Today I went to a small training exercise with some firefighters from towns around the area. They don't often get to learn on actual trains due to the railroad companies wanting to use them, or at least not have them idling in a rail yard. I got to follow the firefighters around and listen to the explanations, but I wasn't allowed to get very close to the cars. I did, however, manage to go into the passenger train and up into the engine (it's wicked loud in there) to look around. I didn't stick around in the interesting part long enough to take pictures though, because I didn't want to blow my eardrums out.
You can view the whole album (I left out a few pictures) at a much more reasonable resolution here.
the 1974 Pan-Am engine - not the one I went inside:
a passing Amtrak train:
more of the Pan-Am engine:
the freight cars:
looking at the battery box on the Amtrak coach:
the Amtrak engine:
all of the cars and engines:
my favorite one... the food car:
more of the amtrak coach (the open box there is the refrigerant):
getting ready to do a search and rescue with fake smoke in the food car:
the next group waiting for their turn:
bringing a dummy out on a board through the emergency window of the coach:
Most of the firefighters had to leave towards the end of the exercise on a call, so we finished up not long after that.
