The life of a train crew in New Jersey is not always easy. When you mix grade crossings in with too many cars & too many people, it can make the job stressful at times. And then you have the wildlife, who just love to trespass on railroad property. Shrewsbury, NJ, is a fairly quiet little borough, but sometimes things get real busy at one or more of the 3 grade crossings in town. On just another Thursday afternoon, the crew of Conrail local freight SA-31 suddenly encounters a flurry of activity at the Patterson Ave. crossing. Never mind the truck ignoring the flashing lights and sounding bell at the crossing, but they also have their attention diverted by the two deer literally running for their lives along the right-of-way who are about to make a sharp right hand turn directly in front of the locomotive. Thankfully, the train is limited to 10 mph on this local freight line, and I’m happy to report that everyone made it home safely on this day, with a riveting tale to tell their families that night.
Image recorded September 7, 2017
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