Your post got me wondering about something. I could see inside the autorack to determine it was a bilevel and it was empty. I know they are normally set up to drive the cars in one end and off the other. I don't think that more than the two vehicles at the end were damged, as I doubt there was a derailment. I think the door was likely torn off in some sort of slow speed incident.
My question for anyone that knows is, what kind of problems are caused if you have to back cars out of the undamaged end in a situation like that? The loading ramps I have seen in photos look like they would be pretty tricky to negotiate in reverse.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
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AgentKidMy question for anyone that knows is, what kind of problems are caused if you have to back cars out of the undamaged end in a situation like that? The loading ramps I have seen in photos look like they would be pretty tricky to negotiate in reverse.
I'm guessing here, but I would opine that it's less nerve-wracking than trying to back a trailer down an open flat...
I have little doubt that driving cars on, and back off, is more an expediency than necessary. Have you ever seen those things loaded or unloaded? Those drivers fly through the autoracks.
Highway auto haulers don't have the luxury of drive-on, drive-off. Either they're backing the vehicle on the trailer, or backing it off...
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
AgentKid Your post got me wondering about something. I could see inside the autorack to determine it was a bilevel and it was empty. I know they are normally set up to drive the cars in one end and off the other. I don't think that more than the two vehicles at the end were damged, as I doubt there was a derailment. I think the door was likely torn off in some sort of slow speed incident. My question for anyone that knows is, what kind of problems are caused if you have to back cars out of the undamaged end in a situation like that? The loading ramps I have seen in photos look like they would be pretty tricky to negotiate in reverse. Bruce
I suspect the distribution centers where the automotive content is unloaded from auto racks have necessary equipment to force a damaged 'forward end' of a auto rack back into position to permit forward unloading. If the forward end has been damged by derailment or impact with fixed obstructions, the entire load will most likely be written off for scrap value.
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Anyone know why train engineers sound their horns approaching the Rochelle crossing? Who are they alerting? There is no vehicular traffic to warn.....must be annoying to local residents. Trains should go on by.
The US rules state they have to continuously sound their horn, as you hear, when workers are present. It's quite excessive if you ask me. Once they know you're there why should you have to keep on alerting them?
But, rules are rules.
10000 feet and no dynamics? Today is going to be a good day ...
There are several street crossings on all four sides of the railroad crossing, so the engineers sound their horns as they approach the street crossings.
Johnny
traisessive1 The US rules state they have to continuously sound their horn, as you hear, when workers are present. It's quite excessive if you ask me. Once they know you're there why should you have to keep on alerting them? But, rules are rules.
Workers with macheinry that makes a lot of noise need a lot of warning. Railroad rights of way are dangerous places for anyone on the ground in the immediate vicinity of the tracks - a little horn work is a cost effective warning method.
jschwendlerAnyone know why train engineers sound their horns approaching the Rochelle crossing? Who are they alerting? There is no vehicular traffic to warn.....must be annoying to local residents. Trains should go on by.
UP also has one crossing just west of the diamonds, and also has three crossings east of the diamonds in town, as well as one just east of town. That will likely explain why you hear as much horn as you do.
While there's no doubt that some local residents find all thos train horns annoying, I'd imagine that by now most don't even notice any more.
I do note that some crews do actually blow for the diamonds, or appear to.
And then there's the work zone thing, if anyone is working on or near the tracks.
Here in NY, CSX crews routinely sound their horns (some more enthusiastically than others) when approaching the Utica station. The nearest actual crossing is a couple miles west of the station.
Horns are NEVER blown for no reason, despite what those that aren't field railroad employees may think.
jschwendlerAnyone know why trains blow those irritating horns at an intersection of tracks only? There is no pedestrian or vehicular traffic crossing at Rochelle.
tree68 Here in NY, CSX crews routinely sound their horns (some more enthusiastically than others) when approaching the Utica station. The nearest actual crossing is a couple miles west of the station.
Freight trains operating in passenger territory, don't necessarily know the passenger train schedules or how close those trains are operating to their schedule. Last thing a freight engineer wants to happen is to find a 'passenger' trespassing on the tracks and collect them at speed without warning.
In our neck of the woods, the bell is always sounded by trains at station sites--passenger or freight, whether or not they stop.No horn ban for grade crossings in Rochelle. No need to sound horn routinely at the diamond, but it would help to know which horn signal is being sounded...that would be the clue as to workmen, trespassers, having two bits for some tonsorial work, or panic attacks.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
With all the signal work taking place around the diamond, I suspect there are 'flagging orders' in effect for specified hours where trains must get specific permission to pass through the limits of the orders. Part of getting that permission from the flagman is having the flagman specify the permissible speed for the train and whether to sound the horn or not when passing through the limits of the order.
OP is probably referring to the personnel warning horn activity (two short blasts every four or so seconds) required when maintenance personnel are in the area. This continues until the lead unit is past the workers. One of those "written in blood" rules we hear about from time to time.
As a backup to that, I notice regularly that when welding or grinding is going on, there is another worker on sentry duty to watch for oncoming traffic.
It shouldn't take much imagination to understand how incredibly dangerous a workplace is under the ordinary conditions of a working railroad.
Chuck: during daylight hours, there are a lot of people milling around the grassy area. There is/was no real fencing separating people from the tracks. And over your right or left shoulder, not too far back is a street crossing for both railroads.
The open area on either side of the camera always has a lot of foot traffic when they hear a whistle. Made me a little nervous, but no problems.
She who has no signature! cinscocom-tmw
jschwendler :
(1) If you understand the law, then you also realize that those "bans" can be undone either by local driver stupidity or failure of the local govt. agency road bubbas to live up to and more importantly maintain the mitigation items. Not as absolute as some people claim it to be.
(2) if it's your butt hanging out in the breeze, especially if you're a lone worker (usually a signalman or track inspector), you really want those advance warning whistle signals with a bulletin Form B or Form C. The polyannas whining about the "noise" might want to move somewhere else. They certainly don't understand that Louis Kingman and the Santa Fe put that place on the map to stay.(With a little help from Frisco (A&P) and the SP in some strategic swaps)
Balt, on UP they don't have that choice...if there are workmen in the area protected by Form B, the trains will sound a long and a short, followed by two shorts repeated periodically the entire time the locomotives are passing through the territory or workmen are present. It is even noted that acknowledgement of said workers does not alleviate crews from the responsibility for sounding this signal. Some will do it more frequently than others, but any crews that does not do it is in violation.This also is one horn signal that does not honor any local or regional "whistle bans."
Speaking of horn blowing, has anyone watched Railroad Alaska? It's a good show but I really hate how much they've dubbed in a horn blowing at some of the most ridiculous times, like when they have a wide shot of a train out in the middle of nowhere. Then other times you hear the dubbed horn blow, then right after that the real one blows and it's a totally different horn lol.
SushiLover Speaking of horn blowing, has anyone watched Railroad Alaska? It's a good show but I really hate how much they've dubbed in a horn blowing at some of the most ridiculous times, like when they have a wide shot of a train out in the middle of nowhere. Then other times you hear the dubbed horn blow, then right after that the real one blows and it's a totally different horn lol.
I will say that one evening as I was traveling from Gordo, Alabama, to Reform, Alabama, I came to the stretch where the GM&O and the highway were parallel for a few miles--and a freight and I were side by side. After pacing the train a minute or two, I flashed my headlights, and the engineer responded, properly, with two shorts (he had no other specific signal to respond to my signal) .
Looks like we have a red flag today.
rdamon Looks like we have a red flag today.
And a whole bunch of people and trucks! wow.
DeggestyApparently the people who put the show together have no idea as to the purpose of the horns.
It's a good thing they weren't watching the webcam when the engineer on a WB UP blew "shave and a haircut" for the MOW folks. I can't remember now for sure, but I think he was heading a stacker that was slowing down to yard at G3.
ChuckCobleighIt's a good thing they weren't watching the webcam when the engineer on a WB UP blew "shave and a haircut" for the MOW folks.
Or "Jingle Bells." I've heard that before on the mainline, and have been guilty of it myself on occasion....
Looks like the MOW crew is done for the day.
Even in "Quiet Zones" the horn can be, and sometimes is required to be, sounded. MOW and signal people, has already noted, is just one that trumps any bans.
Jeff
jeffhergert Even in "Quiet Zones" the horn can be, and sometimes is required to be, sounded. MOW and signal people, has already noted, is just one that trumps any bans. Jeff
mudchickenThey certainly don't understand that Louis Kingman and the Santa Fe put that place on the map to stay.(With a little help from Frisco (A&P) and the SP in some strategic swaps)
In days gone past, we would often stop a few days in Flagstaff, staying at what was then the Kings House motel, now apparently a TravelLodge, near the Ponderosa Parkway grade crossing. If you could get a second floor room along the back of the property, you would have a ringside seat for all the ATSF traffic coming through town, which was substantial. For one thing, all of the container traffic was a real clue to why the US could give the canal to Panama. The grade crossing gave plenty of warning on the WB traffic and you could usually hear the blowing for Beaver and San Francisco streets to cue that an EB was coming through. Even after I hit the hay, the horns were never a nuisance.
When I lived in Wesson, Mississippi, the IC's main line was right across the street from my house, with a crossing just south of the house, and another one a little farther north. The only night train I noticed regularly was #1 (the City), which was due by about ten at night. I seldom noticed #8 (at midnght), #25 (about 3:30)--unless I came in or went out on one of these--, or #5 (a little after 6:00). Once, someone asked meif the horn of #25 bothered me, and I told him that it did not.
In Reform, Alabama, my house was two blocks from the GM&O--and I seldom heard, even the daytime, the horn as it was blown for two crossings.
This is coming from a CN Engineer in Canada.
The Canadian Rules do not require the horn to be sounded as a warning to workers near the tracks. Just the bell.
In my opinion it is completely excessive and unessecary to sound the horn until you are past the workers. I usually give horn signals until I know they know I am there, even though it's not required. A lot of wayside workers get pretty ticked off if you blow the horn right next to them.
Through my 10 years at CN I have come to realize that blowing the horn at a crossing with gates and lights is completely pointless as well. If someone gets hit a crossing with gates, the horn not being/being sounded is NOT going to change anything.
Another good rule we have here is that if someone is flagging a crossing or giving you a roll by at a crossing, the engineer does not have to blow that crossing. It is definitely good on the ears.
BaltACD Workers with macheinry that makes a lot of noise need a lot of warning. Railroad rights of way are dangerous places for anyone on the ground in the immediate vicinity of the tracks - a little horn work is a cost effective warning method.
I've been with CN for 10 years, 5 of those being an Engineer. Believe me when I say that blowing the horn on approach and passing workers is excessive. We don't have that rule in Canada and we don't need it.
If the guys acknowledge you, you're fine. Why keep on sounding it when they know you're there?
I will give approaching blows if I deem the situation to warrant it.
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