5 ms·

If you read to the last paragraph, the article suggests but does not outright state that the grain is spilled as the result of derailments. So there is some kin

If you read to the last paragraph, the article suggests but does not outright state that the grain is spilled as the result of derailments. So there is some kind of derailment, grain cars tumble over spill all of their grain, and the railroad decides it is not worthwhile to collect it. This results in piles of grain by the track side which gets wet and starts fermenting, and the grizzlys eat it, get drunk and decide to race trains.

9991 3y ago
… causing a train derailment, and completing the cycle. Is this some new form of life?
- pfannkuchen 3y ago
  This is the yeast/bear version of toxoplasmosis cat/rat?
  - jeffrallen 3y ago
    I come to HN for quality speculation like this. Keep up the good work!
- sethammons 3y ago
  Hitting a bear will not derail a train
  - COGlory 3y ago
    No, but moose can cause derailments. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1350630723003278 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13506...
- badcppdev 3y ago
  Maybe if the bears learn to put logs on the tracks... or they develop fire and burn the railway sleepers. https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/bears-discover-fire/ https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/bears-discover-fi...
  - Tao3300 3y ago
    Heyyyy Boo-boo! Here comes that iron pic-a-nic basket!
  - kridsdale3 3y ago
    This like the Ewoks taking down AT-STs with logs
looping8 3y ago
But how often could that happen? I thought derailments are very rare in modern trains.
- usrusr 3y ago
  True, but we are talking about American trains. Edit: https://youtu.be/7Ao-24274Jw https://youtu.be/7Ao-24274Jw This example is not in Montana, but apparently minor derailings are a thing. And the cars that are not derailed don't really look much better.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    Those tracks are an insult to any rail engineer. Unbelievable.
    - capableweb 3y ago
      Thinking you were overreacting, I gave the video a look. I'm not sure if that's a example from reality, it cannot be real that people are allowed and do drive trains over those "rails"?
      - jacquesm 3y ago
        I have a hard time imagining what could cause them to get deformed like that in the first place.
  - hnbad 3y ago
    If you look at the shape of those tracks it's more surprising that this only turned into a "minor" derailing, although of course the initial video is sped up quite a bit. John Oliver had a segment on train derailments a while back (can't find the YT video) and it seems that a lot of US rail infrastructure including the trains are just in very bad shape and there don't seem to be any federal regulations forcing them to invest whereas the environmental damage often ends up being swept under the rug. Not that German rail is anything to brag about but I can't imagine we'd be allowed to let a train go anywhere near a track that looked like that.

9991 3y ago

… causing a train derailment, and completing the cycle. Is this some new form of life?

pfannkuchen 3y ago
This is the yeast/bear version of toxoplasmosis cat/rat?
- jeffrallen 3y ago
  I come to HN for quality speculation like this. Keep up the good work!
sethammons 3y ago
Hitting a bear will not derail a train
- COGlory 3y ago
  No, but moose can cause derailments. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1350630723003278 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S13506...
badcppdev 3y ago
Maybe if the bears learn to put logs on the tracks... or they develop fire and burn the railway sleepers. https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/bears-discover-fire/ https://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/fiction/bears-discover-fi...
- Tao3300 3y ago
  Heyyyy Boo-boo! Here comes that iron pic-a-nic basket!
- kridsdale3 3y ago
  This like the Ewoks taking down AT-STs with logs

looping8 3y ago

But how often could that happen? I thought derailments are very rare in modern trains.

usrusr 3y ago
True, but we are talking about American trains. Edit: https://youtu.be/7Ao-24274Jw https://youtu.be/7Ao-24274Jw This example is not in Montana, but apparently minor derailings are a thing. And the cars that are not derailed don't really look much better.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Those tracks are an insult to any rail engineer. Unbelievable.
  - capableweb 3y ago
    Thinking you were overreacting, I gave the video a look. I'm not sure if that's a example from reality, it cannot be real that people are allowed and do drive trains over those "rails"?
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      I have a hard time imagining what could cause them to get deformed like that in the first place.
- hnbad 3y ago
  If you look at the shape of those tracks it's more surprising that this only turned into a "minor" derailing, although of course the initial video is sped up quite a bit. John Oliver had a segment on train derailments a while back (can't find the YT video) and it seems that a lot of US rail infrastructure including the trains are just in very bad shape and there don't seem to be any federal regulations forcing them to invest whereas the environmental damage often ends up being swept under the rug. Not that German rail is anything to brag about but I can't imagine we'd be allowed to let a train go anywhere near a track that looked like that.