2 people dead in Tofield, standing on train tracks ... yes, standing, not walking

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Alberta...899/story.html



I feel bad for the train crews personally.

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Photograph by: Handout , RCMP

EDMONTON — A man and woman are dead after they were struck by a Canadian National train near Tofield, southeast of Edmonton, RCMP say.

Late Tuesday night, police were called to the railway crossing 13 kilometres northwest of Tofield.

A 65-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman were standing on the tracks when they were struck by a westbound train around 11:15 p.m., said Sgt. Jim Warren with Tofield RCMP.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman suffered critical injuries and was taken by air ambulance to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Warren said notification of next of kin is underway. Their identities were not released, but Warren said they were related and shared the same surname.

There was "no explanation of where or why they were there, or how they got there," Warren said, adding police did not find a vehicle nearby.

"What these people's intent was, I don't think we'll ever know."

The railway crossing is not controlled with bells.

"But because it's an unmarked crossing, (the crew) have to sound the horn," he said. "The trains are big and powerful and they cannot stop quickly. These gentlemen (on the train) did try to get it to stop."

CN spokesman Warren Chandler said the company will provide support and counselling options to the crew.

"This is a tragedy for everyone involved and that includes our crew members, who were unable to stop," Chandler said. "It's a sad reminder that people should not be on the tracks."

Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Alber...#ixzz1rNb5ja4J

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This was that German couple I think. Nothing on them but passports with no identification as to where they were staying.

Sad. suicide pact?

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Originally posted by C_Dave45
Sad. suicide pact?

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Probably. Even a deaf person would feel a XXX hundred ton train approaching. For anybody with hearing, its impossible to not tell its coming. Besides, at 11:15 at night; the incredibly powerful lights would give it away quite quickly I'd assume.

Sad. The train crew must be shattered.

suicide for sure

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Originally posted by shakalaka
Sad. The train crew must be shattered.

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No kidding. Imagine being at the controls, desperately trying to stop, but knowing that you're going to hit. :(

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Originally posted by Stealth22
No kidding. Imagine being at the controls, desperately trying to stop, but knowing that you're going to hit. :(

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You cant. A fully loaded train takes at least a mile to stop, Probably more actually, but I know its at least a mile.

There is nothing anybody at the controls could have done short of laying on the horn steadily.

Even though those engines range from 5-10,000 HP.... with the insane amount of mass a train has it takes a VERY long time to accelerate or decelerate.
(Those long engines with the golden crest on the side are the 10,000hp ones, the shorter ones are the 5,000hp ones).... just to give you an idea when you see another train.

their lives must have been a train wreck to do this. :(

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Originally posted by Graham_A_M

You cant. A fully loaded train takes at least a mile to stop, Probably more actually, but I know its at least a mile.

There is nothing anybody at the controls could have done short of laying on the horn steadily.

Even though those engines range from 5-10,000 HP.... with the insane amount of mass a train has it takes a VERY long time to accelerate or decelerate.
(Those long engines with the golden crest on the side are the 10,000hp ones, the shorter ones are the 5,000hp ones).... just to give you an idea when you see another train.

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I know...that was my point. The crew would be leaning on the horn, and would have set the brakes, but knowing full well that the train is never going to stop in time.

My heart goes out to the train crew and the family's of the people.

Brutal. They gotta put a stop to all that faith hilling.

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U guys ever see cows being hit by trains? omfg, its hardcore, lol... as far as these two junkies are concerned... fuck them, no remorse for them whatso ever. they wanna commit suicide, go ahead.

Thats fucked. I feel bad for the train crew . yuck..

Reminds me of the part in the movie Inception

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Originally posted by InRich
U guys ever see cows being hit by trains? omfg, its hardcore, lol... as far as these two junkies are concerned... fuck them, no remorse for them whatso ever. they wanna commit suicide, go ahead.

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Originally posted by Graham_A_M

Even though those engines range from 5-10,000 HP.... with the insane amount of mass a train has it takes a VERY long time to accelerate or decelerate.
(Those long engines with the golden crest on the side are the 10,000hp ones, the shorter ones are the 5,000hp ones).... just to give you an idea when you see another train.

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I'm not sure where you're getting this data from, but it's incorrect.

There's a couple locomotives that get up to near 10'000 hp, but none in active service in North America.

The most common units we use are AC4400's which are 4400 hp, there's a couple Mac 90's kicking around that claim 6000hp(but actually produce much less), but they're in the process of becoming scrap metal.

Stopping distance varies greatly depending on what type of train it is. A fully loaded bulk train can weigh in excess of 18'000 tons, and take more like 2 miles to get stopped (of course dependent on how fast he's going at the time too).

The longer intermodal trains on the other hand, while longer, are lighter and can stop in significantly less distance. Bottom line, by the time the Engineer sees something that he needs to stop for it's already to late.

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Originally posted by revelations

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Or this poor guy:

Welp, I'm not sleeping tonight.

Fucking faceless cows will be chasing me off a cliff or some shit.

Maybe they wanted to be buried in Canada as its permanent.