The CTA is responsible for about 20 grade crossings on its rapid transit network, mostly on the outer ends of the Pink (Douglas Park) and Brown (Ravenswood) lines. Are there any other rapid transit (NOT light rail) operations that have to deal with grade crossings on their lines?
One I know about is PATH just east of Harrison, NJ station...company crossing with lights, bells, and gate over the eastbound track into yard area
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Dating myself terribly, but I recall (from over half a century ago) that the next-to-last station on the BMT Canarsie line (Don't ask me what New Yorkers call it today) had a platform and station building between the tracks, with a grade crossing across the front of the station entrance/exit. Passengers boarding or de-training there had to walk across a track to get to their trains. There was a fairly long gap in the third rail, which led to a long 'lights out' as each car crossed the road.
Chuck
Yes Chuck, you are dating yourself...and me too because I forgot about that! It was a long, long time ago...into the early 50's anyway! I would doubt based on what I see in timetables and maps that that is the case today... However I am working on plans for my Ride With Me Henry clientele for a ride of the surface lines of the MTA sometime this Fall and the "L" train, nee the Carnarsie Line, is on the tour!
CSSHEGEWISCH The CTA is responsible for about 20 grade crossings on its rapid transit network, mostly on the outer ends of the Pink (Douglas Park) and Brown (Ravenswood) lines. Are there any other rapid transit (NOT light rail) operations that have to deal with grade crossings on their lines?
You sorta covered this, but to clarify...the CTA yellow line (Skokie Swift) also has several grade crossings.
The grade crossing you are referring to was jsut north of the East 55th Street station, the next to last station before the Rockiaway Parkway terminous of the Canarsie LIne. It was a regular grade crossing, with flashing light s and bells. The street has been closed at that point, and there is pedestrian overpass for both street foot traffic and "L" line passengers (outside the fare-control points). This change was done at least about 25 years ago. This was the very last grade crossing on the New York City rapid transit network itself, although there were also cases where surface tracks were used by South Brooklyn including both street trackage and marked grade crossings. One or two may still exist as connections to the New York and Atlantic or Cross Harbor for new-car delivery, not electrified.
The next to last grade crossing was at 99th Street and Lexington Avenue. The main shops of the Third Avnue Elevated were 99th-100th Streets between 3rd Avenue and Park Avenue. With siwtches off the elevated structure. When Lexington Avenue was cut through north of 42nd Street, it divided the shop complex, and a single track coast-through grade crossing connected the two halves. The complex was kept in operation almost to the 1953 end of the Manhattan portion of the elevated, and a 1947 John KNeiling fantrip covered the trackage.
IN addition to New YOrk, Miami, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, the Cleveland Red :Line (but certainly not Shaker Heights, which is light rail although sharing tracks with the Red Line), Bay Area, and Washington, DC, are all rapid transit systems without grade crossings. Chicago is now alone in North America as having the problem. Boston is similar to Cleveland, plenty of grade crossings on the light rail Green Line and Mattapan-Ashmont, but none on the heavy Red, Orange, and Blue lines.
MILW205 CSSHEGEWISCH The CTA is responsible for about 20 grade crossings on its rapid transit network, mostly on the outer ends of the Pink (Douglas Park) and Brown (Ravenswood) lines. Are there any other rapid transit (NOT light rail) operations that have to deal with grade crossings on their lines? You sorta covered this, but to clarify...the CTA yellow line (Skokie Swift) also has several grade crossings.
And let's not forget the two crossings that appear either side of what was the Isabella St. station (now abandoned) on the Evanston-Wilmette branch.
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