(By Greg Rourke) – Ever been sitting at a railroad crossing and see a railcar with “Do Not Hump” stenciled on it? Near Chicago we have lots of railroads, and as kids we found this indication just hilarious. Okay, I still do, but them I’m a bit juvenile.
Railroads will make up trains in a hump yard. It’s literally a large hump, a locomotive gives the cars a shove, and then gravity takes over. They roll down hill, and switches are thrown to send the cars onto the correct track, and to connect to the train being assembled. Speed is controlled by retarders, which pinch the wheels as the cars roll over them. As the cars pretty much crash together, it’s a fairly violent procedure. Some cars hauling more delicate freight need to be handled more gently, hence the “Do Not Hump” warning. The video we have here shows what appears to be a 100% hump yard failure.
We have some train nerds hanging out shooting video. Here comes a couple of unattended boxcars rolling into the shot, and a moving train is on an adjacent track. But wait, it appears the box cars have wandered to a spot they do not belong, and a switch is sending them into the moving train. A worker goes running over to the cars, although what can he possibly do to prevent what will likely ruin someones day? Apparently nothing. We have a big mess, although it could have been worse, but the railfans (Note: Train nerds are referred to as “foamers”, as they foam at the mouth when they find unusual train stuff) got a video of a lifetime. Let’s watch.
The 2010 movie “Unstoppable” was based on the 2001 CSX 8888 incident out of this same yard. Coincidence… maybe.
They’re called foamers as they foam at the mouth when they’re humping the goods cars….
Come on Lohnes, if you were a real foamer, you’d know he’s not trying to “do something”, he’s saving himself. When a train is crashing, you need to run in the direction it’s coming from. This guy knew what was about to happen, and was getting the hell out of the way of where the wreck was about to occur.
I’d prefer railfan, but these are the times we live in. Everybody gets a derogatory handle. Perhaps firemen/paramedics are the last “safe” group? I’ll go cash my SS check and drive miles with my signal on now…
nope, firemen are called fire whackers.
“Foamer” fits inbred Chevy fans as well…
A few years ago when I was railfanning in Kentucky I stopped by the dispatcher’s office to alert them that I would be visible trackside in the area. We had a short conversation before I left and I was told the railroad crews call us railfans “railroad idiots”.