Re: Train crash Freight Victoria at Ararat

["Rod" <comtrain@mpx.com.au>]

Lineman <grime@dcsi.net.au> wrote in message 38411bf1@nap-ns1">news:38411bf1@nap-ns1...
> Hi Rod
> Yes its a very scary scenario,when you realise the points are laying for
the
> occupied road and the load is pushing you on.Its also a bloody hard job
> getting off the side of a S,B,A,G type loco in a hurry,the jump would
scare
> you to death.Do you ride it in and hope the crash protection actually
works
> or jump into the unknown?

The only time I ever hit anything that I might have wanted to jump from, was
so
amazing, in retrospect, as I probably would have been killed by yhe truck as
it demolished the whole side of N452. The time frame is still relived to
this day in Slo-Mo but could not have been longer than 10 secs!
from realising he was not a stopper to sitting motionless 200 meters down
the track motionless!

> I have been in a situation where( person unknown) 5P lock& bar has been
> unlocked and the Wsa lever had been pulled to lay for the siding, and the
> sinking feeling is horrendous after youv gone for the big hole and nothing
> seems to be happening.
> In this particular instance the padlock had been neatly locked back on the
> pin.

I saw a similar thing about 6 years ago at the Ballast Siding about 10 k
from Euroa
I had to place 6 ballast hoppers in there and was issued a master key at
Seymour.
When I got there my mate was brand new, so I got off the engine with him,
and showed him how to use the "drawer" extracting the annett key, and went
to place it in the annett lock, attached the sleepers beside the frame.
He could not get the key in, so I said give it here , and I could not also.
I shon the torch into the lock and could see the brass pall was accoss the
opening, and there was no way that the key was going to go in.
OK, that means that the points must be unlocked? Try the frame, Son!..You
guessed it, the frame was free, and a 115 kph mainline was unprotected, any
kid, could have played and reversed the points, and the Pass would never
have known a thing about it.
Never did find out how it happened, but I have my suspicions which I will
not air here.
Bill Welch a Driver from my past, once threw a handlamp at me..."You'r not
watching the track Son..What would happen if the points were wrong?"
Well Bill.. I guess I always watch the track, you did get one thing through
to me. But what is the point, maybe those few extra moments could be used to
make your peace with God, but from my experience at Wodonga, you freeze and
just stare and watch it happen!
Rod