Bigfoot And Trains

[Sasfooty]

Why is all of this stuff coming out all of a sudden now after this guy Mike's theory? Is this the new thing?

Because people don't tell everything they know for obvious reasons. Once somebody tells it & doesn't get stoned to death, it gives others courage to talk about what they've seen.

Edited May 1, 2012 by Sasfooty

[Guest BFSleuth]

Why is all of this stuff coming out all of a sudden now after this guy Mike's theory? Is this the new thing? I seriously doubt all of this. I'm doubting so much, I'm wondering if trains even exist.

I'm not sure which Mike you are referring to, if you meant Stan Courtney, then I would say that he isn't proposing a theory at all. What he has done is report his sighting on his blog and gave a platform for two other people to date to report their sightings of this behavior. There hasn't to my knowledge been any theory put forward from Stan to explain these sightings, and as I think Stan and myself have noted we need additional confirmation of the behavior with additional attempts to document the behavior with video.

The "all of a sudden" nature of this reported behavior is simply because Stan has a great reputation and his blog is well read in the BF community. That he made a sighting report of this behavior has "suddenly" given courage to other people to step forward and tell of their sighting reports. Sasfooty reported this behavior some time ago, however it wasn't given as much credence (because she isn't a well known researcher in the BF community) and folks on this forum shot it down as too incredible.

Well, it is incredible. Trying to wrap my mind around a BF riding between rail cars was a bit of a stretch when I read Sasfooty's account back when, but now with Stan and now two other individuals stepping forward I'm starting to think there may be something to this and it is worthwhile having a more serious effort to document it.

I would encourage any other witnesses to step forward and give their accounts. I also think we should be open minded but skeptical and hear out the testimony and see if there is any truth to this behavior. I also think we should attempt to document it with video.

As noted earlier in the thread monkeys jump on and ride trains to try and get food. Maybe they do it for fun as well. Humans hop freight trains to get somewhere and for fun. It isn't that much of a stretch in my mind to consider that similar motivations would exist for BF, in terms of easy transportation and fun. Maybe they have a sense of humor and like to shock humans. Who knows? Let's find out. What harm is in the effort?

[Sasfooty]

I think the engineers on the trains know a lot more than they're telling, too.

Time after time late at night, I'll hear the BFs out by the railroad just before a train comes by. When it will get about to the place where the vocalizations were originating, it'll start honking, even though there is no crossing for about 4 miles in that direction.

It makes me wonder what they are honking at....

[Guest Tontar]

^ Sounds pretty squatchy!

[Sunflower]

Hubby would tell me that occasionally a small animal would just freeze when the light from the engine lit it up. "Track kill" is what I call it and there are all types of critters that get hit by trains. He would blow the whistle and more times than not, to no avail, they would not budge. He hated that and it would upset him very much.

My point is the hairy people are opportunistic when it comes to food IMO and it may be squashed but it's a meal, either way you look at it.

Sasfooty, thanks for your input.

[Guest]

Two separate I did investigations in different areas in the last year and half were adjacent to railroad tracks. The first one I recorded a 1:30 AM "walkup" recording on a trail that crosses the tracks by a deer blind (my dish was on top of the blind) while I was asleep in my truck directly across from the recording (area had alot of tree markers just East from there too). The other one had multiple sightings and activities, sounds of all sorts and I recorded what sounded like wood knocks in a varying series everytime the train approached at night. About a minute or two before I could hear the train on the recorder. It seemed interesting at the time but this makes it even more so.

[Guest BFSleuth]

I think the engineers on the trains know a lot more than they're telling, too.

Time after time late at night, I'll hear the BFs out by the railroad just before a train comes by. When it will get about to the place where the vocalizations were originating, it'll start honking, even though there is no crossing for about 4 miles in that direction.

It makes me wonder what they are honking at....

I don't think engineers are encouraged to discuss anything BF. As a close knit community they won't likely open up to outsiders, especially as it won't be helpful for advancement or continued employment. It would be great to be able to get some of them to open up and talk about what they have seen.

Hubby would tell me that occasionally a small animal would just freeze when the light from the engine lit it up. "Track kill" is what I call it and there are all types of critters that get hit by trains. He would blow the whistle and more times than not, to no avail, they would not budge. He hated that and it would upset him very much.

My point is the hairy people are opportunistic when it comes to food IMO and it may be squashed but it's a meal, either way you look at it.

Now that is a common occurance with trains. If animals don't freeze they will simply turn and try to outrun the train... ineffectively. There are YT videos showing this from the engineer's point of view.

Two separate I did investigations in different areas in the last year and half were adjacent to railroad tracks. The first one I recorded a 1:30 AM "walkup" recording on a trail that crosses the tracks by a deer blind (my dish was on top of the blind) while I was asleep in my truck directly across from the recording (area had alot of tree markers just East from there too). The other one had multiple sightings and activities, sounds of all sorts and I recorded what sounded like wood knocks in a varying series everytime the train approached at night. About a minute or two before I could hear the train on the recorder. It seemed interesting at the time but this makes it even more so.

This observation, combined with what Sunflower and Sasfooty are talking about are beginning to make sense regarding attraction of BF to trains. This is probably similar behavior to BF potentially waiting by a roadside for road kill. It wouldn't be surprising to me if they actually drove game such as deer or elk into the road in order to create road kill situations. The wood knocking might be their efforts to corral game onto the tracks.

Remember this report from Wyoming, the tow truck driver that watched a BF drag away an elk carcass. It was discussed here:

... and the idea was raised that BF might be observing the road from a vantage point and waiting for the sound of a deer or elk getting hit, then waiting for the coast to clear so they can collect the meal.

Now how would this relate to taking the next step and ride the train? Maybe they are riding and waiting to pass a fresh kill, covering more terrain in a short amount of time with less energy expended. If they see a kill they can hop off quickly and go get it.

[Guest FuriousGeorge]

BFSleuth,

I'm not talking about Stan. I'm talking about the guy that had the train hopping theory. The guy mentioned in the OP and on Stan's facebook page. The guy that is ground zero for the subject matter of this thread.

http://bigfootforums...oot-and-trains/

This guy had seen them all around the tracks and came up with a theory that they hop trains. Like any good investigator would do, Stan followed up. The guy yells out for Stan to look that way and he'll look this way. And practically said (an exaggeration on my part) "I'll look this way and you look that way in the direction where my friend in a costume is hanging out"

Prior to going, Stan did not believe this guy. Why is that? You guys are basically telling me that I shouldn't have doubts, yet here we have a person with great experience in these matters not believing it. I like Stan and what he has to say, so if you guys don't mind, I'm going with his initial gut on this one. " I tried not to show my disbelief but it is nothing I have ever heard of before."

http://www.facebook....150692180519836

Now we have them popping up all over the place. There's one over here. There's one over there. There's one sipping coffee, reading the morning paper on the way to the Zagnut factory. These animals only exist today because of their avoidance of humans but you guys are leading me to believe that they beg for food like baboons do on trains? They'll stay away from a manmade object like a camera because the gears or the smell makes them skittish or whatever, but they are leaping right onto something manmade that has 6,000hp?

Sasfooty,

I know you like to often say that because of people like me, others won't come forward with their stories, but it's a chicken vs. egg scenario. I'm saying there are people like me because of these types of stories. Ultimately, it's bad business for the discovery of bigfoot. It makes people roll their eyes and bail out. I want to bring more people in.

Btw, the egg came first

[indiefoot]

I always get a kick out of the attitude that "people who don't think the way I do are bad for Bigfootery."

[Guest FuriousGeorge]

Bigfoot is banking against that attitude. He wants these types of stories to get as many green plusses as possible. It will keep him off the slab-table for eternity.

Edited May 2, 2012 by FuriousGeorge

[Guest BFSleuth]

FG I see that your thought is that Stan was hoaxed by Mike, based on Mike's previous observation of BF around railroad tracks. I'm not sure how you think Mike was able to have a permanent standby fellow hoaxer available for short notice train rides, but you may have missed the part where Stan's visit and their outing together wasn't planned.

Following your logic now that we have other observations near or on trains and it was all started by Mike and we they are all reporting false stories or experiencing misidentifications or hallucinations. So then you can wrap the whole thing in tissue paper and throw it away. This leads us all down the road toward denial of potential evidence simply because it might be embarrassing. Oh horrors!

Stan is reporting he definitely saw what looked like a BF and is continuing his efforts to confirm what he saw by actually going out to do further research with a high def video camera. Is that embarrassing? I would submit that it is courageous and is following the clues that have been presented to him. Gearman has already noted prior auditory documentation of wood knocking as trains approach, and now Stan has a 3rd person that witnessed a "orangutan like creature" riding between cars in broad daylight.

You say its "bad business for the discovery of bigfoot" to talk about BF behavior that falls outside a preconceived notion of acceptable BF behavior. Why? Because unless we can present BF as a brutish, stupid beast that is absolutely fearful of all things of human kind then the world won't accept it?

Methinks you need to expand your notion of what BF does and be more inclusive of the whole picture of the range of behaviors that are reported.

[Guest FuriousGeorge]

Looks like no train experts answered my previous question, so I'lI make a general appeal to commonsense and ask it again. I frankly don't know, but it makes sense to me.

Look at all of these gizmo's and stuff. These are only a small few of many found by me (knowing nothing about train sensors) in under a minute. These sensors are one of the reasons that a caboose is no longer needed. They are on the trains and around the tracks. They detect height and width, and a shift in cargo weight, amongst many other things. These factors are important for the well being of the train. They are monitored.

Would a ten foot tall, six hundred pound anything, trip multiple sensors, multiple times? Take a guess, I have. This, plus all of the other stuff I mentioned equals "no way" on the train thing.

The last one here is to detect any dead ones dragging. It's got to happen at least once. Maybe the one that suffered from cardiovascular disease due to smoking.

Edited May 2, 2012 by FuriousGeorge

[Guest BFSleuth]

Any train experts out there that can answer that question for us? I'm curious how well they work, and what the SOP would be in case one of the sensors are set off. Do they need to file a report or what?

I wonder, for example, if two or three hobos hopping a car together would do to the sensors (approximate weight of one BF)?

FB can you provide some links to information about the sensors that detect weight changes on the cars? I did a quick google search and only came up with sensors for detecting vehicles stuck on the tracks, linkage failure between cars, or detecting rail deformities....

.... okay, I found one that is what you are talking about and downloaded their pdf file. Note the specs, with +/- 1% weighing accuracy at 40 mph. A rail car weighs from 30 to 140 tons.... so an 800 lb BF would not be outside the range of normal weight.

MULTIRAIL SpeedWeight

Accuracy: 0.2%- car weight full draft, 2-8 mph

Accuracy: +/- 1% car weight, 40 mph

Technology: Load cells in the ties

Measurements: Car & train weight, side to side loading, front to back loading

MULTIRAIL WheelScan

Wheel flat and wheel radius measurement.

98% detection of 1% wheel deviations.

+/- 1% weighing accuracy up to 40 mph.

Technology: Load cell in the ties.

MULTIRAIL SpeedWeight eco

Accuracy: 1% @ loading speeds, 2% at 35 mph.

Technology: Weighing sensors in the rail.

Measurements: Car & train weight, side to side loading, front to back loading.

MULTIRAIL WheelScan eco

Wheel flat and wheel radius measurement.

90% detection of 1mm defects.

5% weighing accuracy up to 35 mph.

Technology: Weighing sensors in the rail. • • • • • • • • • • •

Edited May 2, 2012 by BFSleuth
Found the info

[Sasfooty]

Sasfooty,

I know you like to often say that because of people like me, others won't come forward with their stories, but it's a chicken vs. egg scenario. I'm saying there are people like me because of these types of stories.

Btw, the egg came first

I always wondered where the egg came from if it came first, but apparently nobody knows. Maybe it just popped up out of the ground like a mushroom......

Anyway, I just heard about a chicken giving birth to a live "already hatched" chick. Here's where you say "extraordinary evidence" & all that stuff, so here it is:

http://blogs.discove...-sri-lanka.html

Edited May 2, 2012 by Sasfooty

[the parkie]

Trying to wrap my mind around a BF riding between rail cars was a bit of a stretch when I read Sasfooty's account back when

Can anybody point me to Sasfooty's original account re trains? I don't remember reading it and I would like to.

Many thanks