Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
Col.
Only In The States.......I Think They Got Enough Warning
- Thread starter Eastsidepilot
- Start date
Col.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
I once took a trip behind UP Challenger which went through La Grange, Texas. Not only did it give the long long short long at every crossing but also stopped in the centre of the town so we could disembark to have lunch in the V.A. hall. All laid on by the folk who live there. Not an unhappy face in the county!
Sadly the MKT line out of Houston, the “Katy”, was lifted 20 years ago in the name of progress. Called I-10.
Sadly the MKT line out of Houston, the “Katy”, was lifted 20 years ago in the name of progress. Called I-10.
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Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Union Pacific have an educational program called Operation Lifesaver. I asked why there is such a short tine between ringing the barrier bell and the train arriving. The truth is that if you lengthen the time then impatience takes over and more lives are lost at grade crossings.
Jordan
Mid-Western Thunderer
There's also a distinct "must beat the train" mentality* too, it would seem; when trains are 120+ cars long, they take a while to clear a crossing, even at speed. People just don't want to wait if they can help it.
Of course you can have all the warnings you like - bells, flashing lights, train whistle, and the train already on the crossing and it won't help some people ....
*The British equivalent is "must get in front of the lorry", but don't get me started on that!!
Of course you can have all the warnings you like - bells, flashing lights, train whistle, and the train already on the crossing and it won't help some people ....
*The British equivalent is "must get in front of the lorry", but don't get me started on that!!
John Duffy
Western Thunderer
Operation Lifesaver is a US wide program involving all the class A railroads as well as many others.
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
A bit of history of OL.
We started in 1972 when the average number of collisions at U.S. highway-rail grade crossings had risen above 12,000 incidents yearly. To address this tragic reality, the Idaho governor's office, along with the Idaho Peace Officers and Union Pacific Railroad launched a six-week public awareness educational campaign called Operation Lifesaver to promote highway-rail grade crossing safety. After Idaho's crossing-related fatalities decreased that year by 43%, the successful program was adopted by Nebraska (1973) and in Kansas and Georgia the following year. Within a decade it had spread across the country. In 1986 a non-profit Operation Lifesaver national office was created to help support the efforts of state OL programs and raise national awareness on highway-rail grade crossing issues.
From acorns oak trees grow!
Although double track crossings are relatively rare in Texas, they do exist in Houston and I crossed one every day for several years to get to work. Here the risk was “one train can hide another”, a literal translation of a sign on many French ungated rural crossings on the Midi Main Line “un train peut en cacher un autre”.
See here!
We started in 1972 when the average number of collisions at U.S. highway-rail grade crossings had risen above 12,000 incidents yearly. To address this tragic reality, the Idaho governor's office, along with the Idaho Peace Officers and Union Pacific Railroad launched a six-week public awareness educational campaign called Operation Lifesaver to promote highway-rail grade crossing safety. After Idaho's crossing-related fatalities decreased that year by 43%, the successful program was adopted by Nebraska (1973) and in Kansas and Georgia the following year. Within a decade it had spread across the country. In 1986 a non-profit Operation Lifesaver national office was created to help support the efforts of state OL programs and raise national awareness on highway-rail grade crossing issues.
From acorns oak trees grow!
Although double track crossings are relatively rare in Texas, they do exist in Houston and I crossed one every day for several years to get to work. Here the risk was “one train can hide another”, a literal translation of a sign on many French ungated rural crossings on the Midi Main Line “un train peut en cacher un autre”.
See here!
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Eastsidepilot
Western Thunderer
Yes
.....I used to shut the gate on 'em when they tried cutting me up at the last minute 