Re: Something to think about

During the summer I worked as Stationmaster, then Conductor, then Engineer/Fireman on the Silverwood Central Railway in Silverwood Theme Park up around Athol, ID. We run a 1915 Porter and a 1928 Baldwin on 3' gauge track, and we have our own problems with crossings, where the main line goes over park paths.
As Stationmaster, I was in charge of the depot on Main Street and the three hundred or so feet of track that literally runs right down the middle of Main Street. There were three crossings I was crossing guard for, and while the right-of-way is fenced in and I had ropes to put up over the crossings when a train came through, I had a terrible time making people believe there really was a train coming. It seems as if unless there is a 50 ton locomotive with whistle blowing and bell ringing about ten feet away and coming at them very fast, they will insist on jumping (or ducking) the ropes and beating the train. This being a family park, I first have to politely ask them to stay put, the train will be by in less than two minutes. If that doesn't work, I can progress to yelling. And sometimes I just get someone who's determined to go through, and in those cases, about all I can(somewhat heartlessly)say is, well, if anything happens, they can't sue (outright physical restraint is not in my job description).
In the meantime, the engineers (whose shoes I would later be in) would be watching this from the cab, hand hovering over the air brake lever and very nervous. The problem seems to be that people don't think of it as a "real train," just an amusement ride. News flash, folks: it's about as real as it can get, and it can kill you just as dead as a "real" one.
Nobody has ever been hurt in a pedestrian/train collision on the SCR (to my knowledge), but my closest call came when I was firing the Baldwin one day. We were pulling into the station and four guys were standing contemplatively on my side of the tracks by one of the crossings. When we were about thirty or so feet away, the head guy decided to climb the ropes and promptly tripped and sprawled all over the tracks. The engineer immediately laid on both the air brakes and the whistle, and all I could do was pointlessly shout "DOWN BRAKES!" The guy staggered out of the crossing . . . and his three buddies followed him, the last one clearing the crossing so close I had to look at the engineer to tell whether or not he made it. The engineer, an ex-Marine, leaned out the cab window and yelled "KNOCK IT OFF! KEEP OFF THE TRACKS!" in tones that hopefully put the fear of God into our near "victims."
When pleading with people not to go through the crossings when I have them blocked off, I frequently hear "I'm not gonna get hit! There's no train! Okay, there is a train, but it's way down there!" etc., etc. And I often also hear "Look, if I get hit, I'm the only one who's affected, so what's the big deal?"
Tell that to the BNSF crew at Fruita.
James R. Temple