broke through the glass of the east-bound locomotive, striking the conductor in the abdomen.
Davis said the conductor was transported to Great Plains Regional Medical Center in North Platte with abdominal injuries. He said the conductor will remain in the hospital for a few days and will require some follow-up surgery.
Davis said the investigation is ongoing as to why a piece of 2-by-12 support lumber was protruding from the railcar.
"Our thoughts are with the employee and his family, as well as his co-workers," Davis said.
"Whenever an employee is injured, regardless of the circumstances, it is difficult for everyone."

My thoughts go out to him, and his family. I hope the UP, in their usual lack of tact, doesn't try to imply, that this wouldn't have happened, had he remained seated. I know we all know of a similar situation, with an injured employee, somewhere.........

GOLDEN-ARM wrote:My thoughts go out to him, and his family. I hope the UP, in their usual lack of tact, doesn't try to imply, that this wouldn't have happened, had he remained seated. I know we all know of a similar situation, with an injured employee, somewhere.........

Lack of tact - you are ten times the gentleman I will ever be! Then again, I don't know if you work for these guys. He will be fired because it is stUPid policy to force us to sign a job briefing at the beginning of each shift sayin we will not get hurt and we will not hurt others!

In the UP world there is no such thing as an accident because accidents are preventable. They will say he saw that wood and wanted to get paid! Just tellin it like it is!

Nope, I did my 5 years, in UP hell. That was plenty. I have seen, as well as most other guys, with any time on the job, the injured being blamed, for causing their own accidents, like the guy in this topic. UP has even blamed a person hit in the face, by a rock. Working in Houston, during the summer months, while having the window open. We all know, if we close all the windows, rocks won't hit us. Can't believe the nerve of that guy, opening his window, like that.............. (no, before anyone asks, the unit had no air conditioning on it)

Not everyone who gets hurt gets fired.