>>1603877Former Major Class I railroad Anon here- I ran the modification to put locks on the all of the units owned by said major class I to deter riders. This was in the early 2000's.
I also worked derailments for a time. It was rare, but we would discover the body of deceased train riders from time to time in the wreckage. Never worked one myself where a rider was found. Only dead employees once in a while. Honestly, after working there for several years, I would not ride Amtrack, let alone on the lower cubby of a covered hopper.
They also have automated camera systems that look for defects on the equipment as they pass and I think they can pickout riders as well. They have their own police force so closing the loop is quick. It is highly automated
There is also, in general, an effort underway to decrease the number and amount of stops a train will make. Getting from point A to point B without knowledge of what train you are on will lead to some interesting destinations. I am sure that must be part of the allure.
You also want to keep your body inside the outline of the car as much as possible. We had some banding get loose on a open flatcar. This the heavy duty 3in wide 1/16" in thick metal banding that is tensioned. It sprung out to the adjacent space and was like a sword racing down the side the track at 70mph. Nice way to lose your head or arm. It hit some MOW guys that were near the area. Fucked them up bad.
