SALIDA, Calif. — Sometimes, there just isn’t time to follow proper procedures.
The Salida postmaster, Dennis Thompson, heard from an employee Tuesday morning that a small propane tank was wedged in the railroad tracks along Salida Boulevard.
Thompson went to check it out, and sure enough, a 16-ounce propane tank had been stuck in the tracks.
Following standard post office procedure for any kind of explosive device, even firecrackers, Thompson called 911 and described the situation.
Then he heard the train coming. The 911 dispatcher was telling him the situation would be reported to the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department and the railroad, but Thompson could see the train about 100 yards away.
“At first, you just want to leave those things alone. You don’t know what someone has done,” Thompson said. “But as the train is barreling down, I’ve got to take my chances.”
The postmaster climbed onto the tracks and pulled the propane tank out, and stood beside the track in his apron, tank in hand, as the train rushed by. “It gets your adrenaline going,” he said.
James Barnes, director of media information for Union Pacific Railroad, said as noble as Thompson’s effort may have been, the railroad would rather people call the railroad than take action.
“We are very pleased that no one was injured,” Barnes said. Even items as small as a rock or a penny on the track can become a projectile and cause serious injury or even death, he said.
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