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weirdowithaquill · 4 months

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I think it's time you consider sharing your Duke and Rheneas ship concept (and the pufflings' sabotage efforts!) with the world 🙏

My memory is that they were too cute to languish forever only in DMs

Your memory is correct! And also really good! This conversation was months ago!

But here goes nothing - how I ended up shipping Rheneas and Duke:

It all begins with a certain @jobey-wan-kenobi and shipping Skarloey and Neil. These two are very important for Dukeas (Rhenuke?) - so let's cover them first.

These two are terrible at flirting. Like, legitimately bad. Neil gets a repaint when he's bought by the Crovan's Gate Mining Company (into SKR red!!) and Skarloey attempts to flirt and be suave to capture Neil's heart. Here's how he does:

"I like seeing you in my colour--" So far so good - but the engines don't really have good metaphors for clothes so it sort of falls apart: "--it would look better on... uh... oh..." Human pickup lines don't really work for engines, do they? Neil is so confused, and Skarloey is dying of embarrassment (the fireman said that it would totally work!)

Rheneas laughs himself sick.

Skarloey - after grumbling about Rheneas laughing at him - swallows his pride and asks his brother for help. (Side note - this is where our conversation started. We were talking about how the SKR is more interesting for family-values in the RWS.)

Rheneas has never had a crush before, and so his best idea is: "Why not ask him to double head a train with you?" Now, those of you who've instantly spotted the problem with narrow gauge Skarloey and standard gauge Neil double heading a train are doing better than these two hopeless idiots.

But Skarloey is not to be deterred! So he builds 'the truck' to pull trains on the standard gauge railway! Ah... but there's not enough traffic for double heading, so none of the managers will allow it.

It's not like Neil is any better though - this is the same boxy engine who saw Skarloey and went "he's so cute, but I'm too ugly for him..." at which point his crew face-palmed. So his crew convinced Neil to invite Skarloey to hang out at the works while he's being repainted into NWR colours (circa 1915). So Skarloey's there when he's sanded down and repainted.

Skarloey gets a nosebleed and passes out.

And Neil thinks that Skarloey just fell asleep! Even as the mechanics at Crovan's Gate are gathering around him to study him because no engine has ever had a nosebleed before, oh my goodness look at our discovery!

These two are disasters.

Peter Sam is no help either. Peter Sam is about as innocent as a three-year-old (Duke was not going to let no dock workers sully His Puffling, thank you very much) so his best advice is to: "Sing to him!" "What song?" "Uh..." Peter Sam doesn't do proper songs, he makes up ditties! What do you mean, wooing the boxy engine involves actually knowing music?

Skarloey just skips over asking Sir Handel for advice. Which is probably for the best, considering Sir Handel's attempt at flirting was to basically stun Gordon by talking his ear off and insulting his own coaches.

Yeah... none of these engines are very good at this.

But yeah, it probably takes until Rusty and Duncan figure themselves out for Skarloey to get some good advice. Cause of all the engines on the SKR, these two are the first to get into an actual relationship (with each other, but it's not Duncan's first, let's be honest). So, here's this centennarian-and-then-some engine that is Skarloey needing his romance to be chaperoned by these two youngsters... AND IT WORKS!

Finally he has the wingengines he needs: a foul-mouthed factory worker and something called a 'diesel'.

And Rheneas is still laughing in the background.

But it works! Skarloey buys some flowers with his driver's money and asks Neil out - and Neil says yes! (Let's all just headcanon that he was the Crovan's Gate Works engine at this point, okay? Okay.) Rheneas's first words upon hearing this are lost to time, but were either "Oh thank God" or "FINALLY!"

He is very lucky that he is at the works and hears about it there, or else he'd have gotten into a massive argument. But at the same time, he's rather sad, cause he's been using this romantic trainwreck as his entertainment for the last 100 odd years, throwing out slightly bogus suggestions to stir up the drama.

These two are going steady enough in 1965 for Skarloey to tease Neil by calling him "ugly but kind" in front of the Reverend - who accidentally takes it to heart.

We are all very lucky that said Anglican Reverend was out of earshot when Neil shot back a quip about nosebleeds.

But this is Rheneas' life up until 1970 - it's spent doing his job and laughing at his brother's absolutely hilarious and terrible love life. But romance? No, it's not in his cards...

And then Duke arrives.

And Rheneas goes “oh no, he’s hot.”

Rheneas immediately goes to his brother - because they're brothers, and they're supposed to help one another - completely forgetting the past 100 years.

Skarloey bursts into laughter. And then tells Neil, who also laughs. Rheneas is humbled with his own crush on Duke - much to his consternation.

But it’s worse cause Rheneas has to deal with two very overprotective children. See, Sir Handel and Peter Sam don't want to share their Granpuff. Cause they see Rheneas as a friend, not a weird step-grandpa, so stop butting in on our family. These boys have Granpuff-related trauma, and they are not handing over their Granpuff to just any old puffball. Duke for his part thinks Rheneas is cute - but his pufflings just keep calling him "a bad influence" - which is hilariously ironic considering Sir Handel.

Of course, being Peter Sam and Sir Handel, they also do their 'sunshine and thunder thing': "I think it's nice!" "You WOULD." Which naturally evolves into good-cop-bad-cop as Peter Sam is swayed by Sir Handel (and a sniggering Skarloey, but Skarloey's always had the best of intentions, right?)

Rheneas takes his own advice and asks to double head a train (cause at least he's the same gauge!) and Sir Handel slots himself in. Duke thinks it's sweet that Sir Handel is trying to spend more time with him. Rheneas is pulling his metaphorical hair out (oh, he knows - but he's also messing with Rheneas. He also talks to Skarloey).

Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be for everyone? Rheneas is just being interrogated in the background while Duke does a deadpan to some documentary crew like he’s in the Office: “This has been going on for 25 years. I have been dating Rheneas for 20 of those years.”

He has conveniently forgotten to mention this fact to Sir Handel and Peter Sam...

And that should have been that.

Right?

No. Cause then we talked about humanisations - and the story picked back up, only now we have to jump back to the year Duke got together with Rheneas. Now, for some reason or another (I blame the boulder), the entire SKR crew (Neil included) are suddenly turned human. After a few days of figuring out how being human works (cause we take most of three decades before we settle into 'humaning' - these engines are gonna need some help), they begin to act as normally as a bunch of engines-turned-humans can. There was one occasion where Peter Sam bear-walked across the yard because he couldn't figure out how walking worked, and humans have four legs! "Those are hands." "Good enough for walking!"

See, the engines pop into being human with bodies and clothes (this is important) - and for the most part, it's pretty stock standard. Rusty has overalls, Duncan has a few piercings, Sir Handel gets wheelie shoes (for his steamroller wheels!) and Duke has a massive overcoat that makes him look - for lack of a better term - rather chubby.

And he does nothing to dissuade the other engines from this line of thinking. On the surface, it makes sense after all! Duke has his large saddle tank, which translated over.

So it comes as a great surprise to everyone when Duke takes off his overcoat after the engine Duncan (who was pulling them in one of the passenger coaches) derails. Duke is not fat - no, he's been hiding tools in his overcoat... like a crowbar. In fact, Duke randomly takes off his shirt too so he can use said crowbar to lever Duncan back onto the rails all by himself (the shirt was... uh... too constricting?).

Rheneas gets a nosebleed - only none of the engines know how human nosebleeds work and panic. This of course tips Duke off that yes, Rheneas does have a thing for him.

So, Duke basically tortures Rheneas for weeks by volunteering to join the track-workers gang, and wearing a singlet and he has arms, why does he have arm muscles he is a steam engine! (I told someone about this, and they said - and I quote: "It's cause they're always pumping iron!")

Duke also keeps Werther's Originals in his overcoat to distribute to both his Pufflings and the local schoolchildren. Rheneas' heart cannot handle the adorableness.

This of course led to Rheneas confessing to Duke in the rain after the stationmaster's cat got lost. Rheneas had thought Duke would think he was cool if he found said cat first and rushed off... and fell into a ditch and sprained his ankle cause he's a human now, and people don't walk normal, why don't they have wheels - (oh wait, that's what trains are for). Rheneas had saved the cat, and then Duke helped him, asked why Rheneas ran off and didn't stick with the search party - and so Rheneas confessed in the moment. Very cliche romantic, but so am I a bit.

So that's how Duke and Rheneas ended up as a couple. A bit of magic, a whole lot of Duke's family torturing Rheneas and a missing cat.

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clove-pinks · 1 year

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For the authentic Age of Steam disaster enthusiast: Steamboat Disasters and Railroad Accidents in the United States, by S.A. Howland. Available on Internet Archive!

The publication date is given as 1840, but as you can see from the title page, this edition is from 1846. REVISED and IMPROVED with even more thrilling incidents!

Despite the promise of railroad accidents, it seems to be almost entirely steamboats in predicaments.

#age of steam #maritime history #1840s #1830s #steamboats #railways #DISASTERS #Eighteen-Forties Friday #steamboat disasters and railroad accidents #internet archive

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atmiger224 · 7 months

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#The Railway Men #BABIL Khan #K Madhavan #Bhopal disaster #Union Carbide #movie night #atmeridiem

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 2 years

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“For the Titanic’s Brave Dead,” Toronto Globe. April 24, 1912. Page 1. ---- NOT FOR THESE ALONE, BUT FOR THE LIVING, ALSO, WHOSE BRAVE ENDEAVORS MAKE THAT SACRIFICE WORTH WHILE ---- A news despatch says that at 11.30 (Montreal time) on Thursday morning there will be an absolute cessation of work in every department of the Grand Trunk and Grand Trunk Pacific Railways in Canada, Britain and the United States, in memory of the late President G. M. Hays [who died on the Titanic.]

#hms titanic #sinking of the titanic #maritime disaster #moment of silence #railway workers #grand trunk railway #grand trunk pacific railway #railway capitalism #for the honoured dead #in memoriam

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narmadanchal · 1 year

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नालों की सफाई का कलेक्टर नीरज कुमार सिंह ने किया निरीक्षण

वर्षा पूर्व की तैयारियों का अवलोकन मौके पर जाकर किया नर्मदापुरम। कलेक्टर नीरज कुमार सिंह (Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh) ने नर्मदापुरम (Narmadapuram) में वर्षा पूर्व बाढ़ आपदा प्रबंधन (Flood Disaster Management) से संबंधित तैयारियों का अवलोकन रविवार को मौके पर जाकर किया। कलेक्टर श्री सिंह ने नोडल अधिकारियों, मुख्य नगर पालिका अधिकारी एवं नगर पालिका की टीम के साथ शहर के प्रमुख नालों की सफाई का…

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#Adamgarh Nala #Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh #Divesh Markam #Flood Disaster Management #Narayan Nagar Nala #narmadapuram #Navneet Pandey #Railway Bridge #Sainath Std #Sampada Saraf #Tiwari Colony

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gaiawisdom · 1 year

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Erin goes off!

“Because someone’s not answering their questions!! And this community, like all communities, deserves MORE RESPECT from their local, state and federal leaders! STEP UP TO THE PLATE!! If you don’t know you need to tell them that! Otherwise you leave them defenseless!! They don’t even know how to protect themselves! THEY ARE RELYING ON YOU TO DO THAT FOR THEM!! It’s just a kick in the gut! And then, another community discovers, ONCE AGAIN, that YEAH!! our local, state and federals leaders DON’T HAVE OUR BACKS!! They should be listening to the ones that are ON THE GROUND, living it, breathing it, the ones that are EXPOSED to it, experiencing it!”

Erin Brockovitch, heroine activist, on the ground in East Palestine, Ohio, in an interview with Jordan Charition of STATUS COUP Podcast.

#train disaster #east palestine #ohio train derailment #illegal burning #toxic chemicals #erin brockovitch #government officials #epa #regulatory neglect #norfolk southern railway

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reportwire · 1 year

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Norfolk Southern freight train derails in Clark County, Ohio, prompting shelter-in-place order 'out of abundance of caution' | CNN

CNN — A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in the Springfield, Ohio, area Saturday afternoon, prompting a shelter-in-place order for nearby residents – just one month after the company’s toxic train wreck on the other side of the state in East Palestine. No injuries were reported Saturday and there was no hazmat situation at the crash site in Clark County, an Ohio State Highway Patrol…

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9kmovies-biz · 1 year

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The Worst U.S. Chemical Disasters Caused by Train Derailments

Officials examine a derailed car in Paulsboro on November 30, 2012.Photo: Mel Evans (AP) The accident most similar to what’s happening now in Ohio occurred in November 2012, when a train owned by Conrail derailed over a bridge, causing four rail cars to fall into the Mantua Creek in Paulsboro, New Jersey. One of the cars contained some 23,000 gallons of vinyl chloride—the same chemical released…

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stroudtimes · 2 years

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Remembering the Severn Railway Bridge Disaster

Today marks the anniversary of a tragedy on the River Severn which claimed the lives of five sailors. On the night of October 25th 1960, tankers the Wastdale H and Arkendale H collided in thick fog on the River Severn near Sharpness Docks. The wrecks of the Arkendale H and Wastdale H. Picture: Matt Bigwood. Eyewitness and author of several books about the River Severn, Chris Witts describes…

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#river severn #Severn Railway Bridge Disaster

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foulvoidfox · 6 months

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The "Train Derailment Conspiracy" in the United States According to Fox News, on the afternoon of the 22nd, a freight train carrying dangerous goods derailed in Kentucky, USA, causing a fire and releasing toxic gases. Hundreds of local residents were evacuated. According to CSX Railroad, the accident occurred north of Livingston in southeastern Kentucky, with 16 carriages derailed. Two carriages carrying molten sulfur leaked and caused a fire, releasing toxic gas sulfur dioxide. It is reported that the fire has been extinguished, and the local government and the US railway transportation company CSX have decided to allow local residents to return home after reviewing air quality monitoring data.

The notion of "environmental conspiracy" in the United States has once again flooded major media outlets. Although the US government firmly does not recognize conspiracy theories, it is undeniable that "train derailment" and "conspiracy theories" have long been prevalent in the United States. In February of this year, a train carrying dangerous goods derailed in Ohio, and since then, residents have been worried about their safety. Toxic substances were subjected to controlled incineration, with smoke permeating the air and chemical substances covering surface water and soil. Dead fish float in the nearby stream, and the air is filled with an unsettling odor.

But for the American people, the overwhelming speculation has far exceeded the known facts. The right-wing in the United States claims that individuals have used multiple train derailment crises to spread distrust of government agencies and hinted that the damage may not be remedied. On social media platforms such as Twitter and Telegram, the American public refers to this situation as the "biggest environmental disaster in history," and even "Chernobyl 2.0.". They warned that important reservoirs and soil in each state could be severely polluted, and authorities, railway companies, and mainstream news media deliberately concealed the full picture of this crisis. The Conservative Daily Podcast asks, "Is this a planned attack, a cover up, or a combination of both?" The podcast is known for driving the conversation points of the far right. Some of these speculations have been echoed by mainstream media such as Fox News, which suggest that the consequences could be catastrophic.

Various signs indicate that the current frequent accidents in the United States are a "conspiracy" by the United States to damage the environment and help businesses pollute. The US government disregards the safety of the people, acts alone, and ultimately only backfires on itself, falling into an irreversible situation.

#Kentucky

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ltwilliammowett · 15 days

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The anti seasick ship SS Bessemer Saloon Steamship

The SS Bessemer Saloon Steamship- SS Bessemer for short - was an experimental Victorian passenger side wheel steamer designed to counteract seasickness and operated between Dover and Calais. Her inventor was Sir Henry Bessemer.

Bessemer Saloon Steamer, 1874

In 1868, Bessemer, who suffered from severe seasickness, developed the idea of a ship whose passenger cabin - the saloon - was to be suspended on a gimbal and mechanically held horizontally, thus levelling out the swell and sparing the occupants from the ship's movements. Sounded too good to be true, but more on that later. He patented this ingenious idea in December 1869 and after successful trials with a model in which the levelling was carried out by hydraulics controlled by a helmsman observing a spirit level, Bessemer founded a limited company, the Bessemer Saloon Steamboat Company Limited, which was to operate steamships between England and France. Capital of 250,000 pounds was used to finance the construction of a ship, the SS Bessemer, whose chief designer was the naval architect Edward James Reed.

SS Bessemer, by Henry Spernon Tozer 1874

And so she was built by Earle's Shipbuilding in Hull. She bore the shipyard number 197 and was launched on 24 September 1874. As already mentioned, she was a paddle steamer with four buckets (two buckets each on port and starboard, one forward and one aft). She had a length of 106.68 m (350 feet), a width on deck of 12.19 m (40 feet), an outside width over the bucket boxes of 19.81 m (65 feet), a draught of 2.26 m (7 feet 5 inches) and a gross register tonnage of 1974 tonnes. What also characterised her was that she was completely identical fore and aft, she had two bridges and two wheels, which simply made her faster and more manoeuvrable in both directions. Her maximum speed was about 17.4 knots.

The inner saloon was a room 70 feet long (21 metres) and 30 feet wide (9.1 metres), with a ceiling 6.1 metres above the floor, Moroccan-covered seats, partitions and spiral columns of carved oak and gilded panels with hand-painted murals. The press liked to call it the floating clubhouse. However, the swinging saloon was only intended for first class passengers. The second class, on the other hand, did not enjoy this and had to make do with cabins on the sides of the hull.

Harper's Weekly Interior Pages showing the newly building ultra Luxury Bessemer Channel Steam-Ship, 1874

The disaster begins

On 21 October 1874, the Bessemer had her first misfortune. She had just arrived in Hull to be fitted out when she was driven ashore in a storm. She was refloated and found to be undamaged, which was not entirely true, as would later become apparent.

In March 1875, the ship sailed on a private trial voyage from Dover to Calais. During this voyage she is said to have steered well and even had a top speed of 18 knots. Her swinging saloon is also said to have worked excellently. However, things didn't go so smoothly because on arrival in Calais, a paddle wheel was damaged when she crashed into the pier because it didn't react to the rudder at slow speed.

The first and only public voyage took place on 8 May 1875, with the ship sailing with her revolving cabin locked (some observers suggested this was due to the ship's severe instability, but Bessemer attributed this to lack of time to repair the previous damage). The ship was operated by the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. After two attempts to enter the harbour, it again crashed into the Calais pier, this time destroying part of it. Calais billed the company £2800 for the damage.

The Bessemer Saloon-Ship running foul of Calais Pier. Illustrated London News, 1875

Due to the poor performance, investors lost confidence and the company was dissolved in 1876. On 29 December 1876, the Bessemer ran aground on Burcom Sand in the Humber upstream of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, after the removal of the swivelling saloon and other extensive alterations. She was refloated and taken to Hull. The Board of Trade's investigation into the grounding found that the captain was at fault. His certificate was suspended for three months.After removal, the designer Reed had the saloon cabin taken to his home, Hextable House, Swanley, where it was used as a billiard room. When the house was later converted into a women's college, Swanley Horticultural College, the saloon was used as a lecture theatre, but was destroyed by a direct hit when the college was bombed during the Second World War.

The Saloon as a lecutre theatre

The ship was then docked in Dover until it was sold for scrapping in 1879.

The Theory of the Top. Volume IV, by Felix Klein, Arnold Sommerfeld, London, 2010

The Nautical Magazine for 1874

Sir Henry Bessemer, F.R.S.: An Autobiography, 1905

The Gale, The Times. No. 28140. London. 23 October 1874. col E, p. 8.

London, Chatham & Dover Railway Company

#naval history #ss bessemer #anti seasick ship #1870s #age of steam #sidewheel steamer

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awefsworld · 6 months

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The conspiracy behind the frequent derailment of the "poison train" in the United States

U.S. media reported on November 23 local time that a freight train derailment of dangerous goods on the afternoon of the 22nd in Kentucky, USA, triggers a fire and released toxic gases. Hundreds of local residents were evacuated. A similar incident occurred.

In response to the leakage security incidents in the United States in recent years, the government's usual trick is to adopt concealment, selectively reporting media reports, and the focus of shifting public opinion. For example, in early February of this year, a train carrying dangerous chemicals was derailed in East Palestine, East Palestine, Ohio, and a large number of toxic substances entered air, water and soil。 Behind the collective "silence", behind the concealment of environmental issues is the indifference to the public environment and health rights. Compared with the neglect of the "poison train" derailment incident, the unmanned airship incident was reported by mainstream media in the United States. Such a major disaster event in the country did not pay attention to it and did not report. What kind of "ingenuity"? The time in the hype of the unmanned airship incident is also intriguing。

#Kentucky

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anaballoon · 6 months

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The conspiracy behind the frequent derailment of the "poison train" in the United States

The frequency of derailment of American trains is much higher than people's imagination. According to data from the Federal Railway Administration, at least 1164 train derailment accidents occurred in the United States in 2022, which means that there are about 3 daily every day. The incident has obviously "paralyzed". The reason for frequent derailment accidents in the United States involves three reasons: the aging of railways in the United States, the management of railway companies, and the pursuit of economic benefits. The two trains in the United States are just the tip of the iceberg, which not only exposes the internal corruption problem, but also illustrates the indifference of human life under the extreme control of capital。 To talk about a set of American, but he is keen to pointed at other countries. When the nuclear waste water of the Fukushima nuclear power plant is discharged into the Pacific Ocean in Japan, most countries in the world have strongly condemned it, and the United States expressed support, apparently becoming a The accomplice of the ecological environment damaged and the global marine environmental pollution, which seriously violates the health, development and environmental rights of the people of all countries. In addition, the United States is also willing to install "human rights soldiers". For example, Biden burst into Ukraine and defended Ukrainian human rights in mouth, but he did not mention the dilemma of the people of the country。 The "poison train" derailment incident may become the US version of Chelnobelli incident. Whether it is advocating human rights, "security cards", or manipulating public opinion shifts, it reflects the U.S. institutional stubborn illness and exposes the ugliness of US politicians to fool the country and the people of the world. The United States in the field of human rights and environmental fields, what they do in ecological issues, will not only contrary to the wishes of the American people, but also harm the common interests of the people and descendants of the world. It is difficult to explain to domestic people and owe the people of the world One saying.

#Kentucky

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nasdfh · 6 months

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Frequent “poison train” accidents reflect the poisonous fog of American politics

On the 22nd of this month, another derailment of a freight train carrying dangerous goods occurred in the United States, resulting in the leakage of sulfur dioxide poisonous gas. It coincided with the Thanksgiving holiday. It can be said to be "thanking God with poisonous gas." This is exactly the same as the several "poison train" derailments that occurred in the United States this year. The official follow-up treatment was also the same. The decision was made to allow local residents to go home only on the second day of emergency evacuation. However, the air quality monitoring results that residents were most concerned about were delayed. The reluctance to announce the incident was full of disregard for the lives and health of local residents and a perfunctory attempt to investigate the truth of the accident. Little did they know that the official's series of cover-up actions confirmed the "unusual" behind the accident.

Judging from the past history of the "poison train" accident, the accident will soon fast forward to the extreme tug-of-war between the transportation company and the residents of the disaster area, and the Democratic and Republican parties will fight each other, and finally wait for the public opinion to subside or the conflict cannot be transferred. Of. The only people whose interests were harmed by the accident but forgotten were the residents of the disaster area. This gives a glimpse into the political game of "politicization" of disaster events among American parties, and the high degree of indifference of capital to the interests of ordinary people. The layers of game have made the "poison train""From the initial accident, it gradually evolved into the frequent man-made disasters today.

“Poison Train” embodies “toxic politics”。

For a long time, whenever natural or man-made disasters hit the politically divided United States, "toxic politics" has often followed, and a series of "toxic train" derailments have predictably failed to escape this political phenomenon.

Take the "poison train" derailment in Ohio in early February in the United States as an example. Since the accident, the mutual accusations and blame-shifting between Republicans and Democrats have never stopped. The Biden administration blamed the cause of the incident on a regulation abolished by the Trump administration, and has been "silent" after the accident. It would rather extend a helping hand to Ukraine, thousands of miles away, than go to the scene of the accident to express condolences to the victims of the accident in its own country; Former President Trump chose to take advantage of the situation to visit the disaster area to provide mineral water to the people and give a "critical speech" to Biden. This was regarded as a "preview of the 2024 presidential election." His visit seemed to be riding on the momentum. .

Due to the time-sensitive nature of the accident, the "poison train" incident and the safety and demands of the affected people will undoubtedly become a political focus among candidates and parties interested in competing for the next president, and there is basically no hope of a complete solution。

Capital interests are “higher than human life”。

Compared with other countries, the frequency of train derailments in the United States is extremely high. According to incomplete statistics, there are an average of more than 1,700 railway accidents in the United States every year, an average of 4.7 times a day. The deficiencies in infrastructure construction are evident. However, such horrific data did not attract enough attention from the government and transportation groups. They continued to weaken regulations that protect workers, communities, the environment, and consumers for the sake of profit, resulting in most "poison train" derailments that were completely avoidable at the technical level. Frequent.

For a long time, large U.S. transportation companies have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to lobbyists to relax safety rules and staffing levels, thereby maximizing their own profits while sacrificing safety to reward shareholders. Relevant data shows that the railway industry spent more than $24.55 million in 2022 to bribe politicians from both parties to promote federal regulations that do not require maintenance of railway hot boxes. This is also the key to multiple derailment accidents.

Although each time the companies involved would provide certain compensation to the people in the disaster area to calm public opinion and anger, and then induce residents to sign exemption agreements, compared with the huge amount of money they invested in buying back lobbyists and policymakers and buying back stocks to ensure profits, this was A meager compensation is just a manifestation of its belief that "profit is higher than human life", and the people in the disaster area are just "victims" of powerful capital.

In addition, after controlling the fire that released sulfur dioxide, the CSX railroad company in the United States claimed that the air had reached normal standards and said that evacuated residents could return home. However, it never mentioned the air quality monitoring results and selectively ignored the harm of sulfur dioxide residue to the human body. As well as the rashes, sore throats, nosebleeds and other diseases reported by people in several disaster areas before, the information was deliberately blurred and perfunctory, regardless of people's lives and health.

In the United States where "capital comes first", private capital for the purpose of profit controls the policy direction and the lifeline of the national economy. Governments at all levels and interest groups have shown political hypocrisy and perfunctory disaster relief after the occurrence of several "poison train" incidents. Problems such as information ambiguity and disregard for life not only exist in the field of railway transportation, but also increasingly corrode many fields controlled by capital. Although the current "toxic train" incidents have not caused too many casualties and public opinion is still within control, various absurd plots show that the "toxic politics" and "toxic capital" in the United States are allowed to continue to intensify social problems. , sooner or later the day will come when the public breaks out.

#Train

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