Train With a View

I took this photo because I was on this train right before it hit a semi-truck ... a SEMI-FRICKIN-TRUCK ... on my way home from work today. So freaky. First off, the train did not screech to a halt, like you'd imagine. It's as if the conductor did not see the semi on the tracks until it hit it. I was in the second car from the derailed engine, which is shown above. All i heard was a slight boom, not startling, but THEN all of a sudden there's this half of a semi truck doing cart wheels CART WHEELS in the air and FLYING by my window. Yeah, that's right, i thought it was going to land on us. People screamed, "OH MY GOD." When i saw that, i thought all the trains carts would be squeezed together. But, no, the train just screeched to a halt.

The conductor came in to ask if everyone was okay and then to announce that there were no injuries on the train. Then we waited, while a noxious smell infiltrated each cart. One man made it off the train and began to walk. But everyone else waited. Then another man started walking up and down the carts, saying "there's DIESEL out there, people." The conductor yelled "No body get off the train. Stay where you are."

But diesel? Someone quipped "Don't start smoking"..."No one light a cigarette" haha. Funny. But, yeah, you're sitting on a train soaked in diesel with a diesel spill outside its doors, what do you do?

One man got out. From the window, he mouthed to the other passengers "T H E R E 'S A F I R E" in the last train cart. At that point, i left my seat to make my way towards the door. The doors were open, but we were instructed not to leave. Eventually, frantic man came back down and left and we all followed. It was the smartest thing, i think. I mean, stay where you're seated when you're seated in a pond of diesel?

We were wrecked in the boonies. It took 2 miles of no man's land to get to the train station, in 80+ muggy weather.

Finally, dh found this obscure train station and picked me up.

I just can't believe i saw semi-truck fly by me. It was like a scene out of a tornado movie.

UPDATE: In case this ever happens to anyone, God forbid, we did not actually step in the diesel. We exited from the other side and walked around the front of the train. They say walking in deisel is no better than sitting in a traincart soaked in it. But still, i'm glad we got off the train without having to step in diesel.