Life on the farm

[ovrszd]

And what would he be feeling in those last few seconds? Calm and rational but mind racing for a solution? Panic? Fear? Resignation? Thoughts of loved ones?

Had an incident locally two weeks ago that has really bothered me in that regard. Combine crossing a bridge. Ten wheeler grain truck catches him from behind on a State Hiway. Going down the hill toward the bridge for 1/4 mile, the truck driver realizes his brakes have failed and he's going to hit the combine. Tries to squeeze by on the left side, not enough room. Hits the left rear tire of the large combine shoving the rear axle to the center of the combine. Impact is so severe it throws the truck driver out of the passenger side cab window. He had at least 30 seconds to run all of that thru his mind. Feel such a burden for him. 47 year old farmer with a family.

 

[Big Barn]

Had an incident locally two weeks ago that has really bothered me in that regard. Combine crossing a bridge. Ten wheeler grain truck catches him from behind on a State Hiway. Going down the hill toward the bridge for 1/4 mile, the truck driver realizes his brakes have failed and he's going to hit the combine. Tries to squeeze by on the left side, not enough room. Hits the left rear tire of the large combine shoving the rear axle to the center of the combine. Impact is so severe it throws the truck driver out of the passenger side cab window. He had at least 30 seconds to run all of that thru his mind. Feel such a burden for him. 47 year old farmer with a family.

Sad for all involved, witnessed to or touched by it....

 

[bunyip]

Yep. So I'm back to my first guess. They all wobbled the same direction at the same time and simply fell over. Going on that theory. Would the Engineer have a few moments to realize he's headed toward disaster? I'm sure they had a "feel" for such things. Just imagine the conversation in the engine room just before it fell over. What could you do to disrupt it? Speed up or slow down? It's definitely a frequency thing.

Reminds me of a bridge in the UK, has a sign for the military on foot 'break step' so they would not start oscillation.

 

[ovrszd]

Reminds me of a bridge in the UK, has a sign for the military on foot 'break step' so they would not start oscillation.

Yep. Saw a video several years ago of a large cable suspension bridge collapsing in strong winds. Started "waving" and tore itself down.

 

[two_bit_score]

Yep. Saw a video several years ago of a large cable suspension bridge collapsing in strong winds. Started "waving" and tore itself down.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge?

Tacoma Narrows Bridge: Lessons From the Failure of a Great Machine

Tragic story. I have crossed the current Tacoma Narrows Bridge.

WSDOT - SR 16 at MP 8.5: Tacoma Narrows Bridge, Westside - Tacoma Washington Cameras

 

[ovrszd]

Might have been. Though I think it was later.

The logistics of all that happened in perfect sequence really intrigues me.

 

[bunyip]

I saw a doco on how it starts and how it is now prevented, was interesting how once it starts it is impossible to stop and the engineers of the day knew nothing about it.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

They were in a hurry to Hooterville to see the pretty girls....

Now I know why "Uncle Joe was moving kinda slow..."

 

[Hay Dude]

And what would he be feeling in those last few seconds? Calm and rational but mind racing for a solution? Panic? Fear? Resignation? Thoughts of loved ones?

Jump? :laughing:

 

[ovrszd]

I saw a doco on how it starts and how it is now prevented, was interesting how once it starts it is impossible to stop and the engineers of the day knew nothing about it.

That's what I expected. Hadn't happened enough to be factually studied and defended against. If this Engineer survived I'll bet he warned his buddies repeatedly about it. And those that cared listened intently to everything he said about what led up to it.