Everything, Even The Kitchen Sink

"Say is that a train coming?"

Between June 25, 1971 and August 15, 2007, I worked as a Gandy Dancer, Machine Operator, Student Foreman, Foreman, Track Supervisor (Track Inspector), Safety Supervisor, Brakeman, Conductor, Engineer, Manager of Safety and Rules, Trainmaster and Assistant Superintendent for the Santa Fe Railroad later to become the BNSF Railroad. While working almost all these jobs, at one time or another, I either was finding things on or near the railroad tracks that didn't belong there, or was charged with the investigation of such findings.

Those items included trash cans, doghouses, outhouses, automobiles (both Junkers and those less than a day old), bicycles, tricycles, motorcycles, every toy known to man or child, septic tanks, tires, trees, fifty-five gallon barrels of oil, couches, chairs, beds, rocks, crossties, lumber, half naked woman, bathtubs, commodes, hobos, guns, a couple hein' and shein' in the back of a pickup, cattle, pets of every kind, trailers, machinery, traffic signs and cones, suitcases, three bedroom house, swing set, lawn furniture and the list could go on forever.

          

Some of these things were found prior to being hit by a train and some were reported after being struck. There is a story connected with almost every item listed. As you would think, the three bedroom house found on the tracks is an interesting tale. This house was found setting on the track by an eastbound freight train moving about forty-five miles per hour. No, the train was not able to get stopped.

          

This old farm house had been setting less than a quarter of a mile from the tracks for over fifty years. As viewed from an eastbound train the house had always appeared to be sitting on the tracks until the train was about two tenths of a mile away, then you could see that the track curved to the left and never got any closer than a quarter of a mile to the house. The engineer stated that on that particular day, as he approached that location, the house appeared to be setting in the same location it had been in over the ten years that he had been running on that territory.

          

What the engineer did not know was that on that particular day the new owner of the house was having the house moved from its present location to a location about one mile the other side of the tracks. The house owner or his movers had failed to notify the Santa Fe Railroad of the move as required by law. As they attempted to traverse the road crossing at this location, they had managed to become lodged against the rail and couldn't move forward or backward.

          

The engineer 'big holed', a term meaning that he placed the train in emergency braking, about two tenths of mile from the house and after his three locomotives and about twenty-five of his rail cars had passed through the house, the train stopped. Fortunately, there were no injuries other than some hurt feelings.

          

An investigation of the site revealed that what had once been a three bedroom house was now a one and one half bedroom house with a nice large breezeway. After the train had been moved a walking inspection was made of the track. As we walked about a thousand feet past were the house had been struck, laying there in the middle of the track, was the kitchen sink. From that day on I could truthfully say that I had indeed found it all out laying on the railroad tracks, even the kitchen sink.