CN #399

[GTW]

Train #399 hit a herd of Cows at about MP 126 on the South Bend this afternoon.. What a mess...

[Old Bastard]

I thought it was 149. It was all intermodal, single and double stacks. Unless the train I saw stopped at the scene wasn't the train that hit the herd. It was about 900 feet from the Gards Prairie crossing and crew members, as well as a maintainer were on the ground inspecting the carnage. I was hauling seed corn and happened to come across "Hamburger Hill." Grisly sight. Some were still alive but badly injured.

[A No.1]

If it was a BCOL engine it was the train behind 399. None the less. 399 did the deed.

[Todd Cline]

Trainmaster got on the radio, his transmission was.... "WHERE'S THE BEEF!!!!!" Sorry, just had to say it.. My condolences to the cows familys. Now Amtrak has to come by and scoop up the roadkill for the snack bar...

Todd

[Todd Cline]

Seriously though, what was a "herd of cows" doing on the CN ROW? I thought that CN maintained fences in rural areas. Is that up to the farmers now? I think the farmer should get a good settlement from CN on this... Assuming that CN failed to protect their right of way. The CN bulls are all about protecting their ROW when they see a railfan slightly touching their property. Guess the same thing should apply for cows. Hire a CN cop for every rural crossing. Might as well, nothing but a bunch of "Barney Fifes" anyway.. ( Hey Andy!!! I just saw Otis riding a COW through town!!!! We gotta' NIP IT IN THE BUD!!!!! NIP IT NIP IT NIP IT!!!! ).. ( most of you have NO idea of my referernce do you?)

Todd Cline.

[A No.1]

So 399 took out the first 6 and 149 took out the rest.

That's a big dairy farm right there. A nice one to. I don't believe they have a cow pass there and there are pastures on both sides of the tracks.

[PatAzo]

Cows wander where they do. With the passing trains keeping the snow plowed away the track was probably easy walking so that is where they went. Why would CN be responsible to maintain fences to contain livestock and not the livestock owner? That's like fencing my yard to keep the neighbors dog in his.

[Raildudes dad]

Everything you need to know about fences on the RR ROW line in MI

462.325 Fencing in agricultural areas; other areas.

Sec. 325.

(1) The department, after notice and hearing, may order a railroad to erect and maintain such fencing along railroad right-of-way in agricultural areas as shall be necessary to prevent livestock from entry upon that right-of-way. Such fencing shall not be required unless the other boundaries of the property are fenced.

(2) In agricultural areas, the cost and expense of installation, maintenance, and repair of fencing shall be borne by the railroad. However, if gates or cattle guards are necessitated by the existence of a farm crossing, the cost and expense of installation, maintenance, and repair of such gates or cattle guards shall be considered a cost of the crossing to be borne by the party requesting the gates or cattle guards.

(3) The owner or proprietors of the adjacent farm lands, upon 30 days' written notice to the railroad, may erect or repair the fence and then may recover from the railroad in any court of competent jurisdiction the cost of the fence, together with reasonable compensation for labor in the construction of the fence. The railroad shall also be liable for damages caused by its agents, engines, or cars to livestock by reason of the livestock escaping due to failure to construct or maintain a fence.

(4) The responsibility for and cost of installation, maintenance, and repair of fences in all other areas shall be borne by the property owner adjacent to the railroad unless the fencing is necessitated by the construction of new or the expansion of existing rail facilities, in which case the costs shall be borne by the railroad. The installation of fencing shall be consistent with the clearance requirement of this act. Conflicts between the parties shall be submitted to and decided by the department by order.

[A No.1]

OK. Final and Actual verified account.

399 hit cow's. 149 stopped because there were still cows on the tracks when they got there.

One was walking dead with his guts hanging out.

[M.D.Bentley]

Back in BIG Conrail days, they hit a bunch of clydesdales on the Chicago line near the IN / OH border. Conrail cut a big check to the farmer.

[J T]

Back in BIG Conrail days, they hit a bunch of clydesdales on the Chicago line near the IN / OH border. Conrail cut a big check to the farmer.

Did the farmer cut a check to Conrail for the damage the stray horses caused to the locomotive(s)?

[CSX_CO]

Back in BIG Conrail days, they hit a bunch of clydesdales on the Chicago line near the IN / OH border. Conrail cut a big check to the farmer.

Did the farmer cut a check to Conrail for the damage the stray horses caused to the locomotive(s)?

As Raildude's dad posted, a lot of the railroads are required through their original deeds to maintain the fences along their ROW for the farmers.

There were a couple of cows hit around Milford Junction once on CSX. The irony of it was a coal train coming up on the scene was found to have a load of coal that had caught fire. Instant BBQ.

Practice Safe CSX

[PatAzo]

Everything you need to know about fences on the RR ROW line in MI 462.325 Fencing in agricultural areas; other areas. .

That's interesting. I searched Indiana and it's pretty close to Michigan. If the railroad wanted to claim they were not liable, they have to prove the livestock entered the right of way from an area not requiring fencing.

[redside20]

Seriously though, what was a "herd of cows" doing on the CN ROW? That's what I asked myself when an NS train hit a head of bovine out on the Dayton District east of Springfield a few years back. Even blew their horn for them to clear out of the way...No such doing as some live cows quickly became cube steak.

[GTW]

Cows have been out in that area many times in the past.

[SousaKerry]

Cows will test fences continuously until they find a weak spot. By law railroads must maintain fences but I have never actually seen them do it. Usually most farmers that actually know the law will maintain them and send the railroad the bill. Most younger generation farmers are not aware that they will pay them to maintain their fences. With the current snow load and building drifts even a well maintained fence can become easy for a cow to defeat or walk right over. A determined cow(under threat from a preditor) will actually run right through a barbed wire fence electric or not. Snow also wreaks havoc on electrified fences grounding them out and therefore making them ineffective and because the cows test it the fence continuously they soon find out when it is down.

About once a year we would find one of the neighbors cows in our fields so it doesn't surprise me at all that they wandered onto the tracks. Cows can be incredibly stubborn as well and will not move no matter how much horn blowing you do until you are perceived to be a threat hence why bull whips and cattle prods are used pain is a great motivator.

[J T]

As Raildude's dad posted, a lot of the railroads are required through their original deeds to maintain the fences along their ROW for the farmers.

Interesting. But I wonder, why would railroads be any different from a highway ROW? If a cow escapes next to a roadway and is hit by a car, who is responsible then? If there wasn't a railroad running adjacent to their property, they'd still have a fence SOMEWHERE, right?

[Raildudes dad]

As Raildude's dad posted, a lot of the railroads are required through their original deeds to maintain the fences along their ROW for the farmers.

Interesting. But I wonder, why would railroads be any different from a highway ROW? If a cow escapes next to a roadway and is hit by a car, who is responsible then? If there wasn't a railroad running adjacent to their property, they'd still have a fence SOMEWHERE, right?

It may be in the deed but is very specific in state law the RR is responsible for fencing agricultural areas but only if the land is completely fenced. Most likely a holdever from when the RR's first were built.

[JStryker722]

Hey if a train hits a cow and runs it over,wouldn't that be Tenderized beef? And if some of the meat ends on the wheels,does that classify it as ground round? lol

[ThatRailfanningKid]

Hey if a train hits a cow and runs it over,wouldn't that be Tenderized beef? And if some of the meat ends on the wheels,does that classify it as ground round? lol

Some of the jokes in this thread O_o
I thought I was messed up in the head...