Amtrak Guest Rewards - On train 30 now...we hit a tow truck!!

At about 10:30 p.m. our train hit a tow truck in Goshen, Indiana. Split the tow truck in half and imbeded the tow truck on the front of our engine. 2 passengers in the truck were killed. Our female engineer was injured and taken by EMS to hospital. We now have power restored, but are still stuck here. Will keep you posted.

I can't believe I have internet access here in the middle of nowhere!!

I hope you have a comfortable seat or a room to rest in - might be a while before you get moving again.

Eleven hours late, I hear, at this point. Tow truck drove around working crossing gates into the path of the train.

holy cow!!! keep us posted if you still have access or when you get to where ever you are going! Hope everyone else on the train was OK.....


i was on this train once and woke up to see pittsburgh in broad daylight...which was not correct!! Found out that our train was behind a freight train that hit a truck or something.....we were WAAAYYY late......the conductor told us that they have to find, how to put this...as much of whatever was hit as possible...:eek:

At about 10:30 p.m. our train hit a tow truck in Goshen, Indiana. Split the tow truck in half and imbeded the tow truck on the front of our engine. 2 passengers in the truck were killed. Our female engineer was injured and taken by EMS to hospital .....

The same thing happened in the accident in Michigan last week, only the driver wasn't as experienced.

Darwin effect?

Bob H

Not a good couple of days for the long-distance trains... Quick note to help unfamiliar readers decode the following: the train number is followed by numbers in parenthesis indicating the day the train originated. So train 5(15) would be the California Zephyr departing Chicago on July 15.

Here we go:

The Crescent is messed up due to a freight derailment near Anniston, MS. Train 20(14) returned to Birmingham and detoured via CSX to Atlanta and should be in Charlotte about now, 15 hours late. Train 19(14) terminated in Atlanta. Passengers are being bustituted to New Orleans and the trainset will deadhead to NOL becoming 20(16). Train 20(15) is currently on-time approaching Anniston.

The westbound Southwest Chief, train 3(13), is 7.5 hours late at Fullerton right now.

The westbound California Zephyr, train 5(13) hit a truck which knocked down a signal tower on top of the train damaging a locomotive and several passenger cars. One locomotive and the crew dorm had to be set out on account of the damage. It arrived in Denver this morning, 24 hours and 16 minutes late, just ahead of train 5(14), running on-time. The plan is for the day late train to continue to Emeryville while train 5(14) will terminate in Reno tomorrow morning and turn as train 6(16).

Train 92(15), was delayed 1.5 hours this morning after striking a pedestrian in Fort Lauderdale.

so what in the hecckis going on??? sheesh.............hopefully no one was seriously hurt...............

hopefully no one was seriously hurt...............
It's only a guess, but I think those in the vehicles that were hit and were KILLED might be seriously hurt! :rolleyes:

It's only a guess, but I think those in the vehicles that were hit and were KILLED might be seriously hurt! :rolleyes:


i knew that..............i meant on the trains...................:rolleyes::mad:

Although so minor in comparison, I was Northeast Regional Train 148 last night and we hit a tree that had fallen on the tracks due to some bad storms that came through. We sat for nearly 3 hours literally 5 feet from the Berlin, CT station. People getting off in Berlin could see their rides waiting for them. The conductors were not (probably rightly) letting people off the train, but after about an hour, people just started bailing. I was helping them off when the conductors weren't looking. Finally bailed myserlf at the 3 hours mark when our "rescue engine" decided that it could not push the train the rest of the way, but would have to pull us back to New Haven.

Fun times . . .

Train 30. Right. That's the uh, yeah the uh ------ I forget, nevermind.

The Crescent is messed up due to a freight derailment near Anniston, MS. Train 20(14) returned to Birmingham and detoured via CSX to Atlanta and should be in Charlotte about now, 15 hours late. Train 19(14) terminated in Atlanta. Passengers are being bustituted to New Orleans and the trainset will deadhead to NOL becoming 20(16). Train 20(15) is currently on-time approaching Anniston.


I was on the southbound #19 that had passed through that area just before the derailment. A friend of mine who lives in Atlanta rode south with me to Birmingham and short turned back to ATL on that #20 that got stopped by the derailment.

Advantages of air travel:

No grade crossings except at runway/taxiway/ramp intersections.

Passenger a/c usually able to divert around slow FedEx/UPS flights, although most FedEx/UPS flights fly at night, when sky not crowded, air cooler to provide more lift.

Except at climbout, few trees tall enough for collisions. Falling trees rarely block runways.

Admittedly, cows on runway likely to cause more damage to a/c than cows on tracks may do to engines.

Solutions: Mostly solved by airports paving grass runways. Solved by "cow catchers/buffalo diverters" on RR engines.

Cap & Trade Problem: Saving credits and reducing footprint likely to cause Amtrak to use a single engine (in the middle) for 2 trains, one in front, one in trail. Passengers in front cars of front train will be at substantial hazard from tow trucks, teen drivers, fallen trees, stalled freights. Little difference in the "Terminal effect" of being in the front car and hitting a stalled freight train at 80mph or in 1st class of a large a/c uncontrollably descending into terrain at Mach .8, although cosmetic results vary.

While trains rarely hit large bodies of water, few recorded incidents suggest results nearly as bad as similar water-landings by a/c.

Conclusion: Flying is safer, quicker and even on USeless Air more dependable.

In 1990--93 I used to live in South Bend, IN, about 25 miles/ 40 km west of Goshen. Back then some old man drove around down crossing gates & was struck dead by a train. His widow & her attorney actually sued the railroad for not using bigger gates which would have made it physically impossible to enter the crossing! :D
I had recently done 1 semester of law school & remembered Torts-class lessons on Contributory/ Comparative Negligence & on Volenti non fit injuria, so I expected that the railroad's lawyers would move for Summary Judgment & that the judge would dismiss the case & fine/ refer for discipline the Plaintiff's Counsel for filing a frivolous lawsuit!

I had recently done 1 semester of law school & remembered Torts-class lessons on Contributory/ Comparative Negligence & on Volenti non fit injuria,Can you translate the Latin into English for us? It doesn't have to be literal.

"To a willing person/ one who acts voluntarily, no injury is done." The motorists freely chose to break the law & commit an act of bloody idiocy by driving around the gates, so they have no standing to sue!

BTW, I laugh at the English-speaking law profession for Anglicizing Latin as Archie Bunker would. If they wanna speak Latin, pronounce it right ;) ! HAH-beh-ahs KOR-pus, NOT HAY-bee-uss!

I had recently done 1 semester of law school & remembered Torts-class lessons on Contributory/ Comparative Negligence & on Volenti non fit injuria, so I expected that the railroad's lawyers would move for Summary Judgment & that the judge would dismiss the case & fine/ refer for discipline the Plaintiff's Counsel for filing a frivolous lawsuit!

As you've no doubt discovered, Torts class is a great way to learn about all the different ways one can get by a train. That's because modern tort law developed in the late 1800s/early 1900s when the railroads were the biggest industry around and thus had the deepest pockets, meaning they were sued a lot.

Reading the foregoing thread I am having a mild anxiety attack. My wife and will be flying to JFK next spring, and after a few days plundering of 5th Avenue et al, will take take the Silver Throwing Stick to Miami to embark on a transatlantic cruise back home to Spain. The train is scheduled to arrive at Miami 24 hours before sailing time (with a hotel booked) but reading the stories here I am in all honesty concerned that we might be on the bloody thing for much longer than we thought and literally miss the boat. We have a bedroom booked, so comfort should not be the issue but with only 24 hours spare, should I rethink our travel to Miami to arrive two days ahead? :eek:

Reading the foregoing thread I am having a mild anxiety attack. My wife and will be flying to JFK next spring, and after a few days plundering of 5th Avenue et al, will take take the Silver Throwing Stick to Miami to embark on a transatlantic cruise back home to Spain. The train is scheduled to arrive at Miami 24 hours before sailing time (with a hotel booked) but reading the stories here I am in all honesty concerned that we might be on the bloody thing for much longer than we thought and literally miss the boat. We have a bedroom booked, so comfort should not be the issue but with only 24 hours spare, should I rethink our travel to Miami to arrive two days ahead? :eek:


If you can swing it, I would arrive 2 days ahead..............chances are you would be fine, but really you never know what can happen.

For instance, today, due to flooding near albany, NY, several long distance trains were suspended...you just never know. (none were the FLA trains....but still...)