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#159496 - 12/22/08 02:51 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: KG2V]
Eugene Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
propane tanks are designed to withstand a hit by a train, they will bounce off an fly away but shouldn't rupture or leak.

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#159518 - 12/22/08 04:50 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: Eugene]
KG2V Offline

Veteran

Registered: 08/19/03
Posts: 1371
Loc: Queens, New York City
Yes, it's a matter of when - I think I saw a stat that the average Engineer hits slightly more than 3 cars over time

My friend Joe told me this story - he was riding Amtrak sometime around 1980 (If I think hard, I could probably pin it closer), and for a rare once, they were about 2 hours out of Chicago, and ON TIME. Suddenly, he felt the brakes engage, then go into emergency - and the train stopped

They had hit a car, and rolled it up on the plow - the good news is no one was in the car - and they did allow folks out of the train to stretch their legs. Joe summed up the dammage to the train - they had to replace a brake hose, and slap some black paint on the plow - the car, on the other hand, was a small ball that had to be pried out from under the coupler.

The arrived the usual 6 hours late

_________________________
73 de KG2V
You are what you do when it counts - The Masso
Homepage: http://www.thegallos.com
Blog: http://kg2v.blogspot.com

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#159533 - 12/22/08 05:49 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: KG2V]
UncleGoo Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 12/06/06
Posts: 390
Loc: CT
I've helped clean up a few of these, and always thought that leaving the mangled car in direct view of the grade crossing might cut down on people trying to beat the gates...but it would probably just make it worse.
_________________________
Improvise,
Utilize,
Realize.

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#159535 - 12/22/08 06:05 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: OldBaldGuy]
Chris Kavanaugh Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/09/01
Posts: 3824
In a reverseal to all these nightmares, Last night I had a fun drive. A friend bought a vintage Mini Cooper in Malibu and prudently asked me to help drive it home, my having owned one for two years. His wife would follow in the family Ford. We took one of the fampous coastal canyons. I was concerned about possible rock slides, but the major routes were a mess.
I'm doing a prudent 30 MPH and was pleased to see his wife keeping up.
Well, as we entered my town, his 'wife' pulled alongside.We later learned she had passed on that 'scary Decker Canyon, Mr Toads's wild ride at Dizneyland' as she later described it, for bumper to bumper traffic. It was a CHiP cruiser and , as it's a RHD I rolled down the window and saw my friend Officer Green!The canyons have become so dangerous, worldwide drivers are coming here to test these demanding canyons with several wrecks and deaths, that a visible increase in patrols hasd been initiated.
First, I'm told he clocked me at a steady 30 MPH from start to finish, and never saw me brake once, and that he needed me to 'step out of the vehicle.' I'm thinking a big HUH? Wondering how he saw the first hairpin turn posted @ 15 MPH where I half broke the rear end into a slight 4 wheel drift.But THAT was even only 20 MPH, below which any self respected REAL mini will stall out with it's SU carbon any incline over 18 degrees.
Officer Green just laughed, saying " Chris, I just want to see that 6' 2" frame get out of that little itty bitty matchbox.I hope you're not wearing those high heeled cowboy boots!
This is what driving should be all about.


Edited by Chris Kavanaugh (12/22/08 06:19 PM)

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#159540 - 12/22/08 06:29 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: benjammin]
snoman Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/02
Posts: 181
Originally Posted By: benjammin
The train didn't look like it was phased in the least as it hit that trailer and sent the D-9 flying through the air.

I used to date a train driver a few years ago. As you can guess, she used to take a lot of ribbing about being "such a cute little girl driving that big 'ol train." Anyway, we were talking about stupid drivers and she says "We're trained to do three things. Hit the brakes, hit the horns and hit the floor."
I'm looking at her with a puzzled look saying "I understand hitting the brakes and the horns, but the floor? In a train, you're damn near invincible. You'll obliterate anything you hit!" She said "You have no idea what's going to happen. The car might come up in the cab with you. It might derail the train. We just lay down and hang on until everything stops and then worry about cleaning up whatever's left." She even said after a bad wreck, they're told to stay in the cab, radio it in and not go to look at anything. Too many of the driver's quit after seeing what their train did to a car or truck. Obviously, it doesn't leave a lot to bury. No matter what, the laws of physics will always win.

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#159548 - 12/22/08 06:51 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: snoman]
Stu Offline
I am not a P.P.o.W.
Old Hand

Registered: 05/16/05
Posts: 1058
Loc: Finger Lakes of NY State
Originally Posted By: snoman
[quote=benjammin] Obviously, it doesn't leave a lot to bury. No matter what, the laws of physics will always win.

Gross Tonnage rules!
_________________________
Our most important survival tool is our brain, and for many, that tool is way underused! SBRaider
Head Cat Herder

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#159646 - 12/23/08 10:49 AM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: Stu]
snoman Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/02
Posts: 181
Originally Posted By: SBRaider
Gross Tonnage rules!

You'd think people would be smart enough to figure that out. I've always wondered how someone can pass a truck as big as these things are, knowing that at highway speeds, they'll take up to a 1/4 mile to slow one down, and then get a car length or two in front of them. I've had people pull in front of me so closely that I couldn't even see the back of their car due to the nose of the truck. I was thinking of putting a little sign on my truck saying something like "I don't mind if you commit suicide, but please don't use me as the means."

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#159647 - 12/23/08 11:20 AM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: snoman]
wildman800 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/09/06
Posts: 2846
Loc: La-USA
I had a bumper sticker on the back of my 30ft trailer:

"If you can't stop, Smile as you go under!"
_________________________
QMC, USCG (Ret)
The best luck is what you make yourself!

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#161438 - 01/05/09 07:37 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: snoman]
Mike_H Offline
Addict

Registered: 04/04/07
Posts: 612
Loc: SE PA
Originally Posted By: snoman
You'd think people would be smart enough to figure that out. I've always wondered how someone can pass a truck as big as these things are, knowing that at highway speeds, they'll take up to a 1/4 mile to slow one down, and then get a car length or two in front of them. I've had people pull in front of me so closely that I couldn't even see the back of their car due to the nose of the truck. I was thinking of putting a little sign on my truck saying something like "I don't mind if you commit suicide, but please don't use me as the means."


I always give truckers a lot of respect for the job they do. I've driven some rather large moving trucks and always have the shakes when I'm done. I don't know how you guys maneuver those suckers. But yeah, lots of mass, very very slow stop.

What I don't like is truckers passing me in the left lane when the weather conditions are not favorable and I get hit with the slosh from their tires as they pass... That just makes me nervous.
_________________________
"I reject your reality and substitute my own..." - Adam Savage / Mythbusters

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#161439 - 01/05/09 07:39 PM Re: Try doing that in a heavy truck! [Re: Eugene]
Mike_H Offline
Addict

Registered: 04/04/07
Posts: 612
Loc: SE PA
Originally Posted By: Eugene

That state has worse drivers than others, you go to pass someone and there will be no one around yet they will cut over in front of you and they will be going 50mph when your going 65+ and you have to hit the brakes to keep from hitting them. No other state does it as consistent, twice it happened on this trip and the second one flipped me off.


To that I must disagree. Yes we have a fair share of bad drivers, but that is more regional. In the NE, they tended to be more curtious then outside of Philly. I've been cursing up a storm since moving from far out suburbs to closer suburbs.

NJ, now there were some bad drivers. I lived there for a few years and barely anyone used their signals.

I had a friend from CT that said PA drivers were easy in comparison.

Like I said, depends on how close you are to a city as to the quality of the drivers. The closer, the worse they are.
_________________________
"I reject your reality and substitute my own..." - Adam Savage / Mythbusters

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