Steve Carter
Member
On Saturday 1/18/14, Jeff Ray, a Guitarist with the Jersey Boys, was hit and killed by an Amtrak Cascades train in Auburn WA. Jeff was standing in the tracks for a photo (taken by his girl friend) of him with Mt. Rainier in the background. While not quite the same as professional (and amateur) portrait photographers, using railroad tracks as a setting for their portrait work, it does, once again, show the lack of awareness the general public has for the dangers of trains. If I recall correctly 20 people were killed in Washington State last year by getting in the way of trains.
Here in the Northwest we have an added danger with the Cascade trains. About half the time, these trains run with the locomotive at the trailing end of the train. There are no "engine sounds" on the leading end of the train. It's scary how fast these trains can sneak up on you at nearly 80 mph, when the engine is at the back of the train. Add in the location where Jeff was killed (nearby freeway, busy road along the tracks), and he would have had only a couple of seconds to re-act. Too many people die because they don't respect the trains. Stay off the tracks and they won't hit you. As Railroad workers say, expect a train at any time in any direction.
I challenge everyone here to not remain silent when you run across a photographer who is showing off photos of people (or animals) standing on or close to railroad tracks. Say something if you see such foolishness in action (like in the attached photo – Yes I did say something). Your words may help save someone’s life. If you are one of these people and you really need a railroad setting, look up one of the many railroad museums. They are often quite helpful in providing a safe railroad setting for photography.
If none of this gets through, consider Jeff's girlfriend. Imagine looking through the view finder of your camera, while a train hits the person you are photographing and launches them 30 to 50 feet past where you are standing. Imagine the engineer in the train having to watch the person disappear, after you've blown the horn over and over again, while putting the train into emergency braking . How about the passengers on the train, seeing the woman screaming hysterically and then seeing the body on the ground. Or the crewmembers and first responders that have to deal with the aftermath. And finally there are all of the family and friends who have lost someone special to them, for no damn good reason.
Here's a link to Jeff's story:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/jersey-boys-guitarist-id-d-victim-washington-train-accident
The photos show, 1) the trio I shooed off the tracks in Tacoma. 2) Jeff's girl friend, some 30 minutes after the incident still sitting on the ground trying to explain what happened, 3) The train involved. The thing that looks like an engine on the front end, is actually just a control car, nothing to make noise except a horn, which at 79 mph, doesn't provide much warning to get out of the way.
P.s. If you find this post offensive, I do appologize, but I'm tired of hearing about and seeing this stuff. My goal is to help minimize it.
Here in the Northwest we have an added danger with the Cascade trains. About half the time, these trains run with the locomotive at the trailing end of the train. There are no "engine sounds" on the leading end of the train. It's scary how fast these trains can sneak up on you at nearly 80 mph, when the engine is at the back of the train. Add in the location where Jeff was killed (nearby freeway, busy road along the tracks), and he would have had only a couple of seconds to re-act. Too many people die because they don't respect the trains. Stay off the tracks and they won't hit you. As Railroad workers say, expect a train at any time in any direction.
I challenge everyone here to not remain silent when you run across a photographer who is showing off photos of people (or animals) standing on or close to railroad tracks. Say something if you see such foolishness in action (like in the attached photo – Yes I did say something). Your words may help save someone’s life. If you are one of these people and you really need a railroad setting, look up one of the many railroad museums. They are often quite helpful in providing a safe railroad setting for photography.
If none of this gets through, consider Jeff's girlfriend. Imagine looking through the view finder of your camera, while a train hits the person you are photographing and launches them 30 to 50 feet past where you are standing. Imagine the engineer in the train having to watch the person disappear, after you've blown the horn over and over again, while putting the train into emergency braking . How about the passengers on the train, seeing the woman screaming hysterically and then seeing the body on the ground. Or the crewmembers and first responders that have to deal with the aftermath. And finally there are all of the family and friends who have lost someone special to them, for no damn good reason.
Here's a link to Jeff's story:
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/jersey-boys-guitarist-id-d-victim-washington-train-accident
The photos show, 1) the trio I shooed off the tracks in Tacoma. 2) Jeff's girl friend, some 30 minutes after the incident still sitting on the ground trying to explain what happened, 3) The train involved. The thing that looks like an engine on the front end, is actually just a control car, nothing to make noise except a horn, which at 79 mph, doesn't provide much warning to get out of the way.
P.s. If you find this post offensive, I do appologize, but I'm tired of hearing about and seeing this stuff. My goal is to help minimize it.
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