Montana Rail Link -Attempted Derailments!

BoxcabE50 Oct 22, 2013

  1. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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  2. BarstowRick

    BarstowRick TrainBoard Supporter

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    There are folks out there that believe trains are a nuisance and should go away. Green minded folks on the extreme and those folks that plain don't like the noise of a train. You never know what crazy is going to jump up and attempt to make a political statement by derailing a train. Idiots born every day.
     
  3. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yes. And there are too many amongst us who believe such idiots should be allowed, (they have "rights". B--S---!), to roam freely. Our court system here in MT is still fairly solid, so when they catch the fool or fools, locking them up for a good amount of time is assured. I am confident they'll be caught, as that town and vicinity should be easier for police to watch and investigate.

    Here is a photo I took about a year ago, near where that incident is supposed to have occurred. An M-MISLAU ("ML") train: [​IMG]

    Now that these problems have come up, next time I stop there, I will probably be reported by nervous nearby residents....... :(
     
  4. paperkite

    paperkite TrainBoard Member

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    Is that the tanker train that spilled and caught on fire up by the Canadian border ?
     
  5. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    Am not familiar with what you have mentioned. This is on Montana Rail Link, roughly twenty miles east of Missoula, Montana, along Interstate Highway 90.
     
  6. Hytec

    Hytec TrainBoard Member

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    You may be referring to the runaway Montreal, Maine, & Atlantic crude oil train that burned much of downtown Lac-Megantic, Quebec back in early July.
     
  7. paperkite

    paperkite TrainBoard Member

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    Could be , I should have paid more attention to the on line article the other day ...
     
  8. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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    An update: They caught the *^%&&*&!!!

    "From: Pete Lawrenson
    Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 7:34 AM
    To: MRL All Users
    Subject: Vandalism at Clinton

    Good morning Montana Rail Link,

    This is an FYI email describing the train vandalism Montana Rail Link experienced last week at Clinton, Mt and some of the specific characteristics of the incident. I have included 2 photographs of the "fort" the kids used to observe the incidents.

    Here is some background. Three boys, ages 15-16, built a "fort" along the tracks just west of Clinton. As shown in the first photograph, the "fort" was within about 15 feet of the tracks and not all that visible. The "fort was dug into the side embankment, they accessed it from the top near the piece of plywood as shown in the second photograph and had 2 portholes to observe train traffic.

    Starting several weeks ago, they started putting small items on and along the tracks to see what the train would do when the items were struck. Two weeks ago, the put an old tire filled with dried mud upright in the tracks and the train struck it. Then last week they put a piece of metal culvert pipe filled with ballast rock in the middle of the track.

    Of course, the train engineers could see the pipe in the tracks which would have been alarming not knowing exactly what it was or the intent of the vandals so the train was put into an emergency stop about the same time it struck the pipe. After hitting the pipe, rocks flew into the air and broke the safety glass windshield of the locomotive.

    With the assistance of Trainmaster Bret Baldassin and the help of a MRL engineer (to remain confidential), a juvenile suspect was identified. Over the next few days, 2 other juvenile boys were identified. After confronting the boys, they all admitted their participation in all the vandalism over the past month in Clinton. The boys will be processed through the Missoula Sheriff's Department with charges in Youth Court of criminal trespass and criminal mischief. Restitution for damage to the train will also be requested. A side note, the parents of all 3 boys were very cooperative, understood the seriousness of the acts and I suspect what they receive at home may be far more punishment than they get at Youth Court.

    Feel free to use this information in job briefings relating to MRL security. In particular, how close someone or something can be to the mainline and yet remain undetected for some period of time, how serious trespassers can be, even kids, and how what might seem like a minor issue can be critically serious.

    Pete Lawrenson | Chief of Security and Safety

    Montana Rail Link

    101 International Drive | PO Box 16390 | Missoula, MT 59808

    (406) 523-1575 plawrenson@mtrail.com"
     

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