(Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers circulated the following story by Michael King on September 13. Gordon A. Hill is a member of BLET Division 173 in Fon du Lac, Wisc.)
TOWN OF MENASHA, Wisc. — Conductors and engineers worry about the anguish they’ll experience if their train becomes a lethal weapon when a car or person ends up in their path.
For Bill Reid, a conductor who has worked 15 years with the Canadian National Railway, a close call on Sept. 1 brought tears to his eyes and praise for the man who sprinted down the tracks to pull a 3-year-old boy away from danger a split second before the train would have hit and probably killed both of them.
“He saved a little boy’s life,” said Reid, who praised Merlin Harn for his “unselfish” actions that endangered his life. “He’s a hero in my eyes.”
Reid also credited his fellow employee, engineer Gordy Hill, for his quick reaction in putting the train into emergency stop mode.
“After it happened, it brought tears to our eyes,” Reid said. “It really does affect a crew when something like this happens.”
Reid and Hill were at the helm of a freight train traveling about 35 mph, pulling about 100 cars that weighed about 11,000 tons.
“We came around the corner and we were probably 300 yards away from the (American Drive) crossing when we noticed the vehicle and then we saw the guy running,” Reid said. “This all happened within 10 seconds. There was no way we were going to stop.”
Harn, 40, and his wife, Teresa, were stopped just past the tracks and Teresa was on the phone with a Winnebago County police dispatcher when the train signals were activated.
Harn, who usually drives his own truck, had let his wife drive instead. He also was wearing running shoes, not his normal sandals.
“If he was in the driver’s seat (and had to run around), he never would have got there, I guarantee it,” Reid said. “It’s like he said, ‘God made him wear running shoes that day.'”
“I couldn’t thank him enough,” Reid said. “We don’t want to live with having to hit a child. It really affects railroaders.
“It was such a remarkable thing this guy did,” Reid said. “Unbelievable. I was totally blown away by the situation.”
“My husband is amazing,” said Teresa Harn. “He wants to do the right thing. It’s just his nature. I’m incredibly proud of him and very grateful that we were in the situation we were in.”