| Truth is stranger than fiction and nobody would believe a story like this without picture proof. UP's Tunnel 21 is approximately 1/2 mile north (east on the railway) of Auburn, California's Nevada Station (Amtrak California). This is UP's Eastbound or "up bound" track. The tunnel entrance is below Mt. Vernon Road. The train was a unit autorack with three locos including 4218 on the point. It was stopped because some yahoo with the IQ of a salad bar had driven a new H2 up the tracks to Tunnel 21 where he managed to flatten a couple of tires and wedge the SUV into the side of the tunnel mouth. Auburn City Police, Placer County Sherriff and of course, the CHP all showed up. They figured the H2 was stolen - who would drive their own H2 into a tunnel wall? As I was leaving a tow truck had showed up and was going to attempt to pull the H2 out of there. Fortunately, the H2 was white and it was sitting in the sun so the train crew was able to spot it and bring the train to a stop well short of the tunnel. A sobering thought: Had the driver managed to get the H2 into the tunnel and abandon it there would have been the potential for a very bad accident! |