North Pole man survives bone-chilling trip on outside of Australian train
Published Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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Stumble It!FAIRBANKS — A frightening — and unorthodox — train ride has brought international attention to a North Pole man traveling Down Under.
Chad Vance, a 19-year-old raised in North Pole and attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks, had to hurry to catch a departing train while vacationing in Australia late last month. The doors were locked, so he hung on, crouched in a small stairwell, and survived freezing temperatures for more than two hours before the train stopped after a worker heard his cries.
Since the event on May 28, a Thursday, a short video shot by Vance using his cell phone has spread on the Internet, causing growing attention from national media outlets. His mother, restaurant manager Debbie Vance, said she only learned about her son’s wild ride on Sunday after getting a call from a talk show host asking about the incident.
“I said, ‘What train ride?’” She said she immediately called Chad, who is spending the early summer in Australia while learning to scuba dive. “He said, ‘Well, I didn’t want to worry you.’”
The train, the well-known Ghan, was crossing south Australia and neared speeds of 70 miles an hour, according to reports in Australian newspapers. Vance was hypothermic when crews finally found him and helped him to a warm shower and some soup, according to the Brisbane-based Courier-Mail.
“He’s always been unafraid and adventurous,” she said, adding that she home-schooled Vance until he began attending Ben Eielson Jr/Sr High School. “He’s never been any problem. But he likes to have fun. So once I knew he was OK, I was fine with it. It’s like him to grab the rail and say, ‘We’re going for a ride.’”
The family moved from the small, Interstate 80 town of Table Rock, Wyo., to North Pole in 2001, Debbie Vance said. Chad’s father, Murray “Butch” Vance, is a truck driver at the Fort Knox gold mine, she said.
The Ghan had stopped at Port Augusta for 40 minutes and he jumped off to stretch his legs, but the train began to pull away, according to a report from the British Broadcasting Corp. Vance, a psychology major about to enter his sophomore year at UAF, spent five minutes shouting and banging on windows trying to get attention from the passengers or crew members. When the Ghan — still carrying his passport and luggage — began to move again he grabbed a handrail and pulled himself up, according to the report.
When a crew member hit the emergency brake more than two hours later, Vance — wearing only a T-shirt, jeans and boots, had grown dangerously cold.
“When we rescued him his skin was white and his lips were blue,” the crewman, Marty Wells, told the BBC.
The Ghan’s route covers more than 1,800 miles between the Australian cities of Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin, according to the BBC report.
Debbie Vance said she’s been overwhelmed by calls from media outlets early this week as word spread of a two-minute video her son took during the ride, documenting his situation. At one point during the video, Vance looks into his camera and says, “Well, I wanted an adventure. And I got one.”
Debbie Vance said her son is finishing his scuba-diving classes and plans to return to Alaska on June 17. She said the trip was a reward for his good work in school, which earned him a scholarship through the UA Scholars program.
Contact staff writer Christopher Eshleman at 459-7582.
Community Discussion
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Loved reading this adventure, and glad he's okay. Chad definitely earned a front row seat in any university class he's taking!
LOL,, glad he's ok. but the smarter choice would have been to goto the local police & inform them that he had lost his Passport & to continue on the next day. then to take that type of chance. he's lucky to be alive. the Ghan is a horribly long train ride. (nothing against the Aussies) . nowadays its better then it used to be. but stil a long , long train ride.
haahaha the video's crazy!! I'm glad the young man's okay.
I wouldn't brag about this kid. What he did was just plain stupid. if he had been hurt, everyone would be singing a different tune and his parents would be suing. He didn't earn a front seat at the University, he earned a place in the world's stupidest stunts.
I bet the railroad folks are horrified by this story. Just so not smart to jump on a moving train.
I actually agree with FreeDarfur.
When you are young, you think that you are immortal. We all pulled similar stunts when we were younger. Sometimes all that keeps young humans from being contenders for the Darwin Awards is luck. Very glad that this otherwise bright and great-hearted former student did not die young. Uh, Chad..any pics of an outdoor train ride in Peru were not intended to be an inspiration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ghan
This child already made Wikipedia.
So glad he is ok. I can't believe the doors were locked! Who would of known, i've been riding trains all my life and never rode one with the doors locked!! What a wild ride! Congrtats on the scholars program!!!
Crazy. Glad he is okay. Good adventure because he wasn't hurt. I know I have put myself in some stupid situations, so I can't be quick to judge this guy unlike some.
Lighten up FreeDarfur. Were you not ever young??? Can't you just see the good in the story? I'm glad he's safe and sound and enjoying his break.
"I bet the railroad folks are horrified by this story. Just so not smart to jump on a moving train." - autumnimprov
"I wouldn't brag about this kid. What he did was just plain stupid. if he had been hurt, everyone would be singing a different tune and his parents would be suing. He didn't earn a front seat at the University, he earned a place in the world's stupidest stunts." - FreeDarfur
*****
Did either of you read the story? Everything he owned in Australia including his passport was on that train. When it started leaving without him, jumping back on would have been the only thing in his mind and the most natural action anyone would have taken. He would have had no idea that the door was locked.
Perhaps the RR should install door bells on the train to alert the conductor of such a situation in the future.
One thing that gets my blood boiling is when I'm on a plane and someone is late and we all have to wait on that person! Be on time people and don't be late then things like this won't happen to you!
Bengal, what about when that person is transferring from ANOTHER plane that is late? I have been in that position before and had folks like you get on my case...
~uncommon_sense~ Under those circumstances, it's not your fault. I'm specifically talking about the folks that simply show up late because well, they're just late.
Anytime I've flown in the last few years through the lower 48, they have refused to hold a plane for another plane's late arrival. That is how I got to Indiana when my destination was Ohio!
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