This Fight Derailed Really Quickly

My wife’s stepfather used to work at a canning factory. This is probably one of the most bizarre experiences that I can imagine.

One night, my wife’s stepfather was working the evening shift at this canning factory. He and the security guard at the guard shack for the parking lot don’t see eye to eye, and they were arguing. It was a little heated, and my wife’s stepfather suddenly grabbed the guard by the front of his uniform and yanked him out of the booth. Understandably, the guard got up with his fists raised, ready for a fight.

Suddenly, a train went rolling right past the guard shack. This in and of itself is not extraordinary as the factory is actually near train tracks. However, the guard shack is a good 500 feet away from these tracks, and my wife’s stepfather thought it was going to crash straight through the guard shack and kill the guard.

The guard looked at the train going past, rolling into the factory, and turned white as a ghost. This factory did not have tracks going through the factory but rather beside the factory.

Apparently, the city had the street nearby repaved, including the train crossing. The crew, however, did not bother to account for the tracks and simply paved right over them. When the next train came down that line, the train was lifted off the tracks by the pavement and redirected — straight into the canning factory and within a few feet of the guard shack.

My wife’s stepfather and the guard became drinking buddies.