https://kgmi.com/news/007700-bellin...ylxnDvEC2GmDkdDh6thJvPQchTCiLeqTLfTHBm2OQ6rEA They will probably both get a pat on the back, handshake and sent home to mommy.
Holy smokes, I've never heard of such a thing as a "shunt", but can easily imagine what is. They're not minors, so will hopefully be prosecuted to full extent.
I am remembering back a few decades, when the engineering company I worked for, we were out in the "field". We accidentally dragged a chain, (surveyors term for their metal 'measuring tape'), across both rails at the same time. It triggered the crossing gates nearby... Oops!!!
Wow, they need punished severely. Federal time now. They are old enough to know better, a crystal clear message, that domestic terror will not be tolerated, hopefully will be handed down. But I fear Ken may be closer to what happens.
"While the pair are charged in only Saturday night’s incident, U.S. Attorney Brian Moran says there have been 41 incidents of shunts placed on BNSF tracks in Whatcom and Skagit Counties since January, causing crossing guards to malfunction, interfering with automatic braking systems, and, in one case, causing the near-derailment of tanks of hazardous chemicals." If these 41 incidents are traced back to them, or even half those, the Feds will make them "disappear" for a long time.
Along the same lines as this, I have heard that BNSF dumped one somewhere between Belen and El Paso about 4:30am this morning (Wednesday) due to someone placing ties on the track. Crew is said to have escaped with only minor injuries. Probably another person or group that needs to be thrown under the jail.
In all honesty, I don't see much of anything coming from this. Any punishment they get will be far from the numbers listed on that article. It just seems like another day in the Pacific Northwest. With the CHAZ protest incident in Seattle this summer, it seems like this 'anarchy' thing is a pretty normal occurrence. With the lack of prosecution over these recent riots and unrest, this will probably be no different.
A guy at my former workplace was actually trying to market a device like this to trucking companies, municipal law enforcement etc., as a safety device for trucks that got stuck on crossings. It essentially emulates a train on the tracks, and activates automated block signals. As one can imagine, it's a hard sell with the railroads, and to get something like this approved, everybody involved needs to be on board.
Yikes. The potential for abuse of this type of item is so obvious, I cannot envision any railroad going along with such an idea. Which would only work on lines which are signaled. Many shortlines and branch lines have no signals controlling their trains.
