Ham radio helps avoid railway accident

Ham radio may have helped to avoid a railway accident. One involving a group of Illinois youngsters who decided to try to joy ride on a commuter train.

Paul Streeter, AB9PS, had been attending a meeting of the National Railway Historical Society.

As his train home departed the station, his son David, N9JFE, and two other club members who had waited with him noticed that a couple kids had jumped onto the engine.

Sensing the urgency in the situation, N9JFE used the emergency provision of the FCC's Amateur Service rules.
He tuned his HT to the railroad's frequency to notify the engineer that he had some unwanted kids clinging to the locomotive.

The engineer brought the train to an emergency stop.
As soon as the train came to a halt, the crew jumped out when it chased the kids away.

Now here's the kicker. Apparently the kids took refuge right in front of the Downers Grove Police Department after they jumped off the engine. In fact, they were seen sitting on the agency's steps. The engineer then asked the dispatcher to notify the police of what had transpired and of the youngsters where-abouts.

AB9PS says that in his opinion that the situation was definitely life-threatening. He says that the train could have reached 60 mph even though it was a local. At that speed the kids would not have been able to hang on.

Wireless Institute of Australia