Page 119 - Peterson 85 Years and Going Strong
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DATA CENTERS PETERSON DELIVERS RELIABILITY
It was just another day on the road hauling equipment across state lines. At 0900 on May 14, 2015, a low- bed with a 55-ton load pulled into a small rural town in South Carolina. A couple minutes later, it was stuck at the railroad crossing along Highway 121. The trucker jumped out to get a better look. Damn it!
He was high-centered across the tracks, right in the middle of town. Reaching for his cellphone, he punched in an emergency number.
“I’m stuck on some railroad tracks in Johnston, South Carolina and I don’t know when the next train is com- ing.”
A pause ensued, then: “I’d get out of there now, man! As far away as you can. That train is less than a mile from you and we don’t slow down so our cars won’t derail.”
Just then bells started clanging and red lights flashed as the RR crossing barrier descended onto the back of his truck. Right on cue, the Norfolk Southern train from Chattanooga came barreling down the tracks at 60 miles per hour, its horn blaring. From his vantage point, now 50 yards up the street, the trucker watched in morbid disbelief as the train t-boned his truck at full speed. The impact shook the ground like an earthquake. The screech of metal on metal ripped through the streets as he watched the ruins of his truck get dragged another 40 yards down the tracks. The shattered 18-wheeler snagged four parked cars on the way, slamming them into the side of the library several blocks down. Seconds later, a cloud of dust and debris showered down on the area and those watching the rare spectacle.
Later, the trucker heard that the big Cat generator he’d been carrying had split in half. They found the engine 100 yards away from its enclosure—itself torn to shreds. Pieces from the wreckage were scattered half a mile
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