What you hit with trains. Besides crossing accidents. Part 2 in Tales of the Jointed Track

The Grocery shopping cart that wouldn’t die. We have hit these many times, usually knocking them off to the side. Sometimes they would go under, and you hoped the air hoses wouldn’t be knocked apart, placing the train into emergency.

There was a big shopping mall at the time, Cinderella City. It was a big mega center during its existence, and the kids loved sacrificing the carts to the train.

Rush Hour 1979 Dartmouth Avenue Crossing:

We have called the Operator at Rice yard and told to call at South Denver for a firm up at 31st St. It’s been a good run and most of the auto traffic will be gone by the time I get tied up.

Half way between the north switch at Englewood siding and Dartmouth Avenue is our shopping cart. I tell the head brakeman, be ready, because we might big hole, (emergency application) and bring a few hoses in case they get damaged. We pass over Highway 285 ( Hampden Avenue) and Cinderella City and BAMM !! our cart.

You’d think the way it was placed, its out of the way. No this cartwheels ahead of us and is ready for the next impact. A BDSM shopping cart who knew..LOL We hit it again and we are now 200 feet from Dartmouth Avenue crossing. It lands 50 feet from the crossing and the crossing planks. Gate are down, lights are flashing, I am blowing for Dartmouth. We grab the cart and squash it between the plow, and the crossing planks. The welds are breaking on the cart, and it has been beaten into submission. It is now being ground to a pulp and under the locomotive. Sounds worse than it is, but is it going to separate the air hoses? No it never did, but it did explode out from underneath the train on both sides. The vehicles that were on either side got hit with debris. Yes, we were asked to explain what happened at Dartmouth, because I am sure calls to the railroad were issued for damage. I would be mad as well, but circumstances beyond our control.