(The following story by Mike Rosier appeared on the Index-Journal website on August 29. Terry Erwin is a member of BLET Division 498 in Abbeville, S.C.)
GREENWOOD, S.C. — Terry Erwin has been there.
Between the realization and the impact.
And it’s a very scary place.
As a long-time engineer for CSX Railroad, Erwin, of Abbeville, has been involved in about eight or nine railroad crossing collisions.
No one died during these incidents, but one man came close.
There are other engineers who are not so fortunate.
According to 2006 statistics supplied by the Federal Railroad Administration, South Carolina ranked 10th in 2006 with 12 railroad crossing-related fatalities (involving motor vehicles). Texas was first with 42 deaths.
Erwin recalls one particular incident as one nearing disaster.
It involved a logging truck that attempted to cross two sets of tracks to beat his train and a second train near Lilesville, N.C.
The logging truck never made it across.
“I told my brake man to get on the floor,” he said as the train neared the logging truck. “We hit him right square in the middle. All we saw were those logs coming over the engine. We were lucky that no one was hurt that time. That was the closest time I’ve had to feeling that I was gone.”
Traveling at a speed of 50 miles per hour, a average train of between 80 and 100 cars (over 8,000 tons) takes about a mile to stop. When drivers make the decision to cross the tracks, there’s little engineers can do.
“Really, there’s no hope of being able to stop,” he said.
Which is why Erwin — now close to retirement after 35 years on the job — joined Operation Lifesaver, an organization dedicated to teaching people about the importance of safety near railroad crossings, in 1997.
Operation Lifesaver was started in 1972.
Nelson High, public affairs and safety supervisor for CSX Railroad, said the program developed from the idea of a single individual in Idaho and blossomed from there into a national organization.
“It’s a great program,” High said. “It was started in 1972, in Idaho, by one person who was an employee of the railroad. He was making (safety) presentations on his own, and it had such a big impact that Nebraska adopted the same program. Then it became a national organization, active in every state. We’re a partner in the program and furnish people like Terry Erwin, who speak and give presentations. Everybody benefits from it. It’s just a great program, and we support the program 100 percent.”
Erwin visits schools and other organizations to spread the word on safety.
“It’s probably something that I’ll continue to do after I retire,” he said. “When you go for your driver’s license, there is like a couple of lines in the book you get about train crossings, but not much. You have to tell people.”
Two little-known facts Erwin tells students and others are that the penalty for driving around a train crossing amounts to $400 and four points off your license, and that throwing rocks at a train is a state felony offense.
“That was something I had never heard before,” he said of rock-throwing.
The main purpose for his visits is to make sure everyone drives safe.
Train engineers do not want crashes to occur.
They can often remain with a railroad employee for years and sometimes employees require counseling. The helpless seconds that often precede a train-car collision can be seconds that are permanently placed in one’s mind.
“It’s something you’re not going to forget,” Erwin said. “It’s in your mind from then on. You can have flashbacks sometimes.”
Visit www.oli.org for information on Operation Lifesaver ((800) 537-6224), including additional statistics, coloring book pages and puzzles for children, and driving tips for adults and professionals.
Janice Cowen is the state coordinator for Operation Lifesaver.