Wayne Laepple Wrote:
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> Let's face it, guys. There were a lot of things
> that were done as a matter of course on the
> railroad 50 or 75 years ago that would give a
> modern-day safety man a heart attack. Just
> think about riding the leading footboard of an
> engine, walking on top of a boxcar while pass-
> ing signals, sitting on the cab window arm rest
> while running, getting on and off moving equip-
> ment, etc., etc., etc.
Speaking of walking on car-tops, Wayne -
It was especially dangerous in the latter years of freight operations over Cumbres, as the track became rougher and rougher and the cars wobbly-er and wobbly-er. It was even worse when the foot-boards were wet — as they were when I took this oft-posted shot
:
Olaf was taking a movie over my shoulder at the time; hopefully he'll post a short clip showing just how bad it really was.
-
Roosso