People stealing off of freights in Los Angeles

[neroden]

I'm sorry - but this still sounds like blaming the victims instead of blaming the culprits

There will always be bad people. Blaming bad people is not a useful solution to anything. And asking bad people to behave better never works!

The question is who is in a position to stop them. Does UP want the thefts to stop, or do they not really care? Seems like by firing all their own cops, they said "we don't care".

To put it another way -- to paraphrase an old comedy routine, "The Great Train Robbery" -- the question is who is responsible. And thieves are totally irresponsible!

 

[Qapla]

There will always be bad people. Blaming bad people is not a useful solution to anything. And asking bad people to behave better never works!

I realize this. I agree that more needs to be done to stop them.

However, when reading the thread it struck me the same as the headlines many on here have commented on that always phrase it as "Train hits car - kills people" as though it was the trains fault - instead of "Car tries to beat train and loses"

Just wanted some acknowledgement that UP and the trains are actually "victims" like the rest of us - they are not the "problem" - they are just not doing enough to stop the problem.

I will back out of this thread now ....

 

[cirdan]

There was a statement that sometimes the thieves are stopping moving trains.

I'm not sure how that works. I assume if somebody jumped out in front of a slow-moving train, the engineer would hit the brake. Obviously, a lone conductor is not about to challenge a mob of a couple dozen. By the time cops could be summoned, the gang would have completed their dirty work and disappeared.

I guess it's quite easy to make signals turn red if you know how.

 

[TinCan782]

I guess it's quite easy to make signals turn red if you know how.

Its called a "shunt".
A crude oil train protester was recently convicted of causing that to happen up in the Pacific Northwest.
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/20...n-for-washington-railroad-track-sabotage.html

 

[NW cannonball]

If they are caught and convicted could the RR file a civil suit to recover damage?

If caught and convicted -- oy. Civil suit to recover damages from the homeless people who live near the tracks because railroad property is not NIMBY property - who is kidding here?
If, and it's a BIG if, the organizers of this possibly big-time theft scheme, are found and brought to trial, the homeless people who live near the tracks will be the losers. They can't and mostly won't be able to pay lawyers.

 

[Rover]

There was a statement that sometimes the thieves are stopping moving trains.

I'm not sure how that works. I assume if somebody jumped out in front of a slow-moving train, the engineer would hit the brake. Obviously, a lone conductor is not about to challenge a mob of a couple dozen. By the time cops could be summoned, the gang would have completed their dirty work and disappeared.

Can Commercial Airline Pilots carry a firearm for protection when on pilot duty?
Can train engineers carry a firearm for safety??

 

[Bob Dylan]

Can Commercial Airline Pilots carry a firearm for protection when on pilot duty?
Can train engineers carry a firearm for safety??

Airline Pilots have a weapon in the Cockpit which is supposed to be Secure, and it is locked in a weapon box, not carried by the Pilots.

Sky Marshall's are armed, but there's not many, and of the Morons that try to carry Firearms on to Planes( over 100 were found @ the Austin Airport during the Holidays!) are mostly being caught by the TSA and arrested after being denied boarding.

Amtrak staff, except for Amtrak Police are NOT authorized to carry weapons aboard Trains or on Amtrak Property.

 

[Rover]

Airline Pilots have a weapon in the Cockpit which is supposed to be Secure, and it is locked in a weapon box, not carried by the Pilots.

Sky Marshall's are armed, but there's not many, and of the Morons that try to carry Firearms on to Planes( over 100 were found @ the Austin Airport during the Holidays!) are mostly being caught by the TSA and arrested after being denied boarding.

Amtrak staff, except for Amtrak Police are NOT authorized to carry weapons aboard Trains or on Amtrak Property.

Anyone know about Freight rail operators policies on engineers carrying weapons, whether they are pulling freight or Amtrak??

 

[Willbridge]

One other step that the U.P. could take is to send a junior attorney to court to conspicuously monitor what is going on. When our Regional Transportation District hired a recent law school graduate to attend trials of "behavior problem" individuals the problems were taken more seriously and were reduced. She gradually took on other duties, but the effects lasted long enough for us to get tv and sound recording installed on every bus and train.

I became familiar with this strategy due to her also handling requests for an expert witness to testify about bus and train schedules. On those projects I became aware of big differences in the competency and organization of the defense and prosecution in the various counties in our district.

 

[Alice]

"Scores of guns stolen from trains cause more problems in L.A."

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

It’s nice to read that dealers are now required to report weapons lost in transit to the ATF. Just shaking my head that this is a new thing.

Nobody want to report cargo thief, so we never know how big of a problem there is. Maybe the insurance company will step up and stop blindly pay out claims, and start asking questions. Or a least required a police report…