22 Comments
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Frank's avatar

MOTHERFUCKER, MIKE!

I walk my dogs near that trestle!

There is a guy who sits in a shack just on the other side of that slough or whatever it is. When he rotates the trestle, he flips the (D)erail level on his side, and then walks the quarter mile west and flips the other derail so the train can pass. The nightime run goes west around 8pm and then returns around midnight.

Did someone forget to flip the derail? Lots of human activity with the casino and RV park, plus it's really close to beautiful downtown Anacortes, so the train is never going very fast.

I talked to the operator on January 28th. Young guy, friendly and seemed pretty on-the-ball.

EDIT: Yep, the derailleur got it! Either the trestle hadn't swung yet and the train got too close, or the trestle operator didn't flip the derailleur! Regardless, the engineer should have seen the large, reflective 'D' on the switch flag and stopped the train. Simple shit really! Cognitive decay maybe?

https://www.anacortesnow.com/news/community-news/5005-train-derailed-on-swinomish-reservation

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Mike Huggins's avatar

I assume this was the midnight train to Anacortes. I didn't see any interviews with the conductor, engineer or derailer dude.

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SunnyRai's avatar

Scary shit! "Cognitive decay,"...me thinks you may be right, considering the +++ of damaged cars driving the roads. 🤔💉 🧠🗑️🧟‍♂️

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Frank's avatar

Ya, the Armcos have been taking a beating too!

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GenEarly's avatar

Bolshevik maybe??? Oh Nooo not "Here" in the USSA!!!!

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Frank's avatar

I think that it's just a good old fashioned fuck-up, but like I said; the train conductor should have seen that the flag on the derailleur was still on 'D'.

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jacquelyn sauriol's avatar

Seems more CCP than USSA, hey, maybe both!

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GenEarly's avatar

Potato, Potatoe, Comrade. Welcome to the USSA!!!

https://genearly.substack.com/p/you-know-there-are-various-newz-stories?sd=pf

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Khallas's avatar

I have a friend who is a conductor for BNSF in MT. He's been keeping me apprised of employment problems, inefficiency, and greed related to these companies since Covid. Ripe for bribery. They would do anything for money, and personally I think they've sold out to Deep State schemes.

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Mike Huggins's avatar

So the diesel fuel might be on it's way to Ukraine and not seeping into the ground in Anacortes.

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Frank's avatar

5,000 gallons is likely what a GE locomotive engine holds to feed it's 2,500hp 16 cylinder turbo diesel.

One thing we do know is lots of coal from Washington gets shipped to China from Anacortes.

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John Galt's avatar

They should be running out of capital soon.

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SunnyRai's avatar

".....without love, where would you be right now?..."

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John Galt's avatar

"""You know I saw miss Lucy, down along the tracks, she lost her home and her family and she won't be comin' back..."""

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jwslaw's avatar

WTF is going on?

Fyi... one of my good friend's neighbor is a long time airline pilot. supposedly, the pilot says they vastly lowered the standards and training such that they can comply with diversity hires. Says that dude that piloted the plane in Hawaii that took the big plunge was not qualified to fly that big ole plane. Unfortunately, I've been scared to fly since 1992 when our plane leaving Cancun took a bit of a dive and scared the piss out of me, which resulted in a concurrent fear of heights. Now, i really don't want to fly at all....already had to down a few at the airport bar -- now, probably need a couple hours of drinking.

VRR Fun Food Fact: I’ve never eaten catfish.

it tastes a lot better than it looks!

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Mike Huggins's avatar

I've had enough flying for this lifetime. I've crash landed a few times. Thanks for the food fact info too.

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Tarn - mutual eye-rolling's avatar

Maybe you should stop your training run VRR.

The trainee has surpassed the trainer.

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Mr. Elk's avatar

Poor RR companies . . . until they are bailed out with tax payer $s - compliments of Janet Yellen et al.

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KW NORTON's avatar

Only three? What is wrong with these people? No class, no dash.

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User's avatar
Comment deleted
Mar 17, 2023
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Mike Huggins's avatar

No I haven't had them. I have a brother in Kentucky I need to visit so I'll stop in to The Whistle and try it.

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