Train Incidents

Was just checking for news about train holdup/robberies in the actual news. None* but plenty of collisions, derailments and I didn't know they could actually do that.**


QUEENSLAND NEWS

A wonderful escape from death occurred on the railway line at the Dawson bridge on Thursday night. The guard of the down goods train observed a child lying on the line. The train was immediately slowed, and the cow catcher gently pushed the child down between the rails, the train passing over it without inflicting any injury.

The Queenslander, 28 October 1882


QUEENSLAND

Two hundred unemployed navvies seized a goods train at Helidon to-day. The Minister of Works met them and remonstrated. He promised to stop all immigration except under the remittance system. The mob then dispersed. A committee of navvies intend waiting on the Government.

Launceston Examiner, 27 August 1866


*Due to too many mail coaches, I assume
** Or a fear of the trains falling off the rails at the time

Update

I need some encouragement. See - plateau! :(


Monday I was supposed to start 3rd book/long story thingy. And I did have this sort of thing with three characters, and the first few scenes and the main conflict that I thought would be enough to get me through another 30K (although it was historical (eep) fantasy with a werewolf (eep)). So I start writing and I have about 200 words of it done, but then I have this odd little conversation on IRC that set off a really vague but interesting idea. I watched TV for a bit. Then grumbled about word counts on Twitter to a friend, and she made a fairly benign comment. But that comment met up with the vague idea and, well, my 200 words already written looked suddenly very dull so I deleted it and started this other thing.

Minor problem there in that I only had enough of an idea to get me through the first 2000 words, and it's set in Melbourne 1880. Sort of. Which of course I know nothing about.

But hey, I wrote 5000 words on it today (for a total of 125,000). It's just taking the idea of "making it up as I go" to a level. I can handle that.




Although what would really help is a list of events in SE Australia in 1879 so I can give my something to do while they're saving the world as we know it. Otherwise, they might end up sitting at home watching the fire the whole time.