#58 collides with a truck in Louisiana

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NativeSon5859

Conductor
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
1,057
Location
NOLA
Another horrific accident at another crossing in Louisiana that lacks barriers. The City of New Orleans has probably had a half-dozen of these accidents over the past ten years. Just a shame. I mourn for the vistims. Some people just never learn to stop, look, and listen. It's such a shame that innocent children had to pay the price.

No one on the train was injured, which was carrying 130 people. It continued on to Chicago after a 1.5 hour delay.

Here's a link (free registration is required):

http://www.wwltv.com/local/stories/021305c...k.a5a01a92.html
 
Thank you for that JC, a lot easier than registering. :lol: On a more serious note I really wish there was more money and time to either eliminate crossings like this one or to put in gates. I know our guys down here to their best to give a little extra horn at those crossing without protection, but still there is very little you can do as an Engineer in that situation. I'd be curious to know though whether this is a case of trying to beat the train or just not estimating its speed well. I know even I can be fooled at how quickly something is moving when observing a train pass by me (I'm always at a safe distance though).
 
Not sure whether that was sarcastic or not, but I personally am really conscious of safety. Most railroaders use safety as a defense when something took forever to do, or when they are pissed off at Management (some may recall the article in Trains a while back from a Chicago Conductor where the would "work safely" when management pissed them off). But I personally take safety very seriously, whether it be proper procedure on reverse moves, operating rules, or just standing by the tracks watching 'em roll by. Without safety procedures and safety consciousness expenses rise, injuries go up, and the railroads lose their credit of being the safest form of transportation.
 
Safety overall involves common sense! If one is not aware of their safety, as bat51 points out serious consequences can ocur. Sometimes there is the luck of the draw. But one can't count on that! Safety rules are made for a reason! It is very easy to incur a rules violation by breaking a safety procedure, etc. The cases of workers using safety as an excuse to get back at management I believe are few, though I am sure it happens some. If one can prove they acted in the name of safety, then management rarely questions them. Overall, I feel management would rather have to answer for a delay of a train than to fill out an injury report any day. Not having an injury saves time, finances, as well as undue headache and heartache for all parties involved! The majority of us out here in the field take our safety seriously (some more than others)! I take my safety very seriously above all because I would like to go home after a trip!

As far as these types crossings are concerned (where we like to say there is no protection) they are actually protected as long as there is the physical crossbuck mounted marking the crossing, and a warning sign down the road prior to the crossing. Combine that with the audible signal required by the train's engineer the motor vehicle laws (at least in FL, but I'm sure is the same in LA and everywhere else) state the train has the right of way at any crossing hence the old terms "stop, look, and listen." In other words the law is leaving it up to the driver of a vehicle to control the situation. It is ashame the some folks are either in too big of a hurry, or just plain ignorant of the consequences! This driver (who was responsible for three minors) found that out the hard way. Now the families are paying that price in greiving the loss of their loved ones!

So my little message as a little OBS employee, at any grade crossing regardless if it is just a crossbuck or has all the bells and whistles installed, you are still responsible for your own (and those in which you may be responsible for) wellfare! Slow down, be aware of the potential danger, and stop in the event of potential danger! Proceed only when it is safe to do so! Look, Listen, and Live! And railfans, pass the word! Most of us railroaders will quickly inform someone if they are acting in an unsafe manner! Prevention is the key! OBS...
 
Is there a big cost difference installing gates vs. std. flashing signals (with no gates)? I read somewhere that it cost about $200,000 to install a typical crossing gate set up at a crossing.

I guess I don't understand why the railroads don't "recycle" old std. flashing units from a crossing that added gates and move those to a crossing that has just crossbucks. Obviously the crossing would be much safer with just flashing lights then with no automatic protection at all. Insteaed of throwing that stuff into the bone yard, use it at rural crossings that could really use it.
 
My father was a railroader, a brakeman. He once told me, and sadly I've heard it many times since, that there are two types of engineers....those that were in a crossing accident where someone was killed and those that will someday be in one.

The sad fact is that there are morons out there driving vehicles that just don't know the dangers at crossings.
 
This was a sad accident. Sometimes they happen at a crossing that has lites, gates and bells. It happened in my hometown last year. It all comes down to a motorist being cautious at a railroad crossing. Look and Listen. Any time is train time!! (Wisconsin Central safety slogan). I "feel" for the locomotive engineers in these kind of accidents-they too are a victim, even though there is nothing they can do to prevent this.
 
We have a crossing just a few miles from my home that has minimal visibility due to overgrown vegetation. We've had three deadly accidents there and can't get the state or the railroad to step up and correct the problem. Sadly, the engine crews and the families of the victims are the ones who suffer because of poor management and poor regulation.
 
My heart and prayers go out to the victims but still

It's amazing how people still think trains can just stop on the dime like that.
 
mlrr said:
My heart and prayers go out to the victims but still
It's amazing how people still think trains can just stop on the dime like that.
Click to expand...

I think part of the problem---just part of the problem....is that we have many people who have grown up without taking trains seriously, they have not ridden them, in many places they do not have commuter service, they do not think about them, and do not think about all the shipping by freight that goes on.

In short, they have never "internalized" a train (no, I am not being sarcastic or facetious). Put it another way, they really have not learned to respect trains.

They do not know that that frieght which looks like it is going 30 mph may really be going 50 mph, or that passenger train(if they can even tell the difference, and again, no, I am not being sarcastic) that looks like it is going 50 mph might really be going 70 pmh.

This is not detract from recklessness, impatience, etc as reasons also.
 
Bill Haithcoat said:
Put it another way, they really have not learned to respect trains.
Click to expand...
You're quite right Bill, that is indeed part of the problem.

That problem is further enhanced when people of authority don't obey and teach the rules. Case in point, here's an example from my trip to Tampa 9 months ago.

While in Tampa, I attended a Shania Twain concert at their major arena downtown. My hotel was located in Ybor City, probably a good 20 to 30 blocks from the arena. So naturally I took Tampa's TECO Streetcar service from my hotel to the arena.

After the concert I exited the arena quickly and climbed about a waiting street car at the rear of the arena. As we circled the arena more than one person stepped in front of the streetcar.

However the best came upon reaching a major thoroughfare at the northeast corner of the arena. Here there is a traffic light for both the street that the streetcar was paralleling as well as the one it's about to turn onto. The streetcar preempts this light when it approaches.

Yet the local Tampa police seemed to feel that they had no need to obey the Federal laws that state "Trains get priority". Even if for some reason, since this is a street car, it isn't covered by Federal law, it's still not a good idea for the police to do this.

Since the cops kept waving pedestrians and cars in front of the oncoming streetcar, which had it's signal, they proceeded to teach everyone of those hundreds of people that they don't have to wait for trains. This totally sends the wrong message and will one day contribute to someone's death in a train accident.
 
Wow, Alan! that is a very powerful example! (And very disturbing, I might add) That says everything I was trying to say.......yep....people really don't get it that a train is a real, live moving object.........and the police in Tampa only making the matter worse. .

And you will recall when you and Superliner Diner and his son and I were on that little museum operated excursion train, two or three cars long, in Chattanooga, motorists were turning around like crazy to avoid having to wait for it. They really could not even see how short the train was.....they just think "train" and want no part of it.
 
Adding to Alan's story, the problems in Ybor City aren't only with the streetcars. I've been on the bottom a few times watching the reverse move into Tampa and there are many motorists and pedestrians alike that ignore the crossing signals as well as the whistle as we back in. In my opinion if I were a cop I'd hang around that area if I knew a train was coming through, since you could right a multitude of tickets for failure to obey Railroad right of way (which is a $137 fine in Florida if I'm not mistaken). The law should be setting the example for the public, and it sounds like the Tampa Police is struggling with it.
 

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