UTU Daily News Digest
  Information of interest to operating railroad and transportation employees
For 
Monday, August 3, 1998
 
Florida "Fun Train" hits truck, kills driver

LAKE ALFRED, Fla.-- A driver was killed Saturday when the Florida Fun-Train, a family attraction on rails, ran into his tow truck during the train's first full trial run between Orlando and Tampa. 

The train struck the truck at a central Florida grade crossing about an hour after it left Tampa. None of the 50 passengers and crew was reported injured. 

Scott W. Jackson, 26, of Davenport, had a car on his flatbed wrecker when the train hit, ejecting him from the cab, troopers said. It wasn't known what the truck was doing on the tracks, said Ron Hartman, chief operating officer of First American Railways, which owns the Fun-Train. 

The train can travel at speeds up to 79 mph and was operated by an Amtrak engineer and conductor, Hartman said. 

The Fun-Train is equipped with high-tech games and virtual reality adventures for kids. There also is a space shuttle play area, a movie car, and a bar with palm trees and a thatched hut where passengers can drink cocktails and dance. The train, with four guest cars and four entertainment cars, also has a baggage car and two locomotives.


Copyright © 1997 United Transportation Union
Last modified: May 09, 2001