(The following story by Rebecca De Leon appeared on the Times-News website on June 21, 2010 Kim D. Matkin is a member of BLET Division 228 in Pocatello, Idaho.)
SHOSHONE, Idaho — The “choo-choo” of the train’s engine, the startlingly loud horn, and the squealing brakes signal to a crowd of people at the train station that the 14,000-ton machine has arrived. With so many wide eyes and smiles, it’s hard to imagine that this could be a place of tragedy.
Idaho State Police and Union Pacific Railroad joined forces Friday to host a free train ride for 150 people on a round-trip between Shoshone and Gooding. The purpose of the event, dubbed Operation Lifesaver, was to promote awareness of the dangers of reckless behavior near trains and train crossings.
Instructors in the four different cabs gave do-and-don’t safety instructions for when people are near railroad crossings. The most common mistake that leads to crashes is when a car tries to “beat” the train across the crossing, the instructors said.
Steve Roberts, of Pocatello, has been a railroad conductor for decades, and knows firsthand the horror of a train-car collision.
“I had nightmares for years,” Roberts said. “It happened 15 years ago. We were going through a crossing, and a car ran through right in front of us. We broadsided him completely. The young man was killed. I can still see it every time I close my eyes.”
Police officers standing nearby shook their heads in grief at the man’s story.
“It is a very serious matter,” said ISP Trooper Steve Otto. “We always hope for the best and expect the worst,” he added about police arriving to the scene of an accident involving a train and car.
“You blame yourself,” Roberts said, looking into the horizon. “But there’s nothing you can do. Some trains are 14,000-feet long and weigh 14,000 tons. When something like that is going 60 miles an hour, it just can’t stop that fast.”
When Operation Lifesaver began in 1972, a year with more than 12,000 railway collissions, as a one-time, Idaho-only initiative. But it grew to encompass the nation and railway collissions have dropped by 84 percent.
Last year, there were 10 collisions reported in Idaho, resulting in four injuries and no fatalities. While these numbers seem small, participants of Operation Lifesaver say 10 accidents is 10 too many. So far this year, there have been no injuries as a result of a train-car collision.
Kim Matkin, of Pocatello, has been a train engineer since 1992. Just a year after he started, the train he was operating broadsided a car, which resulted in the injury of the driver. He described his feelings surrounding the incident as “yucky.”
“I just did everything I could do to stop the train,” Matkin said. “I was scared. Then angry afterwards because he caused me trauma for no reason. My wife said I was a different person for two weeks after that. She said I was angry for the next two weeks. Nothing would cheer me up.”
The railroad offers a support group for employees who are present during such collisions.
Lacey Loughmiller, of Richfield, said her father was a large part of establishing that support group. She, along with her husband Jose, took their 7-year-old son Mason on the train ride Friday.
“It was a great experience,” she said. “I wanted my son to know what being on a train is like, since his grandfather worked on a train for 40 years.”