Can't say much about vertigo but we had a southbound out of Neosho Mo on the
KCS back in the 60's and started up the hill with an FM Erie Built in the
lead with an inoperative speedometer. The KCS was running a lot of first
generation junk and we had a mixed bag of about seven units with all the
mechanical problems you could ask for. The fog was so thick we could see
nothing beyond the marker lights and below the top ladder step and resolved
to stop at the coach track on top of the hill to let it thin out before we
started across road crossings. We were used to struggling up the hill at 5
to 10 mph and thought nothing of the shudders and shakes so long as we didn't
get a lot of slack action. To make matters worse the radio was out on the
caboose and the conductor could not tell us that we stopped about half way
up. We burned about 20 pits 2 inches deep in the rails and ruined most of
the wheels in the locomotive consist before we realized we had not moved for
several minutes. No wheel slip light, no warning of any kind. For once, in
the investigation, I was glad I was just a dumb brakeman and not privy to the
tell tale signs that were supposed to warn the engineer and fireman we were
in trouble. They each got 30 days, I got a real nasty look from the
Superintendent but kept my paychecks coming.
In a message dated 10/12/00 4:11:40 AM Central Daylight Time,
BRHSlist@egroups.com writes:
<<
Reading about the fog, I was wondering whether anyone had experiened
any vertigo. I know when I was working on my instrument rating my
eyes told me one thing and my inner ear told me another. You learn
to trust your eyes. >>
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