As Dan said, it might have been tie down with the intent of it sitting there for a day or two...some divisions require the engineer to shut off the locomotives except the head unit, which is providing air for the brakes, as a fuel conservation measure.
Our locomotives have a auto start/stop system in them, if left at idle with the reverser in neutral, after ten minutes with no movement, they shut off the diesel...if the batteries begin to go low, or the air pressure in the main reservoir drop past a pre set point, they will re-start and cycle through the process.
If, during the ten minutes wait, any control surface is moved, the system times out and starts the clock over.
In the 11 years we have had these motors, our superintendent said we have managed to save almost a years worth of fuel.
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1. I don't go closer than what I guesstimate as 50' from center of nearest track or sign. No issues that way. Depends on the local zoning and laws to be specific.
2. I think they are but that may vary according to what the RR needs or if the train is merely temporarily tied up and weather factors.
Dan
A couple days ago I was walking down Northland drive in Austin - where a UP track lies 20 feet off to the side of the asphalt - no fence or anything. Well the train was just sitting there - a chop suey consist a mile long with 4 engines; a Dash 8, a GP50, a SD70M and another Dash 8. I see trains stopped on that main track all the time but this one had the rear three engines shut down. Only the lead Dash 8 was running - (they sound like dishwashers on "wash" mode at idle). Anyway that was so unusual I walked up close to the engines just to make sure they really were'nt running, because it was a first in my experience. At first I thought they aere ALL dead because the lead engine was really quiet.
Some body in a house called 911 and reported a suspicious person and a cop stopped me while I was walking back to the shop where my oil was being changed. He was told I was on the tracks. I wasn't. A train was on the tracks. I would never step in front of a running engine unless the engineer waved me to. Anyway the cop let me go after making sure I wasn't a terrorist (I'm a CPA), or a suicidal maniac (a homeless person stepped in front of the Texas Eagle going 70mph about a year ago - and died right at that spot no warning or anything. They say suicide.
So I have no problem with being "checked."
But my questions are:
1. How close can you get to a track before you trespass - when the track goes right through a neighborhood (very common in Austin-since the UP track cuts Austin in half north of the river bikers, walkers, joggers cross it all day long non-stop) and
2. Are the railcompanies shutting trains down now when they are parked for a while? About time if they are - talk about wasting fossil fuel.
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