R
rsteng
Guest
I was riding #3 Wed AM in a sleeper four cars back from the 4-engine consist. Was running right on time a few miles east of Trinidad doing 90 mph (according to the conductor). Suddenly felt a thud and looked down to see a cloud of dust with something white inside of it. Engineer, who had just told us we were running on time, came on with a shaken voice and said we had just hit a vehicle. The truck was a late model Dodge Ram 2500
and was literally cut in two. Now heres the miraculous part. The idiot driving it WALKED AWAY. A 4+ hour delay followed as the two lead engines suffered extensive damage and had to be cut off and taken to a siding in Trinidad. The remainder of the trip was made with two engines which made for a slow ride up Raton (with the power being cut to the cars for several minutes for the extra HP). I saw the front of the locomotives when we passed them in Raton and they didn't have a lot of front damage. I think most of the damage was arond the wheel area. At Raton we were able to get out for a break and I looked at the side of the cars. There were two
large dents in my car with the smaller being right under my window. The Transition Sleeper almost had a window knocked out.
and was literally cut in two. Now heres the miraculous part. The idiot driving it WALKED AWAY. A 4+ hour delay followed as the two lead engines suffered extensive damage and had to be cut off and taken to a siding in Trinidad. The remainder of the trip was made with two engines which made for a slow ride up Raton (with the power being cut to the cars for several minutes for the extra HP). I saw the front of the locomotives when we passed them in Raton and they didn't have a lot of front damage. I think most of the damage was arond the wheel area. At Raton we were able to get out for a break and I looked at the side of the cars. There were two
large dents in my car with the smaller being right under my window. The Transition Sleeper almost had a window knocked out.