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Teen on tracks struck and killed by Worcester Line train in Newton
By adamg on Fri, 09/16/2016 - 10:19pm
Transit Police report a teen was hit by an inbound Worcester Line train around 8:45 p.m. in Newtonville.
Police and the Middlesex County District Attorney's office are investigating the death, but foul play is not suspected, police say.
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Comments
SADNESS
My deepest sympathies to this young person's mother and father siblings family friends associates and the town, the community and to everyone else who is affected by his death.
Maybe there's a piece of my childhood missing
but seriously what is it with people walking along train tracks? What's the big draw?
in my day
We walked along the train tracks because it was usually the shortest distance between two points.
However - we didn't have earbuds, Walkmans, our transistor radios only had one earplug and we weren't trying to find a Pokemon. You could hear trains coming.
That being said, we also had the B&A freight train tracks near our house and I would give them a wide berth, and instead walked next to them on the pointy grey rocks of the bed rather than on them. All my friends did too.
If you were on those tracks, and you heard a freight coming, it was already too late.
Trains do kind of sneak up on you.
It's surprising how hard it is to hear a train coming. And with snow on the ground (it deadens sound), you barely hear it until it's right on you. It's also quite hard to judge the speed of an approaching train. I've seen people step up to the edge of the platform expecting that an approaching train is going to stop, only to jump back when they realize it's an express blowing through the station at 60 miles per hour. I once sat in the front of a train and was amazed to see startled-looking people jumping out of the way at the last minute... engineer told me it was pretty much a constant sight.
Amazing how close people get to subway trains and trolleys too
People standing over the yellow line even as vehicles come into stations. One group of roughhousing teens or one disturbed individual, etc. and it could be game over.
I don't think people really understand the physics. A human is like a bug on a windshield in these types of strikes.
Back the hell up and let the damn thing into the station.
RIP young man, and condolences to his loved ones.
Have heard much the same
... that trains can sneak up in a surprising way.
Old-timey trains were noisier
but with the transition to roller bearings for the axles and welded rails (no more "clickety-clack") they're much quieter nowadays than they were 30 years ago.
Fewer vibrations
Those same innovations have reduced noise and vibrations. For those with headphones on, that can be deadly.
I'm not too amazed
I'm obviously not that kind of engineer, but I've seen a couple of WTFs where people obviously don't get what tons and tons of steel is all about.
One was when I still lived in Philly and was waiting for a commuter train. You had to walk across the tracks to get from the parking lot to the inbound platform and one day when the train was right there and pulling in, a woman (in heels) made the last-second leap to catch it and only made it by a few feet.
The other was a few years ago in Charleston SC. The wife and I were on vacation there and went to see the aquarium. To get there, you had to cross a set of freight tracks, and there was a train parked there waiting to back into another track (big railyard splayed all over that side of town). So it's parked there and we're waiting for like ten minutes.
So a bunch of kids also waiting with us decide to climb between two boxcars to get to the other side. So they do it. And half a minute after they're clear, the train starts backing up and all the cars that were like three feet apart before are now maybe ten inches apart. Again, just a hair's breadth shy of a big squish.
Moving machinery is dangerous, people! Don't roll the dice.
That's a good question, Roman.
Walking across the train tracks in order to get somewhere is one thing, but walking along them is quite another...not very smart, and is tempting fate. I'm sorry for the teen's death, and it's unfortunate that such a bad mistake resulted in his death. My condolences go to the friends and loved one of this teen, as well.
Connection?
Is there any connection between these two recent deaths and the huge spike in grafitti along this rail line?
As someone who's spent
As someone who's spent countless hours on commuter rail tracks in my teenage years (writing graffiti) and my older years (photographing it), the only time a train ever surprised me was under the Prospect Street bridge in Somerville where the track curves quite abruptly. It's nearly impossible to get hit if you're paying attention. Of course we'll never know exactly what happened, but I can't help but think these trespassers were unfamiliar with the rail lines and how often/fast the trains run through there.