RR Emergencies!!!!

[Anonymous]

Have you ever reported an emergency on the railroad? I got to call BNSF last Friday night; a crossing was flashing and there were no trains around for miles on the branchline. I went home and first tried to call the 800 number to Glendive, MT (50 miles south) but that was only for ordering cars and tracking them. So I drove down to the railroad and got the Emergency number off of the crossing (I already had the DOT # for the malfunctioning crossing). I called the railroad and option 2 on their recording was the one I needed. They thanked me for calling and were sending someone out to fix it. That's the first time I got to talk to Fort Worth, TX! I then looked at my RR Police Phone #'s sheet that I carry in my wallet and car and it was the number I just called.[8D]

I recommend that you find the emergency numbers for the major class 1 railroads like I have and type them on a sheet of paper.

[Anonymous]

I saw the same thing as you.

I went by a crossing one time on BC Rails port subdivision here in BC, and the lights and bell was going off, so I ended up getting all excited, waited and waited but there was no train in sight.

I drove by the grade crossing again the next day that they were still going off.

I never called it in though, I figured it was good that all the traffic was stopping before they crossed the tracks. [:)]

It was fixed when I drove by the third day.

[athelney]

Never had to call in , but did get to remove some ties stacked on CN main line in Chilliwack a few years ago , could,nt leave them in place . There was an eastbound approx 3 miles away . Picked it up on my scanner, so managed to drag them away from running line , did tell the CN police when they did there next drive around the area. Just doing my part for safety ( am ex British Rail , CP Rail)

[rrnut282]

I called in an open door on a double stack train once. I called the dispatcher directly since I knew the number. At speed, it wasn't a problem on a single-track line, The wind was keeping it in line, but I imagine as the slack ran in or out as the train slowed down, a swinging door could do a number on anything close.

[heavyd]

Railbullfan is right about having the numbers in your wallet just in case! We all know how stupid the general public is about trains and 99% of them would have no clue to look for an emergency number off the cross-buck. Sometimes even calling the local police is a waste of time as they are just as ill-educated about railways. I called in a set of malfunctioning crossing gates once. A train has just cleared, the one gate would only go back up about 3/4 of the way and kinda bound there. A transport truck would have hit it for sure. It was a CP crossing but there is also a CN main line about a block away that runs parallel. When I called the cops they had no clue what I was talking about. They didn't know the difference between the CP and the CN tracks!!! I had to explain that to them. Better to just call the RR directly and always mention the sub. and mile post which should be at the crossing somewhere.

[Anonymous]

You got that right about the STUPID police [:)].

[88gta350]

We have NS main line that runs through our property at work, with a crossing at the main gate. Because I work security there, we're responsible for reporting problems with the signals. I think I'm on a first name basis with the police dispatcher! The scariest thing is when a train comes but the gates dont go down! That's a tad worse than the gates going down and no train.

[Puckdropper]

QUOTE: The scariest thing is when a train comes but the gates dont go down! That's a tad worse than the gates going down and no train.

Just a tad worse?

[jchnhtfd]

I for one agree with all of the above (except, maybe, 'a tad worse'... uh, right?): it's a help to have folks call and let you know there's a problem out there, or there appears to be -- there is no way in h^&* that we can be everywhere at once! It does help if you are sure it's really something amiss before you call, though... and do call the railroad for crossing malfunctions (or if someone is stalled, stuck, or otherwise obstructing the crossing) with the crossing number -- you can always call the local constabulary as well, if you really want to, but as heavyd noted that's not always particularly productive!

[Train Guy 3]

I called in about a pedestrian/rail crossingon the NS line. The bell always rang when no train came or ran about 3 seconds before the train cam around the curve. That was 2 and half years ago..... they put a different bell in but didn't fix the problem.

[tree68]

Let's be fair to the emergency services dispatchers, now. Unless you've sat in their chair for a while, you have no idea. A half dozen railroad crossings that are only occasionally (more or less, depending on locale) occupied are a minor thing, when compare to Uncle Harry beating on Aunt Maude, the Hill Street Gang busting out car windows, the drunk driver they just pulled over on Main Street, the woman having difficulty breathing at the diner, the two cars that both decided the light was green, the alarm going off at the bank, the fire alarm going off at the school (damned kids), etc, etc. This goes on 24/7. Railroad crossing? Who cares? Call me if there's a problem!

On the other hand, our local dispatchers have the CSX number on hand, in case it's needed. I can pick up the mic for my fire service radio and report a problem just as easily as I can dial the number on my cell phone. That doesn't mean they know squat about railroads, but they do know who to call.

[jchnhtfd]

Larry's got a real point -- the local 911 folks are usually snowed under pretty thoroughly, and most of the time they do a darn good job. One of the biggest problems they have is establishing the location of -- and in a town with more than one company, the owner/dispatcher of -- any particular railroad crossing. Which is why the best number to call is the one on the sign...

[Anonymous]

5/30/04.
Just as I got home I had to call the BNSF railroad about a very bad train track at the sand crossing at oreapolis,ne tonight. There is NO rock around or under the track,and when a heavy manifest or a coal train goes by,the whole section of train just bouces up and down like crazy NOT GOOD.There was NOTHING keeping the track up,it was nothing but a MAJOR mud hole.....and the sad part is this....this is an amtrak line too.BNSFfan.

[JoeKoh]

saw a problem with a crossing. drove to the trainmasters office and reported it.
stay safe
Joe