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No one hurt, except maybe Healey permanently...

judow

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This was posted on Austin Healey Owners Site by Rick Neville. So sad but no one hurt.

"A Caltrain Baby Bullet express train tonight (Feb. 10) hit an unoccupied 1950s-era Austin-Healey convertible at the Fair Oaks Lane crossing in Atherton and dragged it a quarter mile to the next crossing at Watkins Avenue.

The car apparently stalled at the Fair Oaks Crossing and the driver was able to get out before the southbound locomotive slammed into the vehicle.
NBC Bay Area reported that the driver turned onto the track while using a GPS navigation device and got stuck.
Menlo Park firefighters arrived at the Watkins crossing at 8:13 p.m. and saw that the Austin-Healey was on fire. The car was entangled under the front grill of the locomotive, which had stopped, the fire district said in a statement.
“After extinguishing the vehicle fire, Menlo Park firefighters were able to free what was left of the classic car by 10:26 p.m. using the jaws of life and other extrication equipment to (release) the twisted metal and debris from under the much larger locomotive,” the fire district said in a statement.
More than 300 passengers were transferred to another train while firefighters disentangled the car from the front of the locomotive. There were no injuries reported.
Fire Chief Harold Schapelhouman said this is the second car that has been stuck at this crossing and caught fire.
“The last time this occurred in December of 2014, a driver following his navigation system on a dark and rainy night turned onto the tracks and the vehicle became stuck. Fortunately, in both of these cases, the drivers were able to escape from their vehicles before being struck by a southbound passenger train,” Schapelhouman said."
 

Basil

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That's enough to make you cry! OTOH, when I saw the subject like I thought "Oh no! Not Agatha!"
 
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judow

judow

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That's enough to make you cry! OTOH, when I saw the subject like I thought "Oh no! Not Agatha!"
I believe this is in San Mateo County, California. I was wondering if it belonged to anyone on the forum. Very sad indeed.
 

DNK

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What kind of electric force emanates from RR tracks hat causes cars to die on them?
 

DrEntropy

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Don said:
What kind of electric force emanates from RR tracks hat causes cars to die on them?


None. The "pilot" of the vehicle is the problem. Do NOT stop on tracks. Simple.
 

JPSmit

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None. The "pilot" of the vehicle is the problem. Do NOT stop on tracks. Simple.[/COLOR]

Read it again Doc, driver turned ONTO the tracks - GPS reliance triumphs over common sense. Forgive me but a trashed Healey Might <might> be lesson enough.
 

elrey

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G.P.S. Heck,... just wait til we get those . - ! self driving cars on the road (or across the tracks) !!!
 

AngliaGT

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OUCH! - I used to have a 100-6.
So,was it parallel or 90 degrees of the tracks?
 

Bayless

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Nope, that aint gonna buff out.
 

AngliaGT

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Whatever happened to common sense?
Sounds to me like that driver didn't deserve to have a Healey.
 

GregW

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That does not look like the correct intersection. The video has the cross streets different from what I read in the article. The videos intersection is much larger.
 

John Turney

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I'm not sure the driver is at fault. The crossing seems quite "normal" - except quite high for low clearance vehicles. The Healey is the second car at the same crossing. A youtube video of the intersection - if my research is correct:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BibQHBA4_D0
This video was taken at the Charleston intersection which is in the south end of Palo Alto. The Healey was hit at the Fair Oaks intersection and pushed to the Watkins intersection, which is in Atherton. From that, the train was southbound.
 

John Turney

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Here is the Google Street View of the Fair Oaks Ln crossing where the 100-6 was hit. Just beyond the tracks are a left to turn into the train station and a right turn onto Lloyden Dr. It appears that the track intersection is paved and reasonably smooth. At night, it may be hard to tell the pavement for the tracks and the pavement for the parking lot entrance.

Fair Oaks Ln Crossing.jpg
 

DavidApp

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If they were using GPS they were obviously not familiar with the area either so the error would have been easy easy at night.

DAvid
 

SaxMan

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Isn't part of the LBC experience to liberate oneself from the overblown technology in modern vehicles and enjoy driving based on your actual senses? Using a GPS while driving an LBC is just wrong. Getting lost is part of the fun!
 
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