Trains held up after deer hit on tracks

About a half-dozen Metro-North Railroad trains on the Hudson Line were delayed for up to an hour during the height of yesterday's evening commute after a northbound train hit two deer. The train was headed from Grand Central Terminal to the Croton-Harmon station when the engineer thought he saw someone pass in front of it just north of Irvington about 6 :43 p.m., Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker said.

The engineer, fearing the train had struck a person, activated the emergency brakes and joined the conductors in a search along the tracks. After they turned up nothing, Metropolitan Transportation Authority police used flashlights to continue the search and determined that the train had struck and killed two deer, MTA spokesman Tom Kelly said.

"They found nobody," Brucker said. "What they did find was five fishermen sitting by the tracks fishing."

The fishermen were moved off the property, Kelly said. Power was restored to the tracks at 7:57 p.m.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/ ... elays.html

There was another piece of that story I heard on the car radio: a 10-foot boa constrictor "trespassing" on the tracks --- somewhere around Ludlow, I believe it said --- was also killed in the same evening rush. The irrespresiible Dan Brucker of Metro North was said to have released an announcement that "the reptilian was bifurcated."

Ah, the stuff I would miss if I didn't listen to WCBS news radio-88.

10-foot boa constrictor "trespassing" on the tracks --- somewhere around Ludlow

What? The only snakes I know of in southeastern NY state are copperheads and garter snakes.

The Hudson line Tuesday night was not a good place to be for people or animals.

About a half-dozen Metro-North Railroad trains were delayed for up to an hour during the height of the evening commute after an engineer saw a person dart in front of his train just north of Irvington, and pulled the emergency brake. The engineer was convinced the train had hit someone.

Luckily, the only dead objects found near the tracks were the badly decomposed bodies of two deer. A Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said Tuesday night that the deer had been struck.

However, after much investigation, railroad spokesman Dan Brucker said the railroad believed one of five fishermen found fishing near the tracks in Irvington had crossed the tracks in front of the engineer.

A boa constrictor farther down the line was not so lucky. At the Ludlow station in Yonkers, customers noticed a 10-foot boa on the tracks. Someone notified MTA police, Brucker said.

"The police arrived at 6:35 p.m., saw the boa on the tracks and were concerned about how best to get this boa off the tracks," Brucker said. "However, that problem was solved at 6:38 p.m., when a train came through, and effectively bifurcated this reptilian trespasser."

No one claimed the body, Brucker said, and the boa did not cause any train delays.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/newsroom/ ... kfolo.html

Don't forget Water Moccasins, Cotton mouths,

I do not believe Moccasins/Cottonmouths are in NY state. They are only in the southern US. Rattlesnakes (2 species) are protected under law.

Enough about reptiles here. Get back on topic.

Just an FYI though - the rattler species is the Eastern Diamond Back rattlesnake - prevalent in NY State as well as surrounding areas.

For what it is worth, when I worked the River Line there were many
varieties of snakes in the wooded and especially rocky areas along the
river.
Two dangerous snakes, Eastern Diamondbacks and Copperheads are a
major presence around both the Hudson Line of Metro-North especially
between Harmon and Poughkeepsie and the River Line especially in the
area between Congers and Kingston.
Avoid them if possible and if you happen to find one, get away from it.
Mind your business and they generally will not bother you.
Noel Weaver

The rattlesnakes are protected species, and you are not supposed to harm them. They actually did us some good a couple of years ago. Some companies wanted to build 2 big power plants near Suffern. Most residents were vehemently opposed, but it looked like the plants would get built. Then it turned out that the plants would damage some rattlesnake habitats. That seemed to be a bigger problem for the project than the residents' objections. The plants got canceled.