Commentary: The Sometimes Sensitive Nature On Writing About Train Safety
There Are Times When These Matters Can Be And Are More Serious And/Or Sensitive In Nature. This Is One Of Those Times
There is no area more sensitive to write on than that dealing with train safety. And let me tell you why.
For starters, when you write on the subject, someone somewhere is invariably going to disagree or worse, get ticked off, all prompted by what this person has read. But, it also depends a lot on what’s been written.
I once wrote about train safety in the now defunct Fresno Weekly. I don’t remember exactly what the article was about, but someone in response in the comments wasn’t just taken aback by my concluding thought, but vehemently disagreed. The article ended basically with me writing: “…a disaster of titanic proportions.” That much I do remember.
It may very well have had to do with the notion of “it” being too big to fail, whatever the “it” part referred to. In railroading, being bigger doesn’t always correlate with being the best or better. So making that inference alone in and of itself can be problematic. That’s just for openers.
On a related matter, meanwhile, I approached a publisher as to my idea of doing a series on railroad safety. The publisher was at first, all gung-ho on the prospect of our collaborating. Then, a day later, I received an email whereby this publisher was sharing what reservations they were having and, as a result, curtly reneged. I came away with the feeling that an opportunity had been missed.
Then there was the time I did a story on railroad-crossing safety for Nut Grower (another now defunct periodical) and the article I had composed had, in fact, been a very timely one. The published article’s title is “Blood on the Tracks.” Its focus was on the potential dangers growers and ranchers may face in their having to cross a railroad track or sets of tracks at private railroad crossings related to railroad lines that either lie adjacent to farm- or ranch- land or bisect or split in two affected farm- or ranch- land. As it relates, one time I recall seeing the blood of a cow splattered on the nose on a train’s lead locomotive upon said train exiting Niles Canyon in the San Francisco Bay Area on a weekday morning or afternoon — I don’t recall which. I had later learned that this particular train had earlier struck the bovine on tracks traversing the Altamont Pass, which lies to Niles Canyon’s east. The year this happened had to be 1988 or ’89. Again, I don’t recall exactly which. No matter, the cow apparently was at a location it should not have been and was therefore struck. Like I said, writing about trains and railroading, at times, can be thorny.
As to the person who was the main focus of the “Blood on the Tracks” article, related to this, a railroad just so happens to lay adjacent to this rancher’s ranch and the only road into and out of the property at one time crossed the set of double tracks at a private railroad crossing that had lacked automatic crossing-warning equipment. There were only passive signs present.
This particular rancher’s dad was struck and killed by one of the railroad’s trains at this particular crossing. Two tracks were present; one, a mainline, usable and available for trains to operate on, the other, a siding, with cuts of cars spotted on it on both sides of the crossing. Well, as it happened, one day the man’s father in attempting to cross those tracks at that crossing while driving a pickup truck, was apparently completely unaware of an approaching train on the main as he attempted to cross that set of tracks, this attempt being unsuccessful resulting in the elder being struck, unfortunately. According to the son, his father had reached out to the railroad on a number of occasions trying to get the cuts of cars moved. It was all to no avail, apparently. The loss was an extremely tough one for the son and the family, needless to say.
On the upside, meanwhile, at some point subsequent to the son’s father’s death, a remedy was found. The crossing was permanently closed, a new on-the-ranch frontage road was constructed that provided access to and from a county road that, where it crossed the same set of railroad tracks (just farther away is all), it was equipped with the full complement of warning lights, gates and bells thereby providing for an extra level of safety as it pertains to motor vehicles crossing tracks at public roadway/railway crossings.
I know I’m repeating myself here, but sometimes when talking about railroad safety-related matters, depending upon what the nature of the coverage or conversation is, the content can be moderately to highly sensitive in nature.
I don’t believe there are too, too many people who are aware of this which is why I decided today to, again, speak to and on this very topic.
Updated: Feb. 18, 2026 at 2:31 p.m. PST.
All material copyrighted 2026, Alan Kandel. All Rights Reserved.