Posted Wednesday, May 27, 2009 -- 5:06pm
By Zac Schultz

Middleton: They only went a few miles, but it was a very important train ride for some Middleton elementary students Wednesday.

It's a video they could have easily watched in their classroom or the school auditorium. But 400 1st graders from the Middleton- Cross Plains School District were downtown, learning about railroad safety.

But the biggest part of the lesson came after the video, when the kids got to board a train and ride it home, hopefully reinforcing the safety message. "Every time they see a train they're going to remember that they rode a train, and hopefully they'll remember what we told them," says Jim Tracey, of Operation LIfesaver.

Tracey says this is perfect time to reach kids. "We're coming into summer, kids are going to be out of school, they're going to be out playing, so what better time than trying to catch them before school is out, and talk to them about the dangers of playing around or on railroad property."

One of the teachers says the lesson will continue in the classroom. "Once we get back to school we'll talk about what they've learned and probably do a little journaling, some role-playing," says Tanjya Tibbetts.

Tracey says kids may learn bad habits from parents about walking on train tracks. "For the last several years more people are killed trespassing on railroad property than those killed in crashes involving trains and motor vehicles."