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Teenager gets to play trains in Chicago
Filed under: Teens, Activities: Babies, Health & Safety: Babies, In The News
It appears that three Metra engineers in Chicago are under investigation for allowing a teenager into the cabs of locomotives and even operate trains. The Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, as Metra is formally known, operates eleven different rail lines through six counties and serving more than two hundred stations. When it comes to trains, we're talking the real deal here.Now, I understand that these trains cross roads and even share tracks with other train lines so I can see that letting a kid run the train would be a very bad idea, but really, letting a young railfan into the cab couldn't be such a terrible crime, could it? I know that my son would love such an opportunity and probably knows as much about trains as most of the engineers -- as I suspect is true of many kids.
So, while I think that perhaps there should be some disciplinary action for the whole endangering-lives thing, I do think it's nice that there are still folks out there who will open up and share their work with an interested kid.
| Absolutely not! These days, anyone could be a terrorist! | |
|---|---|
| No, there are too many safety issues. | |
| As long as it's safe, I don't see a problem with it. | |
| Definitely! They should have official programs to encourage kids. |
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2008 @ 9:48PM
LS said...Just curious as to what Metra does with "Take Your Daughter/Kid to Work Day"?
Reply
10-27-2008 @ 4:50AM
Heather said...The Take Your Kid To Work Day.... I don't qualify for that one because of my Job neither... So I can for sure think it wouldn't be for that job neither!
I am a Sr Rep Tech Care Representative and sit on the phones with policy and troubleshooting all night. And per federal regulations (Fraud, Privacy, ETC.) we are unable to participate in that day. But I can understand why, you wouldn't know if some kid would be taking down numbers, etc. because tha towuld be fraud.
So I think this was all wrong and should have been handled in a different manner.
10-27-2008 @ 4:49AM
Heather said...I have some mixed emotions on this one...
#1..I dont think if a train was being operated for transportation of other individuals and the teen was not in a training class or a scool to become a Conductor then I think the teen should NOT have been able to actually "drive" or go in the main area where the train driver was.
#2.. I would feel different if the teen has sometype of class work with a recommendation for on the job training, so without that I dont think the teen should have gotten in the room.
Reply
10-31-2008 @ 7:57AM
Justin said...This is so stupid.
Something many people fail to realize (And yes I do know how to operate a train) is that it's basically impossible to screw it up if you're being supervised. You press a big button (Actually a lever you pull back) to GO, and another to stop. That's it. It's not like you have a steering wheel or a pile of controls etc. There's absolutely no damage in going "Ok now just pull that handle back and off we go", you can't pull it too fast or too far without the chance of reaching over and just putting it back to the correct position before the engine even starts to think about revving up. Also it's not like you can do a burnout with a train.
The reps here are more concerned with safety and general procedure following. Which is good in a way because there needs to be surgical precision timing and coordination when you have 2 massive objects on the same track potentially going towards each other at high speed. But as long as the main driver is watching, there really is nothing that a kid can screw up on the controls. I'd have no worries putting a 5year old at the controls with my supervision.
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