Two Metro-North workers are being hailed as heroes after helping save a dog on the tracks that had run off from its owner, and in doing so bringing train service to a standstill while narrowly avoiding tragedy.
The engineer of the train first noticed a man running across the tracks about a mile west of the Old Greenwich station during the morning commute on March 21, in a stretch of tracks where trains can go as fast as 70 mph.
"Lucky for him, at that particular time, there wasn't a train coming for a few minutes, which is very rare, especially in the Greenwich area," said Errol Bros, a signal supervisor.
He and fellow signal worker Christopher Paci were working near the scene when they first heard, and then saw, everything unfold.
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"My partner and I decided to see what was going on. We see a guy running on the side of the tracks, which is unusual," said Bros.
The engineer hit the horn and the brakes, as he saw a dog ahead of the man dash suddenly to the right, as the man and dog narrowly avoided a tragedy. The engineer told dispatch that he had very nearly struck the man.
That's when Bros and Paci got involved.
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"We made sure no trains were coming and started running down the tracks, yelling for the dog to come," said Paci.
The engineer can be heard on a recording saying he can see the dog in front of the train, as the canine was unsure what to do next. It kept crisscrossing the tracks and hanging around, eventually forcing oncoming train traffic to stop.
Finally, Bros and Paci were able to corral the dog, named Pepper, and reunited the pooch with its owner.
"The dog came over, laid down. We picked it up and walked right over," Paci said.
Pepper's owner thanked the workers but didn't stick around long enough to give his name — perhaps for good reason, as he could have faced a trespassing ticket. Or he could have faced a much more tragic outcome.
"I would have called the police, police have a direct line to us," said Metro-North President Cathy Rinaldi. "They can get the traffic stopped in the area ... Do not go on live tracks by yourself."
Rinaldo congratulated Paci and Bros during a visit to Grand Central Terminal, on their quick thinking. And for Errol, the congrats on the job may give way to a new addition at home.
"I like dogs, don't have one. My son's been bothering me for one, so he will see this and get on my case to get one now," he said.
All that after an unscheduled stop, part of just another day on the rails.
