(The following story by Tim Moran appeared on the Modesto Bee website on November 14.)
MODESTO, Calif. — Sometimes, there just isn’t time to follow proper procedures.
The Salida postmaster, Dennis Thompson, heard from an employee Tuesday morning that a small propane tank was wedged in the railroad tracks along Salida Boulevard near the irrigation canal.
Thompson went to check it out, and sure enough, a 16-ounce propane tank, the kind commonly used to fuel camping stoves, had been stuck in the tracks.
Following standard post office procedure for any kind of explosive device, even firecrackers, Thompson called 911 and described the situation.
Then he heard the train coming. The 911 dispatcher was telling him the situation would be reported to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and the railroad, but Thompson could see the train approaching about 100 yards away.
“At first, you just want to leave those things alone. You don’t know what someone has done,” Thompson said. “But as the train is barreling down, I’ve got to take my chances.”
The postmaster climbed onto the tracks and pulled the propane tank out, and stood beside the track in his apron, tank in hand, as the train rushed by.
“It gets your adrenaline going,” he said.
Salida Fire Protection District Chief Dale Skiles said his department was unaware of the incident. “You’ve gotta appreciate him for that,” he said when he heard of Thompson’s action.
Skiles said it’s hard to know whether the tank would have caused any damage or a derailment. The fact that it was wedged in the track makes it appear intentional rather than someone just discarding a tank, he said.
James Barnes, director of media information for Union Pacific Railroad, said UP was notified of the incident by the California Highway Patrol. As noble as Thompson’s effort may have been, Barnes said, the railroad would rather people call the railroad than take action.
“We are very pleased that no one was injured,” Barnes said. Even items as small as a rock or a penny on the track can become a projectile and cause serious injury or even death, Barnes said.
People who see debris on railroad tracks should call UP’s Response Management Communications Center at 888-877-7267, he said. And people never should put anything on the tracks, he added.
By midafternoon, Thompson was joking about the incident.
“I’m telling my employees that I was saving the sleepy town of Salida from a major train wreck,” Thompson said.
But rather than bask in the media glow, Thompson said he would rather downplay the incident.
“It’s just one of those things a postmaster does in the course of a day,” he said.