dead deer

boom boom

Well-Known Member
hi all im a train driver from glasgow ,over the past 2 or 3 weeks during the snow iv counted roughly 30 to 35 dead roe deer killed by trains 3 alone today ,its not unusual to see them at any time but with this snow they stick out a mile ,now im talking about astretch of line from glasgow to edinburgh glasgow to dunblane glasgow to falkirk not a lot of track when you think of the rest of the track in britain so how many deer ar possibly being killed by trains
you here about fatalitys through rta ,that can be calculated by insurance, police reports ,etc but has anybody (dcs,bds,basc)ever tried to work that one out :eek: on the other hand iv seen 14 fox and 3 buzzards

cheers tam
 
They must be getting confused by the wrong sort of snow............. or are they attracted by the fluffiness of the snow?? :lol:
Sorry, couldn`t resist.
Seen a few dead dogs on the line, as a kid that really shook me up.
I can imagine you`ve seen some sights in your job.
basil.
 
I saw a train coming in to Darlington a few weeks ago with a big dent in the front and clarret all up the front; god alone knows what it hit.

Dave
 
Boom boom

I was thinking this the other day, I was looking though the BUGLE data base analyzing Reliability data. I could run a count when I am back in work and get exact figures of reported deer collisions for the FSR fleet in Scotland.

ATB

Tahr
 
I'm afraid that I don't know anything about railways but this is quite interesting. Are the dead deer hit by trains or electrocuted? I think electrocution was a big problem for badgers. JC
 
JC275 said:
I'm afraid that I don't know anything about railways but this is quite interesting. Are the dead deer hit by trains or electrocuted? I think electrocution was a big problem for badgers. JC

I'd think it was a bigger problem for giraffes :D

Mainline stuff uses overhead power cables unlike the tube...

Often seen "rail-kill" in stations - pressumably where it's dropped of the train as it's come in to stop - usually pheasants
 
Thar said:
Boom boom

I was thinking this the other day, I was looking though the BUGLE data base analyzing Reliability data. I could run a count when I am back in work and get exact figures of reported deer collisions for the FSR fleet in Scotland.

ATB

Tahr
blimey
never gave that a thought
with my uncle next week
will ask him the same thing ;)
ATB
 
JC275 said:
I'm afraid that I don't know anything about railways but this is quite interesting. Are the dead deer hit by trains or electrocuted? I think electrocution was a big problem for badgers. JC

Hi JC

Railways infrastructure is not really my area of expertise, however in Scotland I believe all electrification lines are overhead, these carry 25,000 volts AC. Deer will be safe from these, but as said Giraffes might have a problem. :D As an aside you do not have to touch these lines to get electrocuted, under the right/wrong conditions this current with “jump” a Meter to kill you. :eek:

In the South of England and around Liverpool some rail lines run what is called a “third rail” this looks like another rail next to the running rail this carries 650 to 750 volts DC, this is what would kill badgers as their bodies would touch the electrified rail while their legs were in contact with the ground. I would guess that most deer would just step over the third rail without harm most of the time. The London under ground also uses a third rail system.

The deer killed in Scotland will be because of collisions with rolling stock, when a train collides with any object including deer the driver has to fill in a report in his “driver’s book”. Maintenance staff will then carry out a inspection to evaluate what damage has occurred to the train before it is returned to service. The damage a large deer can cause can be quite considerable to a train travelling at speed, ripping of brake lines etc.

Rail rolling stock must kill thousands of pheasants each year; I always assume that they come onto the tracks after grit.

ATB

Tahr
 
the lines im driving over are not electrified so all the kills will be through collision with trains ,unless it was something the size of a large red stag i think a lot of drivers dont even bother to report these strikes the only damage is to the deer :cry: as for pheasants they must be the most stupid birds alive ,they just seem suicidal they run one way turn around fly back towards the train ,BANG and they always seem to be in 2s or 3s and its BANG,BANG,BANG if i had penny for every pheasant i killed in 30 years of driving id be a bloody rich man

tahr look forward to you findings but as i say most deer strikes wont be reported
 
Have you ever seen one of these big black cats????

I've heard they travel around using the train lines!

Mark.
 
mj robson said:
Have you ever seen one of these big black cats????

I've heard they travel around using the train lines!

Mark.

The one I saw was on old railway sidings not far from the mainline, the one my mate saw was from his train, so there could be something in what you say.

ATB

Tahr
 
mj robson said:
Have you ever seen one of these big black cats????

I've heard they travel around using the train lines!

Mark.
to be honest mark i have never seen any big cats but have heard other drivers mention they have seen big cats but most keep quiet for fear of being carted away ,i have seen what i thought was a young kangaroo turned out to be a wallaby escapee from a park near cumbernauld also just last year i saw a monkey(honest) but i never told anybody else ;)
 
Thar said:
mj robson said:
Have you ever seen one of these big black cats????

I've heard they travel around using the train lines!

Mark.

The one I saw was on old railway sidings not far from the mainline, the one my mate saw was from his train, so there could be something in what you say.

ATB

Tahr
hi tahr what sidings did you see it
 
boom boom said:
tahr look forward to you findings but as i say most deer strikes wont be reported

from what i am aware every strike is reported
just like Thar has commented
just i don't think it will be defined enough to say wether it was a deer ,sheep, cattle or anything else
just recorded as stock
this quite surprised me as i would of thought in heavy collision areas where mainly deer where concerned they might of sought to try a different method to prevent such collisions as the stock wire they use can't be working
but look forward to anything Tahr can dig up
ATB
 
Hi Boom Boom

This was down south in Derby, as you may know there was once massive rail workshops etc in the city, almost all gone now. :cry:

I have seen roe at Eastfield depot, on the subject their were 5 roe on the grass verge of the M8 between ju 11 and 12 this afternoon when I was coming back from Yoker.

ATB

Tahr
 
stone said:
boom boom said:
tahr look forward to you findings but as i say most deer strikes wont be reported

from what i am aware every strike is reported
just like Thar has commented
just i don't think it will be defined enough to say wether it was a deer ,sheep, cattle or anything else
hi stone cattle obviously by there size has to be reported for the damage they could do but even a single sheep should be reported for the farmer will be looking for compensation but deer not belonging to anybody tend not to be reported,along with dogs,cats ,and other furry animals :cry:
 
boom boom
i know where you are coming from, and totally understand
there is a safety issuse side to it too ;)

i think i hav a few pics to show this some where
will go hav another look
it did make me chuckle at the time
ATB
 
not the pics i was looking for,
but this still amused me
i thought he was just part of a gang
he was
P1090889.jpg

P1090899.jpg

he told me his main job was walking the line to clear it of pheasants due to the time lost in the trains slowing down or completely stopping due to often the sheer numbers of birds on the line at given times of the year

ATB
 
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