Heroes of Rail Safety

End of the Year Top 5 Train Movie Bonanza!!!

2011-12-31T12:19:00.001-08:00

It’s kind of hard to argue with train-related movies (well, train-related anything). Throughout the history of cinema, there have been some classic train films, so many that when the magazine Trains produced their list of the top 100 train movies, they were forced to leave off the 1985 classic Runaway Train starring Jon Voight and Rebecca DeMornay. The Train Movie Hall of Fame includes comedies (Trains, Planes and Automobiles; Throw Momma from the Train), musical comedies (A Hard Day’s Night), comedic thrillers (The Silver Streak), stupid cartoons (Dumbo; The Polar Express), time travel westerns (Back to the Future 3), non-time travel westerns (The Great Train Robbery; 3:10 to Yuma; Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; every other awesome western); interracial buddy action comedies (Money Train); and of course World War II movies (The Train).

Sidenote: If you haven’t seen The Train, fucking watch it now. Stop reading this, go to your Netflix Instant Queue where it is currently streaming, and watch this absolute classic. This blog entry can wait, but you cannot afford another minute of your life without watching The Train.

More recently, there has been a revival of train-related movies. Public Enemies featured both the Milwaukee Road 261 (brilliant) and the Union Pacific Challenger (great train, but what the hell would it be doing in Chicago in 1934?!), and Transsiberian, whose plot derailed (yuck yuck) about an hour into the film, features some outstanding Soviet-era steam locomotives. There has even been a (very well done) remake of 3:10 to Yuma. The watershed moment of this most recent train movie renaissance is undoubtedly 2010’s Unstoppable. Since Denzel and the new Captain Kirk’s stirring performances (not to mention the Oscar-worthy performance of the Geep they pilot), 2011 has seen a flurry of train movies. What follows is a list of the best train movies of 2011.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II

Didn’t see that coming, did you?

The Train: The Hogwarts Express. It runs on “magic.” I hated typing those words.

Anyone who knows me, knows I hate these damn movies. But I find it appropriate that this train (a facsimile of a classic British 4-4-0 steam engine) is the primary mode of transport between the actual world and “wizard school,” as it’s referred to in the movie. Beyond that, this was by far and away the lamest of all the Harry Potter movies. I mean, how do you close out the series without one mention of Frodo?

4. Hugo

I have no commentary for this one because I haven’t seen it.

The Train: It’s possible there isn’t a single train in this movie. I really don’t know. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and is about a boy who lives in a train station. It must be better than stupid Harry Potter, right?

3. Fast Five

Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Ludacris and the rest of the Fast and the Furious gang are back, and some of them rob a train.

The Train: A Brazilian commuter train also carrying several sports cars seized by the DEA. In Brazil. Kind of a strange set up.

At one point during this sequence a truck hits the train, which tips to one side but never turns over or derails (obviously). The message? No matter how fast and furious the Rock, Vin Diesel, or any of their cars claim to be, there is nothing more angry than a Brazilian train.

2. Super 8

Goonies meets ET meets Cloverfield meets a train.

The Train: A U.S. Airforce transport train carrying mysterious cargo.

Though I obviously don’t condone trains crashing, this was one badass train crash, comparable to the famous crash scene in The Fugitive. The crash itself was mostly digital, which is a bit disappointing. I’d hate to see old stunt EMD locomotives put out of work by CGI technology.

1. Source Code

2011 had two science fiction train movies, Super 8 and Source Code. Source Code was the better of the two.

The Train: A futuristic Chicago Metra commuter train. WITH A FUCKING DUNKIN’ DONUTS ON BOARD.

Oh, and Jake Gyllenhaal gets hit by a Metra train. Don’t worry, the plot has something to do with time travel or something, so I haven’t ruined anything for you.

There are multiple train accidents and explosions in this movie, and there is a “Jake Gyllenhaal must save the train from an impending terrorist attack and bang the female lead actress” plotline. It’s basically Groundhogs Day meets Unstoppable meets Back to the Future III meets 9/11. The movie is interesting BUT HAVE I MENTIONED THERE IS A DUNKIN’ DONUTS ONBOARD THE TRAIN ITSELF?! There was time travel and a white terrorist but the most unbelievable part was the Dunkin Donuts onboard the train itself.

Cheesy product placement? Perhaps. Great idea? Abso-fucking-lutely! Americans are choosing their cars over commuter trains in sad numbers. Put a fully functioning Dunkin’ Donuts on every peak hour train in America, and I promise you we will have a more vibrant commuter rail system than Europe. And for that innovation, Source Code has been officially named the number 1 train movie of 2011.

Unstoppable: An Orgy of Rail Safety

2010-11-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hello all, it’s been a while since I’ve updated the blog (I say this every single time). I recently saw the new movie Unstoppable, and I thought it might be appropriate to provide my thoughts in a quick review. I will sum up my reaction in one rail safety related phrase: if you have the opportunity to see Unstoppable, I suggest you stop, look, and listen. The erection I maintained through almost 2 hours of cinema was, in a word, unstoppable.

This is a movie that will appeal to railfans and losers who don’t like trains alike. It has all the things normal people like: drama, suspense, a hint of sexual tension, Rosario Dawson, action, callous corporate asshole bad guys, and a budding friendship that spans both race and age-related boundaries. But make no mistake fans of rail safety: this is your movie. The protagonists are literally heroes of rail safety (was Unstoppable inspired by this blog?). This movie also has magnificent shots of modern diesel locomotive powerhouses such as a GE AC4400CW, and reliable oldies like the EMD SD 40-2s (site note: I was super thrilled to see the classic “Dash” as the locomotive that is used to slow down the out of control GE, and I think Diane Segall, wherever she is, would be happy as well).

I won’t go into too much detail about the plot because I expect anyone who is reading this to go out and see it. The movie is loosely based on the events of the famous “Crazy Eights” unnamed train incident in 2001 (of which we are all too familiar I am sure). Fatass/scientologist Ethan Suplee plays an inept (and fat) hostler, who when moving a freight train sitting in a rail yard, neglects to connect the air hose between the locomotive and the rest of the cars. He then, in an act that goes against all principles of rail safety, steps out of the cab to manually turn the switch to move the train onto a side track. Predictably, he can’t get his fat ass back on the train, and just like that, you have a missile the size of the Chrysler Building. Suplee and a coworker say a quick prayer to lord Xenu and try to chase the train down, unsuccessfully.

Malcolm X (played by Denzel Washington), another train’s engineer, and the new Captain James T. Kirk (played by Chris Pine), that train’s conductor, are forced to look beyond their differences and track down the run away train. They are guided by yardmaster Rosario Dawson, while a corporate big wig attempts to thwart their efforts. They are also assisted by a Federal Rail Safety Inspector, which is pretty fucking sweet. Denzel is as smooth as ever (and seriously, how was this movie not named Training Day 2?), and Pine is much more of a badass piloting a train than the USS Enterprise.

This scene was definitely in the movie.

One enjoyable side plot (that is marketed as a major piece of the film but really isn’t) is a train full of school children whose class trip puts them square in the path of the runaway train. What is the primary lesson of their field trip? The most important lesson that we all could hope to learn: rail fucking safety.

Eric B: Making Our Skies and Rails Safe

2010-05-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hello fellow trainiacs. I know it's been a while since I've updated the blog, but recent events in rail safety (or lack thereof) have forced me to make this story a priority. Those of you in the Philadelphia area may have already heard about this story, but I am proud to say that one of our correspondents (and military pilot in training), Eric B, was on the scene minutes after the event occurred.

Eric B: Hero of Rail Safety.

Being a dedicated follower of the blog, Eric immediately contacted me on Thursday, May 6, knowing the urgency with which I would want this story to hit the blog-o-sphere. I promptly took the weekend off, and decided to post this story on May 11th. So to anyone who was hoping to avoid a clusterfuck either on the R6 rail line or in East Falls at Indian Queen Lane and Cresson Ave, my bad. Anyway, I am simply going to post Eric's account of what he saw with the photos he took, and you can reference the map below to piece it all together. I want re-emphasize: this is Eric's account of events. I typically don't use language like this.

"So I'm straight chillin' at the top of the hill with two neighbors, when we see a firetruck race down (southwest) Indian Queen Lane. We were fucking terrified that Billy Murphy's Irish Saloon was on fire, so we ran down the hill hoping to be deputized so we could help put out the fire. As it turns out, the tragedy that had unfolded was much more funny than the one we hoped to prevent...
"We got to the corner of Cresson and Indian Queen and saw that a Septa train had clobbered some dumbass' car. We thought for certain the driver was dead. We talked to a dude who saw the whole event. He said the driver was trying to make a right turn onto Indian Queen from Cresson AFTER the lights started flashing. By the time she pulled onto the tracks the gates had already come down. She looked at the guy in car (who was obeying the ethics of rail safety and common fucking sense) and mouthed the words 'what do I do?!' to which he responded 'Get out of the car!!!' Instead, she tried to drive forward, but he wheels simply spun. She then put her car in reverse, with the same result (those gates are stronger than they look). She looked at the witness and again said 'What should I do?!' to which he once again responded 'Get the FUCK out of the car!' Instead, she stayed in the car and the Septa train kept moving forward until this happened:
"She must have collected trash in her trunk, because when the train hit her car the trunk flew open and garbage went flying everywhere. Her car hit three parked cars as it rolled over three times before stopping. When the firemen went to get her out, I assumed they'd be scraping her off of the car seats, but as it turns out she was mostly uninjured, besides whatever mental disabilities she had that led to her to slowly pull onto the train tracks as the warning lights signaled a train was coming. With the firemen's help she stood up and waved to the crowd." - Eric B, 2nd Lieutenant, 05/06/10

Take a look at the damage the Septa train suffered. Almost none. Say what you will about the shitty service you'll receive on the trains themselves, the over-priced tickets, infrequent running times and all around trash that makes up a large percentage of its ridership, Septa knows how to build a train.

And if I might editorialize this story for a moment: this is what pisses me off about people who ignore the rules of rail safety. There was a train full of commuters trying to get home from a hard day of work. All this moron has to do is wait until the train passed and she could go home too. But instead, she slowly decided to "go for it" and ends up wrecking her car and everyone else ends up on shuttle buses for two hours. If you can't make quick, rational decisions, you might not belong behind the wheel of a car.

On a side note, I want to thank Eric for capturing these photos. Apparently, when he went to take the photos his neighbors asked him why he would want to photograph this moment. He said a friend of his had a rail safety blog. Several other onlookers overheard him say this and laughed out loud. Fuck those dickheads.

Car Hits Train

2009-12-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

The title says it all:

Notice how the driver doesn't even tap their brakes before hitting the train. See, people in cars have lots of options. They can slow down, speed up, they can swerve, they can bail out, they have all sorts of things that they can do when approached by the prospect of running into a gigantic, slow moving steel machine. Engineers can only blow their horns and watch the fireworks. This is why you so rarely see a car actually hit a train, and not the other way around.

There is a Fine Line Between Retarded and Awesome...

2009-12-05T14:01:00.000-08:00

For the Retarded: the Book of Revelations says something about the Bear and Dragon doing battle or some crap like that. Well, for a long time the Baptists I know believed the bear represented Russia. If a disturbing trend for Russian youths today is any indication, these people are going to weed themselves out before Barack Obama officially becomes the antichrist. It's called "Dare the Train." These morons wait for a train to come, jump on the tracks and lie flat as the train speeds along mere inches above their bodies. This is an after school special waiting to happen. Let's add it all up: they embrace communism, cause Chernobyl to meltdown, lose the Cold War after producing a shit-ton of nuclear weapons that are now scattered around former Soviet Socialist Republics in central Asia, and now the next generation of Russians are lying down in front of trains.

Check this video of this Latvian moron:

Side note about Latvians: they actively participated in the Holocaust. All of them.

And now for the Awesome: someone in India has been reading this blog. Also courtesy of Jesse, we have an update regarding my earlier post about the lack of safety on Indian railroads. One railroad in Northern India is hiring wrestlers and boxers to rid their cars of stowaways who haven't paid for a ticket to ride. Read that last sentence again and let it sink in. In America they just use conductors who check tickets, but think about how awesome it would be if instead of polite, uniformed employees who punch passengers' tickets, NJ Transit hired boxers who simply punched passengers in the face if they didn't buy a ticket. As a side note, I would love it if NJ Transit hired people simply to punch passengers who talked loudly on their cell phones, kicked the back of occupied seats, or listened to techno music at such a high volume it can heard on the other side of the train. If you don't believe me, czech it out:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/6538362/Indian-trains-recruit-boxers-and-wrestlers-in-fight-against-ticketless-passengers.html

Rail Safety or Mom Safety...

2009-10-16T09:12:00.001-07:00

You make the call:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQsVlFfqxWE

Rail Safety or Mom Safety...

2009-10-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

You make the call:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQsVlFfqxWE

Not Safe: Indians

2009-09-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

This is not meant to be a racial statement, but I think it's pretty clear that there are a large number of Indians who haven't been reading my blog. In all fairness, I love the enthusiasm. I'll give India an A for effort with regards to their desire to ride a train at any cost. I grumble every time I pay $20.50 for a round trip ticket to NYC, but these folks are willing to risk life and limb to experience the open rails. But there is a time when common sense must prevail, and it clearly isn't happening here. Never mind the fact that a large number of people have chosen to simply sit or hang onto a heavy, unstoppable, moving vehicle. Consider this: you are an Indian engineer. Your train is not equipped with a radio, so you rely on signal plates on the sides of the tracks to tell you when you need to slow down, stop or speed up so the express train to Mumbai, which has priority, can head through. And you can't see jack shit because there are ten people standing in front of your windows. Rail accidents are super problematic in India for this very reason. And just imagine the increase in injuries and death in a rail accident when there are hundreds of people on the train and not in the train! Try driving to work blindfolded tomorrow and you'll understand the plight of the average Indian railroad engineer. Correction: try driving to work blindfolded tomorrow and having hundreds of peoples' lives in your hands and you'll understand the plight of the average Indian railroad engineer. But a large number of Indians persist on traveling in this manner. Additionally, on electrified trains there is the danger of severe electrocution (duh). If you are not faint of heart, watch this video of a roof-rider casually reaching up to the lines while the train is stopped at a station. I warn you, this video is gruesome:

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/80647819/

But what I find most disturbing is that I couldn't find any evidence that the Indian government was doing anything to stop this kind of activity. Well, I have an idea. Make my blog mandatory reading for every Indian child from ages 5 to 15. I am working on a petition right now. I'll keep you updated. Big thanks to Tombstone Trevor for sending this photo my way, and helping keep rail safety worldwide.

The Mysterious and (in my imagination) the Beautiful Diane S. Segal

2009-08-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

If you subscribe to the magazine Trains, the name Diane S. Segal is not unfamiliar to you. She is not a hero of railroad safety, but is certainly a caped-crusader for trains in general. I discovered Ms. Segal in March of this year when I was given a subscription to this fine publication for my birthday (big-ups to my grandma). In the March of 2009 issue I found the following full page advertisement:

And it certainly stood out to me. Clearly Diane and her mother shared a common love of trains and this was Diane’s tribute to the deceased. I figured a full-page advert was probably expensive, so to me it was a bit over the top, but who am I to judge? Everyone deals with grief differently, right? And the poems didn’t strike me as very emotional either. Take a look at the detail from the March 2009 issue:

There is no reminiscing about the times she and her mother went trainspotting in the Smokey Mountains, or the first time they road the B&O from Cincinnati to Baltimore. This is a history of the CW44AC-2! Take a look at the second verse:

"On CW44AC-2 extensive testing was done

By September, 1995, it was back in Kentucky at Coal Run"

Now, I was always under the impression that poetry was ultimately something lyrical, or at least meant to be read aloud. Try reading that verse out loud! The technical language is not meant for this medium, beautiful as it may be. But I will give her this: she knows her locomotive history.

So fast-forward to April of 2009. I excitedly thumb through my new issue of Trains and what do I see?

Two months of this? It seems excessive, right? But get this: every month since March she has entered two new poems and drawings in a full-page ad! So I decided to do some digging. I called Trains to find out how much she is paying for each ad. My contact at Trains tells me each ad costs $3782.00. That means that since March Diane has spent $26,474 on these advertisements. On top of that, the friendly man at Trains also indicated that she started doing this a while ago.

This is where the enigma of Diane S. Segal takes hold of me. Who is this practitioner of locomotive poems, this Claude Monet of train-related pencil sketches? As it turns out I am not the only person asking this question. A quick google search of “Diane S. Segal” will yield 17,300 results. In one railroad.net forum, “Cowford” begs the question “Who the heck is Diane S. Segal?” Cowford asked this question on November 2^{nd of} 2006!!! Let me restate that: people have been asking “who is Diane S. Segal” for almost three years! That means her ads have be running for (probably) over three years! THREE FUCKING YEARS of unique poetry and drawings!

Let’s do a little cost analysis on this. From November 2006 to September 2009 is 35 months, 70 poems, 70 drawings and $132,370 worth of advertisements!!!!! And that’s assuming she started in November of 2006, though it’s likely she began much earlier and that’s what prompted Cowford to ask this eternal question. Let that sink in. What could you do with $132,370 dollars? I know I would do something railroad related, but this?

So the question remains: who the heck is Diane S. Saigal? There are several other railroading based forums where this question has been kicked around and no one seems to know who she is! I mean, she has loads of cash, but she isn’t trying to sell her drawings or poems, at least not online. So who is she?! Well, one intrepid railfan did find this interesting document:

http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/83352/op-83352.pdf

Apparently one Diane S. Segal was a lawyer in Florida and was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court of knowingly making false statements during the handling of her uncle’s estate! The report states that Segal’s uncle left his sister (Diane's mother and the object of her poems?) and Diane a shit-ton of money (my words) and that, along with her disbarring, she undergo psychiatric evaluations, among other things. Is this our Diane S. Segal? Did she get the money for her ads from her deceased uncle’s estate? This doesn’t sound like the tender-hearted siren who has graced the pages of Trains magazine for the last three years. I suppose we may never know. Or, as “Noel C” on the Altamont Press discussion board put it:

This conundrum – it began

With these poems by Diane

Of the poetry and trains

I guess the mystery remains

Diane, if you are out there and reading this, quench our collective thirst! We need to know, who are you? Make a facebook page. Create your own blog that features your art. Give us a sign! Please, Diane S. Segal. You are an enigma, wrapped in a riddle. Yes, that was a Winston Churchill/Simpsons reference.

This Just In: People are Dumb

2009-06-03T16:06:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I was bombarded with not one, but two emails from my man J-Dizzle about his concern for more education regarding international railroad safety. This first video comes to us from an Israeli news program, via a Swiss bookman:

Now, I don't speak Hebrew, but I get the gist of the report (perhaps one of our Israeli readers can help us out with a translation). Some crazy idiot laid down on the tracks, trying to kill herself. Score one for the creationists, because if Darwin knew what the fuck he was talking about, she'd be dead. But this raises some serious concerns about the state of international rail safety. So does this next piece of news:

Australian Rail Safety Seriously Lacking

I don't put much stock in the Australians. The last WWI "veteran" alive was Australian and he just died. Guess what: he never served in WWI. He enlisted, but never saw combat. Does that count? Not really, but what do you expect from a nation descended from criminals? Anyway, this poor chap was hit by two trains before some one stopped to pick up the pieces. I mean seriously, what the hell is going on here? Do other people not realize that trains are heavy, fast and unforgiving? What's it going to take? I'll tell you what: Birdie and Sly Fox translated into Hebrew and whatever language they happen to speak in Australia. That's what. I hope Obama reads my blog.

Keep yer game tight!

2009-06-01T17:48:00.000-07:00

I know we all have slow days at work, but rail safety never takes a break! I thought I might share some fun learning activities that you and some of your coworkers could do to brush up on your rail safety skillz!

It looks our old pal Sly Fox has learned a thing or two! And so have you! Now try out this crossword puzzle.

Sly Fox and Birdie

2009-05-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

I am not ashamed to say that I have had a love affair with the adorable duo of Sly Fox and Birdie since National Train Day. It is as if I have reconnected with my childhood innocence. It is for that reason that I excitedly bring to you the animated adventures of Sly Fox and Birdie! Jim of the American's for High Life blog found these gems on youtube, and Jesus are they amazing. In these clips we are treated to a deeper look at these classic characters, not to mention an entertaining and valuable series of lessons on rail safety. So let's begin!

Watch:

I don't know about you, but when I read a good book, a truly compelling book, I have a tendency to imagine the characters' mannerisms, habits, vocal tone, etc. I create my own version of the various elements that can only be expressed in a limited way through the medium of literature. So when that great work of literature becomes a motion picture, I sometimes bristle at the interpretation or vision of director. Such is the case with Sly Fox and Birdie. I believe in my last entry I referred to Sly Fox as "functionally retarded." I am now forced to reconsider that notion. I believe Sly Fox is a drunk. He is clumsy, has limited ambition (why doesn't he eat Birdie?), talks like a jackass, can barely keep his eyes open, and causes mischief (but doesn't think about the consequences). I've never thought of Sly Fox as a "bad guy," so to speak, but a goofy moron. But I have to say, his voice makes him sound somewhat devious. Frankly I don't know how to read the guy. He seems well enough, and he can be reasoned with (especially when wearing his special thinking cap), but he talks like an arsonist!

Watch:

The Birdie character is frankly bizarre. What anyone could learn from a bird about trains is beyond me. But she is always there whenever Sly Fox is looking for trouble. She refers to him as "Foxy Woxie," which is a bit flirtatious. I have never been comfortable with inter-species sex, least of all around trains. But really, why does Birdie give a shit? The guy is a dick to her every time. He has no common sense and would be her natural enemy in the wild. Yet she is there at every step, looking to prevent Sly Fox's hapless existence from suddenly being erased by the massive wheels of a boxcar.

Watch:

Three things we learned from this video. 1.) The creators of these videos DO NOT understand their target audience. If you are old enough to drive, a cartoon fox and bird are not going to inspire to you to be a more responsible driver. 2.) The creators of these videos promote drunk driving, because there is no way Sly Fox is sober in any of these videos. And 3.) People can change. By video 3 Sly Fox seems to have chilled out and realized he needs a little help from his winged-friend. Even Birdie is amazed at the change in attitude made by Sly Fox.

Report from National Train Day; Philadelphia Celebration

2009-05-25T06:03:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while, and I am certain all you rail safety fanatics have been waiting patiently for an update so...here it is! May 9th was National Train Day, and naturally I was "on board" for the festivities (I just love train-related puns)! I agonized over what to wear, and I'm sure you've all been there. If I wore my New York Central t-shirt I was going to piss off all the old Pennsylvania Railroad guys, and if I wore my Conrail shirt everyone was going to think I was some lame poser. So I went with NYC and hopped on the NJTransit NEC line to Trenton, transfered over to Septa R7 and headed for 30th Street Station.

To be perfectly frank I was a bit disappointed by the set up. There were long lines for every friggin' display. There was even a line to go and buy stuff! Most of the displays were geared for children and non-railfans, so there wasn't much to see in that regard, but it was pretty cool that Philly's largest train station was taken over for the purpose of celebrating the iron horse.
There were two model railroad displays but...
...they were N-scale. What is this, amateur hour? Get real!
Amtrak's mascot, whatever the fuck that lime-green blob is, was there in full effect. And since when did railroad companies have mascots?
There was artwork, which I could have looked at on my home computer (and probably have).
Now, I didn't exactly fit-in at National Train Day. The main demographic was either little kids or old train buffs with fanny packs and railroad radios. I got a lot of nasty looks from the Pennsy guys when they saw my NYC t-shirt. Of course we all had a good laugh at the asshole in the New Haven t-shirt. What a jackass!
And then there was this guy. I don't quite know what to make of him. His shirt says he doesn't play well with others, which I had to read twice since a lot of guys were wearing shirts that said "Still Plays With Trains." He has the classic railroad cap on, covering his Karl Marx beard and hair. But he had about a hundred buttons on his open bag, which was (literally) overflowing with stuffed animals, I kid you not!
Tucked away by the restaurants was the rail safety display. I offered my services as an official rail-safety-blog-maintainer. I suggested I present my hour-and-45-minutes long symposium on the significance of air-brakes on modern locomotion. I was politely told to move along.
I did, however, score some sweet-ass swag!
My official "Operation Lifesaver" hat:
A rail-safety coloring book that looks as though it's geared towards people old enough to drive.
Sample: what is flat-top doing with a walking stick in a tunnel? And what the hell does that have to do with highway-rail safety?!
A coloring book geared much more for children...
...staring the lovable and knowledgeable Birdie with the functionally retarded Sly Fox:
Safety brochures:
And a bookmark with some great advice:
All-in-all it was a great day. I didn't get a picture of it, but the "musical" performance was by some up-and-coming Disney-record-label chick. It was embarrassing. I had to look away.

Not a hero of Rail Safety...

2009-05-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

This kid's dad.

What the truck?

2009-05-08T13:06:00.001-07:00

This here image comes from one of our most loyal rail safety fans, J-Dizzle. He was wondering if we here in the rail safety blog-o-sphere think this is an example safety, or non safety.

You make the call!

May 9th, 2009: National Train Day

2009-05-05T16:38:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone will be attending National Train Day this Saturday, May 9th.

http://www.nationaltrainday.com/2009/

This guy will be there:
This bitch is performing such famous railroading hits as "She's a Trainiac" and others:

Of course, Amtrak ignored my proposal of calling this event "Training Day," even after I promised appearances by Denzel and Ethan Hawke...but that shouldn't stop you from going.

Not a Hero of Rail Safety: Juan Manuel Alvarez

2009-05-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

This douche parked his car on the railroad tracks aiming to kill himself. At the last minute he got super scared and jumped out of his car. What?! Seriously unsafe Juan!

Juan was convicted using an 1873 law making "train wrecking" a capital offense. I am certain I could track down what prison he is serving his 11 life sentences in, in case any of you rail safety fans want to send him hate mail.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jul/16/local/me-metrolink16

Philosophy.

2009-05-05T16:15:00.001-07:00

My Railroad Safety blog:

Other Railroad Safety blogs:

(fail)

2009-05-05T16:04:00.001-07:00

Hero of Rail Safety #1: Bobby Allison:

See the High Life blog for more info.

http://americansforhighlife.blogspot.com/2009/05/high-life-hero-3-bobby-allison.html?showComment=1241564580000#c7412674428225272915