That Train Wreck Full of Congressional Republicants Was Heading for Greenbrier, WV.

[MineralMan]

That's the old safe place/fallout shelter/evacuation bunker for Congress in case of a nuclear attack. Most people don't know that. There is an extensive bunker there, with congressional chambers, housing, etc. It's been decommissioned, but is still intact as it was. In fact, the resort offers tours of the place:

http://www.greenbrier.com/Activities/Bunker-Tours



It is interesting that this particular site was chosen, though. Was it merely symbolic? Or was it something else, entirely?

I do not know.

[MFM008]

1. Was Manchin on it?

.....

[MineralMan]

3. Maybe. Wearing His Honorary Republican Badge, Perhaps?

[Zoonart]

5. Holy Hell!

Is the Russian spy chief still in the country?

[MichMary]

4. Would Manchin be going to an R retreat?

Hmmmm . . .

[MichMary]

2. It's owned by the Justice family

Jim Justice is the current R governor of West Virginia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greenbrier

[lagomorph777]

6. To clarify, "Train wreck full of Republicants"

isn't referring to the US Capitol, right?

[MineralMan]

7. Nah. It's a Real Train Wreck.

Looks like their little vacation in WV is going to be delayed a bit.

[lagomorph777]

10. Will they get there before Rocket Man's missile?

Imagine the smell: all that trash around, plus the contents of the truck they hit.

[MineralMan]

11. Who can say.

Imagine a train full of people saying, "Do you know who I am, goddammit? Get this train moving immediately. I have a tee time!"

[meow2u3]

19. It's t train wreck in both senses of the phrase

[Old Terp]

8. The irony of this

Private train taking Republican House and Senate members to Five Star Resort smashes into garbage truck strewing trash all over and killing an American worker.

[MineralMan]

9. Yes. And I'm sure the Honorable Members will be

clamoring to get that train moving right away, so they can get in their afternoon golf round at the Greenbrier.

[kentuck]

34. It's tragic but it is ironic, also.

They are headed for a retreat to plot their strategy for the next election and they were to entertain their president tomorrow. He probably wanted to take a count of hands of how many were loyal to him? No problem there.

But their train ran into a garbage truck. Much like their Party ran into Donald Trump.

[dewsgirl]

12. Do they go there often? During other administrations?

[MineralMan]

15. Not so much in recent years.

The shelter facility has undergone a rehabilitation and restoration not too long ago, and is used as a novelty tour by the owners of the resort. I imagine the whole trip has some symbolic significance, but I don't think that bunker is actually ready for occupation by Congress, frankly. Still, the symbolism is clearly ironic.

The Republicans from Congress are going to a place that was designed as a post-nuclear-war shelter for Congress to meet with the Vice-President and President. Both will appear at this retreat. I find that troubling, frankly, considering the symbolism of the location.

On the other hand, it is marginally possible that this retreat is more than symbolic. I don't think that's likely, but the possibility exists.

[dewsgirl]

21. I watched a documentary about it on the History channel, before the renovation.

I don't trust them at all.

[MineralMan]

24. Yes. There's a Wikipedia article on the shelter there:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Greek_Island

It's very interesting.

[dewsgirl]

26. Thank you.

[RandomAccess]

20. Yes, depending on what you mean by "often"

It's my understanding that Congress and other govt groups go there fairly often for retreats and so forth.

It's a golf resort, so there's lots to do, and it's in a beautiful area, somewhat remote all tucked away in the mountains of WV. I've been there in the past (DH's company convention). It's not my taste, but I'm glad I had a chance to see it. Someone posting above said you can go on a tour of the decommissioned alternative govt digs, but I didn't see anything about that when I was there. Those things are all below ground anyway.

[MineralMan]

22. The tours are a fairly recent thing.

The link in the OP takes you to the page that describes the current tours.

[dewsgirl]

25. I watched a documentary on it years ago. I didn't realize it was also a golf resort

[NightWatcher]

13. Would the bunker protect them from the shit storm that's coming to DC?

Are they that scared of Mueller?

[dewsgirl]

27. +1

[blogslut]

14. A man died.

There were children on that train.

[MineralMan]

17. That is true, and sad.

However, it has nothing to do with this thread, which is about the destination they were traveling toward. When I wrote the original post for the thread, I was not aware of any deaths associated with the crash. This thread is not about that.

[oberliner]

16. There is no such place as Greenbriar, WV

The Greenbrier Resort is in White Sulphur Springs. Major conferences are held there frequently.

[MineralMan]

18. Yes. That bunker is there, too.

I'm not sure how significant all that is, really. The link in the OP leads to the Greenbrier website. On another note, I just edited the OP to correct the spelling of Greenbrier. I erred in the spelling.

[sarah FAILIN]

23. I was thinking it could have been a different security issue.

Remember when they did this before and their secret talks were leaked?

[Yonnie3]

28. There are lots of events and meetings there.

We've provided stage lighting for quite a few. Meetings of the coal and timber barons come to mind. Who would have thought they would like a Beatles Tribute band?

Most of the events I've worked have been weddings providing audio for band and speeches.

The new owner wanted to put a casino in the bunker but wasn't allowed due to its historic nature.

[MineralMan]

29. Thanks for that information.

It appears to be a popular resort. It's certainly big.

[Yonnie3]

30. It is very big.

Pushing road cases from the loading dock at one end to a reception at the other through new carpet tested my stamina (and found it lacking). At my age, I paid big at the end of that evening. Fortunately in the wee hours we were allowed to load out of a closer door.

[MineralMan]

32. Sounds like a job for young guys to me.

A few years ago, I installed a laminate floor in my living room. I think I was 69 years old at the time. Woof! It took me three days to recover. All that crouching and getting up did a number on my legs. I learned that I can still do all the things I used to be able to do, but not as quickly and not for as long. I don't take on the same things now that I used to do all the time.

[Yonnie3]

38. I was 66 the last wedding band gig I did.

For a few years I was taking a younger man or woman to do the heavier stuff. It was made clear to them that was specifically what they were hired to do. Some thought that wasn't fair they had to do the hard work.

I have trouble standing for the 5 or more hours that is needed, so I've backed out. I miss it tremendously.

[MineralMan]

43. Yeah. I miss being able to do many of the home repair and

remodeling things I used to do. It's very hard for me to hire someone for such jobs, since I used to do them all the time. However, I really have no choice, now, at age 72. My last big job at our home was installing a 100' chain link fence around the back yard. My much-younger neighbor helped with the fence stretching, but I did all the post-hole digging and post-setting. My neighbor was just there to handle the last steps of the project. The neighbor tried digging one post hole and setting a post, but didn't have the knack of using a clam-shell post hole digger. It took him almost an hour, and the hole was way, way bigger around than it needed to be. So, I did all of the rest of them.

That was about five years ago. I wouldn't do it again. But, it saved about $1000 on the cost of the fence.

[underpants]

31. It was turned into an Army hospital after WWII

My grandfather spent about 2 years there.

[MineralMan]

33. Interesting history that place has, for sure.

[Yonnie3]

42. I didn't know that it had been a hospital.

Last edited Wed Jan 31, 2018, 03:55 PM - Edit history (1)

So, I went off to read: http://www.greenbrier.com/HomePage-Sub-Pages/About-The-Greenbrier/History

Their history page says that the grounds served hospital duty in the Civil War. It also says that the Army bought it in 1942 for that hospital.

[brooklynite]

35. Let's not overthink this...

The GOP goes to the Greenbriar every year. It's a luxury resort that's convenient to DC and accessible by train.

[MineralMan]

37. OK. I just think the fact that that shelter bunker is there

is fascinating. The more I look into it, the more interesting it becomes. I remember when it was revealed back in 1992, and then almost immediately decommissioned. I guess I didn't pay much attention to where it was located at the time.

You have to admit that the coincidence is striking. Plus, the fact that it has been renovated and restored as a historical site is also very interesting. I'd go on the tour of it, except I doubt that I will ever be in West Virginia again during my life. I've been through the state, driving somewhere else once. But, I can't imagine any reason I'd go there again.

[alarimer]

36. Sanitation work is an honorable profession; Congressional Republican is not.

And what business do the Republicans have taking MORE time off for a fucking retreat? Does these people ever fucking work? At least the folks operating the garbage truck were doing their job and deserved much better than to get hit by a train carrying Paul Ryan.

[MineralMan]

39. Is that a crossing that doesn't have safety bars that lower when

a train is passing through? If so, that's another infrastructure thing that needs to be corrected, I think.

There's a crossing like that near where I live. I drive across it several times a week. It needs safety equipment, but doesn't have it. So, I stop and look both ways every time. An awful lot of people don't. Four or five freight trains use that crossing each day. So far, since I've lived here, there have been no accidents. But, it still needs the safety equipment.

It's terrible that people were injured or killed in this accident. I was very sorry to hear that. However, the fact of the trip to this retreat is not changed by that. I just watched the train continue on its trip on MSNBC when I went upstairs. I guess the Congressional Republicans will get there after all today.

[alarimer]

40. Shame that they don't have the conscience to cancel the trip.

Somebody died after all. It's the least they can do rather than be barely inconvenienced.

[maxrandb]

50. Maybe some Regulation could have prevented this

[MineralMan]

51. Well, I've been looking, and it appears that the grade crossing

is controlled, and has bars and lights. I'm sure there will be an investigation.

I'm still not certain whether the train has resumed its journey, though. I saw it moving on MSNBC, but it may not continue on to White Sulfur Springs, WV. I just don't know.

[Old Vet]

53. Yes it had safety bars and they were untouched by the accident still erect after accident.......

According to Sen. Cole during a interview by cell phone. I found that little information quite interesting... Prayers for the deceased worker

[MineralMan]

56. There's a crossing near my home

that is a controlled crossing. It's often out of order, sadly, so I am very careful at it. Almost as careful as I am at an uncontrolled crossing also near my home, but on seldom-traveled road. I often see a maintenance truck parked at the controlled crossing, so it appears that problems with it are not rare.

The crossing in Crozet, VA, could have had a problem and did not get activated. If so, that's doubly sad.

[tosh]

41. Collided with a GARBAGE TRUCK!!

Edited to note that I just read that a sanitation worker was killed. How tragic.

[MineralMan]

44. Not so much for the people on the truck, though.

One is dead that I know of, and the others injured. Accidents like that are never appropriate, despite the situation. It appears that the train has now continued on its way to the resort.

[bigbrother05]

45. Certainly a tragedy for the victim and his family, were they in a hurry?

Do they know something they aren't sharing with the public that makes them want to get to shelter?

So many questions

[MineralMan]

46. Probably not. Apparently, they've had retreats like this

before. As for a hurry, I doubt it. I'm sure the train was traveling at its usual speed. I've been checking, and it does appear that the grade crossing where the collision occurred is a controlled crossing, with gates and lights. I could see those in one photo from the scene.

It looks like the garbage truck tried to cross the tracks at the wrong time. I've seen that happen, with a truck driving around the crossing bars or gates, thinking they could get through before the train arrived. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn't. There's also a chance that the crossing signal, etc. were defective and not working. That also happens sometimes.

It's probably just a sad coincidence, and it's unlikely that the Republicans were planning to shelter from some disaster. Unlikely, but not impossible.

[HAB911]

47. 7 Days in February?!

[MineralMan]

48. I certainly hope not.

Seems unlikely.

[HAB911]

49. I hope not too

[Iahotdog]

52. Train wreck?Republicans?garbage truck?

Sounds like karma to me......just sayin'
Sad people got hurt and killed though.

[FarCenter]

54. Greenbrier is some really nasty stuff - grows fast, covered with thorns.

Have some along a fence line, and it is awful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilax_rotundifolia

Can't imagine why anyone would name a resort after it.

[FreepFryer]

55. :)

[mercuryblues]

57. I have been to the Greebrier

It is beautiful. There is a quaint shopping area nearby. I took the bunker tour and found it very informative. I was also left with the impression that it is still operational. When I was there they were adding on to the casino. I will bet they were also adding on to the bunker, during that construction. Greenbrier is the best worst kept secret in the area.

There is an entrance from the hotel into the bunker and if you did not know where it was you would never find it. One of the ballrooms is part of the bunker.

[HipChick]

58. So apparently HRC herself was driving the truck?

[Old Vet]

59. Really, you just had to insert that into a intersting conversation?