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News Wire: California town holds 'Wig Wags Forever' festival to celebrate restoration of signals

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Posted by Brian Schmidt on Thursday, July 25, 2019 4:41 PM

RICHMOND, Calif. — Richmond will hold a “Wig Wags Forever” festival on Sunday, celebrating the restoration to operating condition of two of the nearly extinct grade-crossing protection devices. The signals, near 1 West Richmond Ave....

http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2019/07/25-california-town-holds-wig-wags-forever-festival-to-celebrate-restoration-of-signals

Brian Schmidt, Editor, Classic Trains magazine

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Posted by CMStPnP on Thursday, July 25, 2019 5:35 PM

METRA found that when they used wig wag signals accompanied by an audio recording next to the RR Crossing that said "pay more taxes.......pay more taxes" most folks that voted in the METRA service area would vote to pay more taxes.   Unfortunately, the signal manufacturers stopped making the signals and now METRA has a fight on it's hands each year.DevilBig Smile

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, July 26, 2019 7:20 AM

CMStPnP

METRA found that when they used wig wag signals accompanied by an audio recording next to the RR Crossing that said "pay more taxes.......pay more taxes" most folks that voted in the METRA service area would vote to pay more taxes.   Unfortunately, the signal manufacturers stopped making the signals and now METRA has a fight on it's hands each year.DevilBig Smile

 
FAKE NEWS, as if you couldn't tell (and not very funny).  As an aside, wigwags were long gone in the Chicago area by the time the voters authorized the Regional Transportation Authority in 1974.  The RTA has a steady revenue source in a gasoline tax in the six-county area but money for capital improvements for all three operating divisions is another story.
The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
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Posted by Overmod on Friday, July 26, 2019 9:59 AM

CSSHEGEWISCH
FAKE NEWS, as if you couldn't tell (and not very funny). 

Of course it's not 'news', and frankly I find it extremely funny.

You do realize the joke is in equating the motion of the signal to a hypnotist's swinging a pocket watch, right?

(Would have been funnier still if he referenced 'testing' these wig-wags at particular crossings infamous for relatively long delays...)

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Friday, July 26, 2019 10:20 AM

Sorry, I'm a regular Metra rider and his repeated shots at commuters are not amusing.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul

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