Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994 TAG: 9406060145
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: |By KATHY LOAN| |STAFF WRITER|
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
To Norfolk Southern conductor Brad Emery, the prospect was horrifying - trying to stop a train that's almost two miles long before striking someone who moments before was dancing around on the tracks and sticking out his tongue at the oncoming train.
In a game of chicken with a train, it's almost a sure bet that the train will win.
Thursday night, some daredevils were lucky when they beat the train.
About dusk, Emery and A.D. Livengood Jr., the engineer, rounded a bend and spotted five people standing on the tracks near McCoy in Montgomery County, just at the Giles County line.
The two men went into emergency mode, trying to stop the 170-car, 22,000-ton coal train that was traveling 18-21 miles an hour.
The last of the young people - the one who had been sticking his tongue out - jumped off the tracks about five train-car lengths before the train reached the spot where he had been standing.
"He got off the rail at the last minute. I could about see the color of his eyes," said Emery.
The train came to a stop about one-quarter mile past where the group had been. Emery said about three people were forced up against a rock wall between the tracks and a slope.
Bob Auman, railroad spokesman, said the eastbound train, bound for Roanoke from Bluefield, was delayed for 70 minutes.
"This is costly. ... These kinds of shenanigans are just a drain on productivity."
There have been other reported cases of young people playing chicken on Virginia's railroad tracks, Auman said.
Last month, a Chesterfield County boy suffered abrasions and a broken left arm when he was struck by a train as he jumped off the track during a game of chicken, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
When sheriff's deputies and railroad detectives arrived at the Montgomery-Giles border Thursday night, they found about 10 people milling around the area, but all denied they were on the tracks.
Deputy J.L. Puckett said the people likely were local residents. He said the group to whom he talked had been drinking.
"We'll try to keep a closer eye down there [and] let them know we won't put up with the drinking," Puckett said.
He thinks the youths involved in Thursday's chicken game have learned their lesson.
"I don't think they'll do it again. I think they got the tar scared out of them."
Besides the lost time, Auman and Emery are more concerned about the potential for a trespassing incident to turn into something more deadly.
In August 1989, nine people were on a trestle over the Appomattox River near Farmville when a Norfolk Southern train barreled across.
A 22-year-old man was struck and killed. A 19-year-old woman lost her grip while holding to a crosstie and fell 100 feet. She is paralyzed. The others managed to save themselves.
"It just underscores the importance of staying off railroad property," Auman said.
Winter months normally are not a problem, save the occasional snowmobiler in the north. Auman said the problem of trespassers on railroad tracks increases in the summer.
A few years ago, Emery on a train crew that struck and killed a Salem man on Union Street. The young man was wearing headphones, Emery said.
"It's no fun watching somebody die," Emery said.
The railroad is interested in pursuing charges against the group. Trespassing on train tracks is a misdemeanor punishable by a $250 fine for first-time offenders.
Sgt. J.R. Emory of the Norfolk Southern Police Department said anyone with information should call (800)453-2530.
by CNB