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Port Jefferson, NY - Engineer Lets Passenger Operate LIRR Commuter Train Bound for NYC |
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Published on:
Jul 17, 2009 at 08:12 AM
News Source: Newsday
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Port Jefferson, NY - A witness has told police that a Long Island Rail Road engineer let a passenger operate a train bound for New York City.
MTA Police Chief Michael Coan says the train ran smoothly and no one was injured.
The witness told police that he saw a passenger in the cab without the engineer during part of the run.
The double-decker train left Port Jefferson at 6:45 a.m. It normally has about 400 passengers and goes up to 80 mph.
The railroad calls the allegations "extremely serious and troubling."
MTA police are trying to find the passenger who allegedly operated the train. Coan says he doesn't think the engineer knew the person's name.
The Nassau County district attorney is investigating.
The engineer has been suspended.
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Read Comments (11) — Post Yours »
1
Jul 17, 2009 at 09:02 AM Z. N. Mishegoss Says:
Unless it's that guy who got arrested several times for impersonating a subway motorman, something doesn't sound right about this story.
The Long Island Railroad is a signalled Class 1 railroad. No one just off the street could plop himself into the engineer's seat and run at full speed without extensive training and knowledge of the line they were running on. Just controlling a train is very difficult - the air brakes work differently than car brakes, and managing speed and acceleration is very tough without training (believe it or not, there's a railroad museum out in California where you can actually rent a locomotive and play engineer for an hour, but of course you're under the watch of a real engineer who'll stop you from doing anything dangerous). Also, the Long Island RR just got new locomotives on that line, and they're very high-tech - not easy for Yankel Average to run....
Must've been a supervisor who took over for the engineer.
2
Jul 17, 2009 at 08:32 AM Anonymous Says:
This story sounds crazy. Why is the witness so sure that that the passenger who allegedly operated the train is not an off duty engineer for the railroad? Even so, an unauthorized substitution should definitely not be allowed.
3
Jul 17, 2009 at 09:12 AM Anonymous Says:
Remind me not to take the LIRR!!
4
Jul 17, 2009 at 09:40 AM Yossi Says:
What a JOKE.....Who drives America...?
5
Jul 17, 2009 at 10:16 AM bunimfrombrooklyn Says:
Thats probably what happened on all these past couple of plane crashes the world experienced in the recent months
6
Jul 17, 2009 at 10:46 AM Dee Says:
"The witness told police that he saw a passenger in the cab without the engineer during part of the run."
I don't understand. Where would the engineer be? How could a passenger be in the cab alone? Something here just doesn't make sense.
7
Jul 17, 2009 at 11:02 AM Z. N. Mishegoss Says:
There were actually two people who impersonated subway motormen and successfully ran trains. One was named Keron Thomas, who ran an A train back in 1993, and almost got away with it until he was tripped up by the automatic speed controls and signals underneath Washington Heights. The one I was thinking of was Darius McCollum, who's been arrested over twenty times for running or attempting to run trains. Apparently, he was once arrested on the LIRR property with the keys to an M-7 (subway type) train.
McCollum's picture is probably up on every MTA and railroad bulletin board, so I'd doubt he'd get anywhere near the controls of the train.
8
Jul 17, 2009 at 10:05 AM dr Says:
If the passenger was seen alone, where was the engineer?
9
Jul 17, 2009 at 12:52 PM The Truth Says:
“ Unless it's that guy who got arrested several times for impersonating a subway motorman, something doesn't sound right about this story.
The Long Island Railroad is a signalled Class 1 railroad. No one just off the street could plop himself into the engineer's seat and run at full speed without extensive training and knowledge of the line they were running on. Just controlling a train is very difficult - the air brakes work differently than car brakes, and managing speed and acceleration is very tough without training (believe it or not, there's a railroad museum out in California where you can actually rent a locomotive and play engineer for an hour, but of course you're under the watch of a real engineer who'll stop you from doing anything dangerous). Also, the Long Island RR just got new locomotives on that line, and they're very high-tech - not easy for Yankel Average to run....
Must've been a supervisor who took over for the engineer. ”
Either the engineer showed him what to do
or
he wasnt some Yankel Average!
10
Jul 17, 2009 at 12:21 PM Anonymous Says:
Very odd story!
11
Jul 17, 2009 at 07:05 PM Frum rider Says:
It probably was the engineer. I haven't seen one engineer yet wear a uniform. The witness probably woke up from a hangover!