Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
• Don't walk right next to the locomotive, especially if it's off
the station platform. Every so often there's an automatic
“blow down,” which clears the air brake reservoir with 140
pounds of pressure. Accumulated water, sometimes mixed
with just a tad of fuel oil, can spray on anyone who happens
to be standing too close at the time. All that pressure can also
cause small ballast rocks to fly. Please note that a blow down
is an automatic function and is not controlled by the head-
end crew. People standing close to the engine are startled
when a blow down occurs and sometimes, when they see an
engineer laughing, mistakenly think it was done deliberately
as a practical joke. Not so.
• Don't try to get to the other side of the train by crawling under
it. (Yes, people really do.) The train could move unexpect-
edly or another train could be passing on the adjacent track.
In either case, you're history. Don't walk around behind the
train for the same reason.
• Once onboard and walking through the railcars—to and
from the dining car, for instance—place your feet wider apart
than normal. It will give you better balance. Hold onto seat
backs, railings, and the walls of corridors as you go.
• Don't leave your seat without shoes on, and for heaven's
sake, don't let your kids run around without shoes. Amtrak
makes an announcement about this, but in my opinion, it
often isn't given enough emphasis. The principal danger is
the moving, overlapping metal plates that passengers walk
across when passing between cars. Get one of your tootsies
caught in there and the next thing you know, the conductor
will be calling ahead for an ambulance to meet the train at
the next station.
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