Train Time is Anytime!!

[TawnyMyst]

This rant has been building for awhile, so I apologize if it gets long.

Bells and crossing gates down, means a train is coming. It is NOT an obstacle for you to go around. I don't care if you think you're fast enough to get across before it comes, you are wrong. I have to look at the aftermath way too often to know your chances of actually beating said train. You meet a train the wrong way and if you're lucky, it's just your car written off and a scare and bruises for you, those are the lucky ones that meet a train going slow. I have personally seen vehicles that were unrecognizable and you know the person either didn't survive or is in critical. Damage to the train that hit the car? Bent pilot, torn off air house and a new knuckle, back in service later that day. Crew on the other hand, is looking at counseling, feeling like shit and in some cases, may never come back to work. When you commit suicide by train, it is not only you and your family that it affects.

That stop light that just went red? Is only four car lengths in front of a set of tracks. Those tracks might only be used a few times a day but are still used! Don't stop on them to wait for the light! You now have nowhere to go when that train comes. This works for any stop sign, yield sign, any road crossing that has tracks runs on this principle. Don't stop on the tracks! Same for you Mr. Cop, that driver you just pulled over stopped half on the tracks. Don't tell me you are not allowed to have him move his car until the infraction is issued. It's not for my health or inconvenience that I'm asking you to have him move. I don't want to see the accident happen right in front of me!

Tracks are not playgrounds, hiking trails, balance beams, picture sights, resting points or anything else like that! The only thing that should be on tracks are trains! They are not shortcuts or really even open to the public, despite the fact that most tracks are not fenced off, which is impossible to do, considering the millions of miles they cover across the world. Mess with a train and you are the one that loses!

In short, DO NOT PLAY CHICKEN with a train!

[PepperElf]

do people really win that game outside of movies?

i mean seriously the only game stupider than "beat the train" is Russian roulette.

Although... i guess "đi đi mau" works for both in a sick way....

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Operation Lifesaver FTW.

[wolfie]

My brother told me about an intermodal yard near Vancouver where the switch engine has a dozen tractor-trailer silhouettes under the cab window (think "kill flags" on fighter planes).

As for stopping on tracks, what is the proper way of dealing with this situation? At a previous carrier, the route away from one customer involved a "demand light" (i.e. it won't change unless you're on the sensor). Slight problem: less than one tractor-trailer length back from the stop sign was a set of tracks on a little-used spur line, and there was NO sensor "upstream" from the tracks. If you pulled onto the sensor, your trailer would be fouling the tracks. If you waited safely on the "upstream" side of the tracks, the light you were waiting for would NEVER go green.

[bhskittykatt]

In Driver's Ed, we watched a rather graphic video detailing car-vs-train collisions. I've been scarred for life now. To get to one part of the waterfront, you have to cross a set of four tracks, and I hate it.

As for stopping on tracks, what is the proper way of dealing with this situation? At a previous carrier, the route away from one customer involved a "demand light" (i.e. it won't change unless you're on the sensor). Slight problem: less than one tractor-trailer length back from the stop sign was a set of tracks on a little-used spur line, and there was NO sensor "upstream" from the tracks. If you pulled onto the sensor, your trailer would be fouling the tracks. If you waited safely on the "upstream" side of the tracks, the light you were waiting for would NEVER go green.

That...is a crappy set-up. Was there no alternate route? If I had to deal with that on a regular basis, I'd contact either the local PD or public works and see what they suggested.

[protege]

Bells and crossing gates down, means a train is coming. It is NOT an obstacle for you to go around. I don't care if you think you're fast enough to get across before it comes, you are wrong. I have to look at the aftermath way too often to know your chances of actually beating said train. You meet a train the wrong way and if you're lucky, it's just your car written off and a scare and bruises for you, those are the lucky ones that meet a train going slow. I have personally seen vehicles that were unrecognizable and you know the person either didn't survive or is in critical.

But, some people just *have* to get that overpriced latte from Starbucks. Get between them and their coffee...and there's hell to pay

I too have seen vehicles that have been hit by trains. Not a pretty sight. When I was much younger, a truck got nailed by a coal train about 2 doors down from my great-grandmother's house. Apparently, the truck was heading into town, and tried to beat the train. Remember, 30 years ago, the Monongahela RR's trains flew through that town--none of the 5-10mph stuff Norfolk Southern does now! But, the truck got nailed hard enough...to not only knock it off the track, but hurl it through the side of a nearby brick warehouse About that time, the trains were forced to slow for the crossing. People were pissed about traffic delays, but oh well. That went on for years, before a new overpass went in.

With that said, it amazes the hell out of me how some people act around trains. They all seem to think that the railroad is some sort of amusement park.

For example, I sometimes head down near the tracks to shoot a few photos. I've seen quite a few idiots cross the tracks...just as a fast freight is bearing down on them. Seriously, what the fuck are they thinking? There's no way that the engineer can stop in time. Meaning, if you slip and fall, you're royally fucked.

Then there are the idiots who can't wait for the train to clear before walking across the tracks to go fishing. These fools will crawl under a standing group of cars. Never mind that the locomotives are a half-mile up the line, and could start moving again at any time! People, there's a *reason* the coal drag has stopped--there's another train coming the other way. Do you really want to take the chance of getting hit twice?

Oh, and not all trains are loud either. They can, and do, show up without warning. Remember the stopped train from above? I've been out shooting trains, and they sometimes show up without warning. Especially if you can't see around that idling set of diesels or other equipment.

I thought I should mention some of the idiots I ran into up around Conway (PA) last month. I was up there trying to catch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NKP_765 leading an employee special out of the yard. Some of the things people were doing...just pissed me off.

Sure, it's nice to get a photo of a big steam engine at speed. But, is it really worth getting injured or killed over? Didn't stop quite a few people from crossing tracks in front of other trains...including one guy who did it with an NS security officer nearby! What the hell were you thinking?

With things like that, it's no wonder that some railroads are hostile towards railfans and the general public. Look at the Union RR, which handles switching duties at some of the mills. Their 'bulls' (railroad cops) have a well-deserved reputation for busting people anywhere near their property.

[Bandit]

Many moons ago, my commute included a crossing of the CN line out of Toronto to get to the transcon line further north. This crossing only had only had lights and a bell on the crossbucks and at times, some long trains. Double bonus - it was right between two passing tracks so sometimes one train would go through and then one would come from the other was a couple of minutes later with all the lights still going. Triple bonus - it was on a blind corner so you couldn't see the train coming until it was too late to do anything but say "Oh......"

As a railfan (OK - foamer), I had no problem waiting - and well - staying alive.

I lost count of the number of people who would blow their horns to get me go across the tracks or would swerve around to get by.

There were a couple of times I swear the engineer needed a change of underware after how close those idiots were.

Tawny - Sorry you have to clean up after the idiots and the fallout.

The SD40-2 of Natural Selection does not discriminate for the idiots.

B

[mishakal908]

I went to a small town college that had a pretty active train track running through the middle of town. The track ran between the college campus and the downtown district that had all of the bars. Over one summer two people wound up getting hit and killed by a train because they were coming back from the bars drunk by themselves. One person actually passed out on the track and the other person was walking(stumbling) on the tracks drunk. To me the really sad part was that is was the same conductor in both instances that was running the train.

[PepperElf]

My brother told me about an intermodal yard near Vancouver where the switch engine has a dozen tractor-trailer silhouettes under the cab window (think "kill flags" on fighter planes).

As for stopping on tracks, what is the proper way of dealing with this situation? At a previous carrier, the route away from one customer involved a "demand light" (i.e. it won't change unless you're on the sensor). Slight problem: less than one tractor-trailer length back from the stop sign was a set of tracks on a little-used spur line, and there was NO sensor "upstream" from the tracks. If you pulled onto the sensor, your trailer would be fouling the tracks. If you waited safely on the "upstream" side of the tracks, the light you were waiting for would NEVER go green.

my own idea would be to ask the city / county to unfuck itself (politely of course) and move the sensor forward of the tracks.

although, if you pull forward to get out of the way of a train (assuming you have the warning lights & arms that start dropping down to block traffic to let you know to get out of the way of course), would the weight of the train be enough to trip the sensor?

[dragon_wings]

My parents' house is really close to a train track (end of their street). Several weeks ago I went by after work to run (9pm) and was shocked to see tons of emergency vehicles at the park I run by. Apparently a dude was walking on the tracks and was hit. He had been drinking too. And the way the tracks run by the park, you have the lake on one side and park pond on the other. My dad (an EMT) and my brother helped the local search and rescue find the body.

[wolfie]

my own idea would be to ask the city / county to unfuck itself (politely of course) and move the sensor forward of the tracks.

although, if you pull forward to get out of the way of a train (assuming you have the warning lights & arms that start dropping down to block traffic to let you know to get out of the way of course), would the weight of the train be enough to trip the sensor?

No longer affects me - that client stopped shipping with my former carrier about a year and a half before I left. Crossing has lights but no arms - and if I had pulled forward, I would have gone through a red light onto a busy street. Hobson's choice - cab hit by cars, or trailer hit by train.

[sms001]

Bells and crossing gates down, means a train is coming.

Although they DO malfunction with disturbing regularity, I still wait a LONG time and make 3000% sure before I go around.

That stop light that just went red? .... Don't stop on them to wait for the light! You now have nowhere to go when that train comes.

Wanted to use this thread for a couple possible life saving tips.

Many of us that frequent good ol' CS are pretty aware folks. Please, if the nitwit in front of you is stopped on the tracks (or anywhere in the gate area, really) STOP SHORT yourself to give them room to back up if the signal goes off.

I find myself doing this all to often, and they've never needed the room I leave them... yet.

In the same vein. A long freight has passed and traffic is backed up. So much so that there may be a localized traffic jam from lights ahead of you. Make sure as you approach the tracks that you can clear them on the other side before you start to cross them. Yeah, the idiot behind you may honk if you allow twenty feet, but I promise it's not nearly as annoying as that airhorn from the second freight.

[telecom_goddess]

This is a difficult subject for me ...I'm extremely paranoid these days of trains coming at me on the tracks. This is due to to events in life....once many years ago when I still lived in California I was on a bus headed to work when we stopped on some tracks with a stalled car in front of us. Guess what, a train was coming. The driver told all of us to get off the bus now and when we got far enough away I turned around just in time to see the bus hit and turned into a horseshoe on impact.

The second event many of us are aware of already from last year, 'nuff said.

I still see people running across the tracks to beat the train. WTF is wrong with these people? Do they really think they are so good that they are omnipotent or something? I never ever ever ever ever go across the tracks if a train is in any way threatening to come near me.

[PepperElf]

No longer affects me - that client stopped shipping with my former carrier about a year and a half before I left. Crossing has lights but no arms - and if I had pulled forward, I would have gone through a red light onto a busy street. Hobson's choice - cab hit by cars, or trailer hit by train.

o ouch. ok that's fucked up.
i'm surprised they didn't have serious accidents with that setup

[TawnyMyst]

My brother told me about an intermodal yard near Vancouver where the switch engine has a dozen tractor-trailer silhouettes under the cab window (think "kill flags" on fighter planes).

As for stopping on tracks, what is the proper way of dealing with this situation? At a previous carrier, the route away from one customer involved a "demand light" (i.e. it won't change unless you're on the sensor). Slight problem: less than one tractor-trailer length back from the stop sign was a set of tracks on a little-used spur line, and there was NO sensor "upstream" from the tracks. If you pulled onto the sensor, your trailer would be fouling the tracks. If you waited safely on the "upstream" side of the tracks, the light you were waiting for would NEVER go green.

In this case, the engineer probably knows about the setup with the lights, as the engineers have to do two years of training on a sub with another engineer before they take a train across it by themselves. They probably have a slow order for that crossing that would allow them to stop in time if necessary. But it is still a crossing that should be brought to the attention of both the railroad and the MTO and a sensor should be installed "upstream" of the tracks. Also some crossings have as part of their wiring, controls for the local lights that will trigger the local stop light and allow the tracks to be cleared by the time the train gets there.

We have freight yard close to our shop area and the trucks have to cross a set of tracks to get out of the yard. There is a stop sign at the tracks and one as they come out of the yard, do you think any of them actually stop though? I have had so many near misses since I started working there that's it not even funny. I lost it on the one driver once, just started screaming at him, I think me screaming at him scared him more than coming two feet from being hit by an engine did.