That is improper.?ÿ Technically, it should be a STOP sign.?ÿ Seriously.?ÿ Railroad crossings without signal lights and crossing arms are supposed to have a STOP sign on each side.?ÿ Vehicular traffic is supposed to stop, look both ways, listen and then continue down the road.
Or the old "STOP, LOOK, LISTEN" signs
Railroad crossing, look out for the cars.?ÿ Can you spell that without any "R"s?
You know, in all of my 76 years on this earth, this spot in Lexington, NC is the only crossing I've seen marked with a Yield or Stop sign. Your comment made me curious and a quick search turned up this: Passive Rail-Grade Crossing Signing Practice (ncdot.gov)
This came from the same search:?ÿ Safety | North Carolina Railroad (ncrr.com)?ÿ ?ÿThe first bullet point amazed me, although we have several train-pedestrian accidents around here every year and a few train-vehicle encounters, so it should have been no surprise.
Experiment after experiment, the train always wins. Not scientific proof, but strong evidence that we should stop the experimentation.
?ÿ
..The first bullet point amazed me, although we have several train-pedestrian accidents around here every year and a few train-vehicle encounters, so it should have been no surprise...
A sobering number for sure.
I live close to the BNSF that cuts Norman OK in half.?ÿ The average number of trains is around 26 - 30 daily.?ÿ I don't really keep track (no pun intended) but it seems like there is about 10 or so vehicle/train accidents a year and 1 or 2 pedestrian/train accidents.?ÿ Not surprising is the fact most of the pedestrian accidents happen at night and involve an individual with an elevated blood-alcohol content.
I'm only aware of one accident around here that involved someone attempting to take a selfie in close proximity to the a moving train.?ÿ Posthumous Darwin Awards are so apropos.
PS - Last year the City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits the train engineer from blowing the horn in the city limits (except in emergencies).?ÿ I've yet to see a councilperson chase down an offending train to write them a ticket.?ÿ 😉
Paden mentioned Darwin Awards.?ÿ What would appear to be a rural crossing became a far busier crossing when a new high school was built.?ÿ The easiest way to get from the high school to the baseball/softball fields was to cross at that point.?ÿ The full railroad signal lights and crossing arms were installed and fully functional.?ÿ Less than two weeks later two fellows from a different town closed down a bar at 2:00 a.m. then went cruising around.?ÿ Somehow their cruising led them to this new, safe, crossing.?ÿ The lights were flashing and the arms were down but they attempted to zigzag their way through anyway, according to the one who was still breathing when the ambulance crew arrived (from less than two miles away).?ÿ Both died that night.?ÿ That was the first fatal accident at that crossing.
@paden-cash Elevated blood alcohol content and a serious case of tinnitus.
We have several lines in my area, Eastern Massachusetts, that only have the crossbucks.?ÿ The line are servicing a single company and deliver on a limited basis.?ÿ A concrete company get a delivery of bulk rails cars that are parked on a siding maybe twice a month.?ÿ Upgrading the crossing along this line would be about $200K each so the railroad uses "stop and protect" when crossing.?ÿ They stop the train and employees stop traffic and jump on as the engine crosses.?ÿ ?ÿOnly a freight line can use this method, any passenger lines have complete protection at every crossing.
We also have probations on train whistles some towns.?ÿ What genius buys a home next to a rail line and gets upset over the noise.?ÿ They ended up winning and getting the ban, they next went after the local gun club with restrictions on hours.?ÿ Funny a national railroad gave in to these demands but the local gun club handed these people their heads, very publicly.?ÿ It was quite ugly for the neighbors, as it should have been.
I grew up near the Forrest Hills T Station.?ÿ To the west was South Street with the trolley cars and to the east was the elevated rails over Washington Street.?ÿ All day long, 6 AM to midnight, there was service on both lines.?ÿ All night the T moved trolley cars back and forth to the service yard near the Forrest Hills.?ÿ It was there when we moved in, nothing you could do about it.?ÿ Different world today.
A couple we know went looking for a house in the country and put down earnest money on one after viewing it.?ÿ They went back to look at something later and noticed, "OH, NO." There was a busy railroad practically bordering the property and a whistle crossing, but somehow it had had no traffic when they toured the house the first time.?ÿ They were quite relieved when the inspection found things that they could use as an excuse to get out of the deal and get their money back.
@bill93 My cousin wanted to see a house in Hyde Park but the agent could only show it on a Sunday, she was very busy.?ÿ On Tuesday he drove by to take a couple of pictures.?ÿ Only then did he realize the house backed up to Stop and Shops refrigerated warehouse.?ÿ Maybe 300 or so tractor trailers go in and out each day until 10 PM.?ÿ None on Sundays.
During my time attending Silo Tech we lived in a basement apartment near campus for the last two years.?ÿ Across the street from the first intersection near our house was the Dairy Barns and related loafing area for the research animals in the Dairy Science Department.?ÿ Whenever I overheard a neighbor complaining about the "aroma" wafting in from the research facility I would point out the date chiseled above the main door of the main building was something like 1880 and then ask, "What year did you buy your house?"
About 25 years ago I did quite a bit of surveying for an elderly care facility.?ÿ At one of the planning meetings there was discussion about the need to be able to pass the ambient noise standard for such a facility.?ÿ They made sure to set it up for a certain day and a certain time span.?ÿ The local lumber mill shut down completely and the church bells were not rung per their standard schedule.?ÿ The church bells were maybe three hundred feet from the front door of the facility.
@holy-cow I was at a Planning Board meeting, I had a stomach full by this point, and an abutter stood up and said she only moved into her house because of the view that would be ruined by this proposal.?ÿ I reminded her someone cut down trees to build her house and if the view was so important she should have bought the land when it was for sale. Dead silence.?ÿ My client's project was approved unanimously.?ÿ Truth hurts.
