Train Encounter

The ties below me started shaking imperceptibly. I casually looked back toward the bend in the tracks and saw the front of the engine slowly appear. I looked over to Darrell to see his reaction. He calmly said: “Quick, head for the escape deck.”

All of the trestles that we crossed had escape decks every fifty feet or so, to provide a safe area for anyone caught on the trestle when a train was passing.

This particular trestle, which crossed over a meandering creek, was at least a football field long and seventy five feet above the ground. The area around the trestle was a haven for us to wander through on a lazy, summer day. We had crossed over the trestle hundreds of times, but this was the first time we had been caught on it as a train was passing.

It would seem that walking to an escape area which was only a few yards away would be a simple task, but the act of walking itself became significantly more difficult by the fact that a train was bearing down on us. The main difficulty in walking swiftly without falling was that the distance between the ties was just enough to allow one’s foot to become entrapped if a misstep occurred.

I’d never tried to run on a trestle and I didn’t think this was the time to learn. So, I started walking at a fast pace. I had to focus my eyes on the ties themselves so that I would step precisely on every third tie. The main distraction was the view of the ground and creek which appeared between the ties themselves. The view reminded me of looking through a kaleidoscope in slow motion. It was disconcerting and somewhat disorienting.

In addition, Darrell was more adept at walking on the ties and was several feet in front of me before I even got started. I decided to ignore his progress and focus on my own. I developed a pace I was comfortable with and quickly arrived at the escape deck without incident.

Only then did I allow myself to look back to see that the train was already on the trestle and was bearing down on us quickly.

As the train passed by us, the rush of wind pushed us to the outside edge of the deck and the rumbling and the shaking became a cacophony.

After the train passed, I noticed three men standing on the back of the caboose laughing and talking until one of them glanced up and saw us. They gave us questioning looks and threatening gestures, but we didn’t respond.

We then casually walked off of the deck and continued our journey in hopes of hopping one of the delivery trains as they approached the entrance to the glass plant.

At the time, we tried to act nonchalant about our train encounter. However, that experience will remain indelibly stamped in my memory forever.