zugmann mudchicken * You can't print on here what some of us think of the rubber tired engineers and town fathers that try to guess/blunder/conive/scheme/ lie&cheat their way across a railroad track to grease the palms of their developer and civic planner cronies. They just want to be like the railroads...
mudchicken * You can't print on here what some of us think of the rubber tired engineers and town fathers that try to guess/blunder/conive/scheme/ lie&cheat their way across a railroad track to grease the palms of their developer and civic planner cronies.
They just want to be like the railroads...
mudchicken* You can't print on here what some of us think of the rubber tired engineers and town fathers that try to guess/blunder/conive/scheme/ lie&cheat their way across a railroad track to grease the palms of their developer and civic planner cronies.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
(1) You have a federal edict out there to eliminate 25% of existing at-grade crossings. The current edict goes back to 2008. I am aware of similar such edicts going back to 1981. (Wish to heck congress would restate that goal in the current legislation as it would make it easier for those of us dealing with rubber tired bubbas* who want to recklessly open new at-grades all over da place and for cheap. Local town governments who refuse to acknowledge earlier agreements are getting really squirrelly right now.)
1 gazillion = 136,041 public crossings of about 250,711 at grade crossings (give or take - the federal records right now are screwed-up deluxe by their own data management upgrades)
* You can't print on here what some of us think of the rubber tired engineers and town fathers that try to guess/blunder/conive/scheme/ lie&cheat their way across a railroad track to grease the palms of their developer and civic planner cronies.
A drive around town can give one an idea of the problem. Many crossings are located in areas that would make going over (or under) very difficult, perhaps requiring tearing down a neighborhood or business section.
One crossing near me could be eliminated - at the cost of a half mile or more of elevated track. It would also eliminate a couple of grades on either side of the river, and even replace an existing overpass (RR over road) that is showing its age.
At four to six trains, plus a local or two, a day, the carrier (and the locality) may decide it's not worth it. And there are alternative routes should the crossing be blocked.
To my knowledge, the idea hasn't even been discussed.
I've noticed a similar phenomenon on roadways. You're driving down the road and notice that if a certain rise in the road could be eliminated, sight distances would greatly improve. Then you notice that there is a driveway at the top of the rise (which would be made very steep when they cut the roadway down) as well as a driveway at the bottom of the hill (which would also be made very steep as fill was added to smooth out the rise). So said smoothing isn't going to happen.
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...
Murphy Siding While walking over a newer railroad overpass one night, I spotted this plaque:"With this bridge, the 5,000th at grade crossing was closed on the BNSF Railway,A safety milestone dedicated to Spencer D. Arndt in recognition of a career supporting railroad safety." There's no indication as to how long it took to reach that milestone of 5,000. This particular crossing is becoming a major east-west route through town, so it made sense for the city to build an overpass. Not too many years back when it was just a gravel road, Farmer Steve didn't hear the train and a big tractor got schmucked by a train, which derailed. Interestingly enough, the bridge span is long enough to accomodate double tracking the line in the future, even though a mile north it hits a point where it can't be double tracked any further. Are all railroads working to eliminate crossings? How many get closed or eliminated in an average year? How many is a gazillion?
While walking over a newer railroad overpass one night, I spotted this plaque:"With this bridge, the 5,000th at grade crossing was closed on the BNSF Railway,A safety milestone dedicated to Spencer D. Arndt in recognition of a career supporting railroad safety." There's no indication as to how long it took to reach that milestone of 5,000. This particular crossing is becoming a major east-west route through town, so it made sense for the city to build an overpass. Not too many years back when it was just a gravel road, Farmer Steve didn't hear the train and a big tractor got schmucked by a train, which derailed. Interestingly enough, the bridge span is long enough to accomodate double tracking the line in the future, even though a mile north it hits a point where it can't be double tracked any further. Are all railroads working to eliminate crossings? How many get closed or eliminated in an average year? How many is a gazillion?
My carrier has had a active road crossing closing program for the past decade or more. All the low hanging fruit has been picked - each closing now gets more expensive (for someone) and more involved.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
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