[gimlet]

So I am cold turkey in a sweat for 24 hours from no Documenting Reality and all I get is this? A small, poorly framed picture of some bum cut in half by Reduction Pisser's train?

Reduction Pisser, post again when you can redeem yourself with pics of some hot babe you ground to hamburger with your train, hopefully while you were flagellating your erect penis out the window to shock her in her last moments on earth.

[SikTh]

Originally Posted by J1 Reduction Pissneck ↗

I've posted before when I had my 7th suicide. I'm just going to repost what I wrote nearly 2 1/2 years ago... EVERYTHING's the same, only the total numbers go up. I figured by now, I'd be ready to hang-up my overalls, but it's almost to the point where it's more of a nuisance than anything else. What's most sad (aside from the dead guy's story), is that I think over the years I've lost a real piece of my own humanity that I'll never regain. Here's the original post, along w/ a pic for you to go gaga over.

J1_Reduction_Pissneck

I feel for you bro. I'm on the railway too and have seen a few 'fatalities/jumpers' as we call them.
Hope you're okay though dude, if you need to chat then send me a message :)

[J1 Reduction Pissneck]

Originally Posted by wee_yumi ↗

Thank you so much for your point of view, I like documenting reality for its therapeutic effect as well. It's like I'm living my death through the pictures and videos here. I also live my death/get adrenaline rush by standing behind the barrier that is the closest to the tracks at level crossings, and feel the rush of turbulence as a train tumbles past me, I guess that must make the train driver pretty nervous since I might look like a potential suicide.
So my question is, is it safe to stand so close to the train? I'm behind the safety barrier, and it's probably a good 8 feet (2-3metres) from the tracks. I'd assume if they built the safety barrier for pedestrians there it must be safe, is it? Have you ever encountered people who got caught in the turbulence and somehow got sucked under? Have you ever had to hold someone's hands, as a conductor, as they died?
Awesome post, man, keep it up, you should definitely write a book about this.

Good questions. First, there is a general safety rule that's always good to follow. Stand 10 feet back for approximately every 10 mph the train is traveling. So, if a train is barreling down on you, probably doing 70 mph, you'd be perfectly safe standing 70 feet away. Obviously, you're not going to get hit, but at a safe distance like the 70 feet, you're no longer in danger of rocks being kicked up, transients on the train possibly throwing things, or most often, a SHIFTED LOAD. On a mile long freight train, a load can easily shift 10 feet out from the side of the train and the crew may not know it for some time! (there are devices which detect these things, or other trains will see it and make notification... eventually, but sometimes too late). Even worse, a broken steel tie-strap... that thing will whip around like a guillotine and cut your legs right off... and you probably won't see it coming!

Another point you made... if you're close to the tracks, does the engineer worry you might be a potential suicide? That's up to you... if you're behind the barrier/gate simply watching the train, the engineer's not going to think much of it. Something I always do is just give a little wave as he's approaching that basically says, "Hi train! I know you're there. I'm not going to get in your way.". You'll probably get two quick toots on the horn acknowledging he sees you and isn't concerned you're in danger. BUT, if you stand in the same place, moving around in a weird kind of jittery way, looking around for other people, or taking like a "ready, set, go" kinda stance... I can guarantee the engineer won't take his eyes off you. He'll probably also blow the horn a lot more than usual, and if he's like me, he's going to have one hand already on the brake handle ready to throw it into emergency.

Each and every trip you come up on folks on the tracks. Almost always, almost all of them, almost usually, simply move out of the way. Most people aren't looking to get killed. =) Sometimes though... something just won't 'feel right' about the situation, and something in your stomach makes you think, oh shit, what's going to happen here? Even still, even when it all feels wrong, they still usually move. In my career, over seven years, nine people, what whatever reason, just didn't. Their days of moving where over.

Keep safe! -J1 Reduction

[Jeff4221]

Originally Posted by J1 Reduction Pissneck ↗

This is the only place I know of where I can discuss the horrors I've seen, or even my morbid fascination with the physics involved when 79-mph train meets a stationary 200 pound man. When the newspapers talk of the victims, they inevitably leave out us engineers, our conductors, and the 1st-responders on the scene. Just don't forget these suicides hurt far more people than those selfish SOB's out there killing themselves!!!

More than understood. I live near where trains go by on a daily basis, and have heard of numerous people getting hit over the years. And you're right, the reports never mention the people on the train who had to witness the deaths, they instead gloss over it as though the train had no right to be there.

[wee_yumi]

Originally Posted by J1 Reduction Pissneck ↗

Good questions. First, there is a general safety rule that's always good to follow. Stand 10 feet back for approximately every 10 mph the train is traveling. So, if a train is barreling down on you, probably doing 70 mph, you'd be perfectly safe standing 70 feet away. Obviously, you're not going to get hit, but at a safe distance like the 70 feet, you're no longer in danger of rocks being kicked up, transients on the train possibly throwing things, or most often, a SHIFTED LOAD. On a mile long freight train, a load can easily shift 10 feet out from the side of the train and the crew may not know it for some time! (there are devices which detect these things, or other trains will see it and make notification... eventually, but sometimes too late). Even worse, a broken steel tie-strap... that thing will whip around like a guillotine and cut your legs right off... and you probably won't see it coming!

Another point you made... if you're close to the tracks, does the engineer worry you might be a potential suicide? That's up to you... if you're behind the barrier/gate simply watching the train, the engineer's not going to think much of it. Something I always do is just give a little wave as he's approaching that basically says, "Hi train! I know you're there. I'm not going to get in your way.". You'll probably get two quick toots on the horn acknowledging he sees you and isn't concerned you're in danger. BUT, if you stand in the same place, moving around in a weird kind of jittery way, looking around for other people, or taking like a "ready, set, go" kinda stance... I can guarantee the engineer won't take his eyes off you. He'll probably also blow the horn a lot more than usual, and if he's like me, he's going to have one hand already on the brake handle ready to throw it into emergency.

Each and every trip you come up on folks on the tracks. Almost always, almost all of them, almost usually, simply move out of the way. Most people aren't looking to get killed. =) Sometimes though... something just won't 'feel right' about the situation, and something in your stomach makes you think, oh shit, what's going to happen here? Even still, even when it all feels wrong, they still usually move. In my career, over seven years, nine people, what whatever reason, just didn't. Their days of moving where over.

Keep safe! -J1 Reduction

True, I never thought about the aspect of projectiles from the train. Cheers for the heads-up man! And keep up the thread! I can't wait to read more from you!

[cortdb]

Excellent post, Great read. I work for a company on the east coast doing Railcar repair. we dont do Locos but just rolling stock, mostly coal cars and box cars. Only thing i have ever seen as far as gore goes on a railcar, was a huge chunk of meat and hair that was speared by a broken brake beam on a coal car. The coarse nature of the hair leads me to believe it was an animal (i hope) but then again it couldve been someone laying between the tracks as a stunt and then speared by the low hanging broken brake beam. I guess we will never know. Stay safe

[Boondoggle]

As a paramedic, I completely understand your feelings about suicides. Someday I'm going to write a book called "How Not to Commit Suicide." Involving others in the plan just pisses me off to no end.

[ices]

I like trains, ever since I was a kid I was just mesmerised by how big they were.

Nothing beats a train except maybe a missile and a ship and its just an easy way out when it rolls on by and slams into a person head-on.

Its not a quick death lying across the tracks to get crushed in half. I say crushed because train wheels dont slice. Its not instant death but what happens when someone his hit full-on?

Those Amtrak trains are hyuuuge.

Just a random question though, why dont they put massive scoops at the front of the trains? All soft and squishy

If someone gets hit by a train they will be alive (maybe) but with a new lease of life.

[SikTh]

10ft for every 10mph? Woah that's a bit of an excessive rule.. Here in the UK we have what's called the Position of Safety (PoS). Its worked on this:

Distance to be stood away from the track during traffic hours.
0 to 100 mph - 1.25metres
101 to 125 mph - 2.0metres

But then I guess we have loads of ORR rules and regulations to follow which means when we are considered 'on or near the line'.

[catpoop]

why do people say suicide is selfish?..selfish people dont kill themselves, they love themselves more than anything, selfish people kill others.it is selfish for some one else to decide the fate of another.whether you are killing them or they are killing themselves....imo