Train Wreck

All right, it's been a long time. Oh, well. Last month (August 7), Union Pacific, Operation Life Saver, the Sheriff's Office and Idaho State Police did the Trooper on a Train thing. This is where a train goes up and down the tracks with a cop in the train and several other cops along the roads the train is going by. The cop on the train alerts the chase cars to anyone who runs the tracks in front of the train, then they are pulled over and cited.

As part of this, Union Pacific brings in some passenger cars and people can get tickets to ride on it. I got tickets and so Susan and Victoria took Vicki's friend, Hazel, and her brother, Trevor, on the first run. We got there and got ready, but there was no train. Then, a train appeared... from the wrong direction. This stupid train spent the next hour and a half blocking the tracks, roads, and everything else while it coupled and uncoupled cars. Talk about Union Pacific being highly organized! The train rides were supposed to go for about an hour, starting at 10:00, then 11:00, then 12:00. Susan and the girls finally got on the train at close to 11:00, then they sat on the train for about 45 minutes before the ride began. Susan said it was like being trapped in a horror movie. Babies screaming, kids wiping their goobery hands on you, people screaming for freedom, and a guy in a hockey mask slashing someone up every few minutes (well, maybe not the slasher).

Finally the train gets going and we get to start having fun! Susan even got a picture out the window of me with a truck pulled over (he got a ticket). You can see how Susan's sanity was pushed to the limits as well! The dude in the picture with me is ISP Trooper Caldera.

Operation Life Saver (the Union Pacific thing around here that tells people not to camp out on train tracks or run the flashy track lights and stuff) are going to try to do it again in October. Susan has made me promise to try my hardest not to get train ride tickets this time! :)