Train 172(2) Fatality in Mansfield, MA

[Paul CHI]

Chicago area has at least 1 death in every month from pedestrian/train accidents. A lot of them simply involve not checking both ways.

 

[jis]

Considering how many of these accidents occur at crossings where there are no restrictions on horns, I think this whole argument that suggests that just blowing the horn hard will fix the problem is somewhat unrealistic. Remember, most of these accidents happen where there is no quiet zone, and even in places where there is no railroad crossing at all (Consider all of these accidents on the NEC South and most of NEC North), and yet each time one happens in a quiet zone some wise a$$ comes up with the worn out argument about getting rid of quiet zones.

Well, I did read somewhere that crossing accidents would become a higher chance in a Quiet Zone, so no need to get all snobbish!

Source? If you want to be taken seriously, then you need to start providing sources for your information. And I don't think Wiki qualifies as a reliable source.

Here's a good example.

http://fox6now.com/2013/09/15/train-horn-quiet-zones-pose-increased-danger/

Of course, it is also true that if the railroads were all sealed corridors, fully fenced in, there'd be no accidents too. There are tradeoffs and there are ways to design quiet crossings which are quite safe. That particular source is an interesting one because it appears to be an opinion that is not particularly backed with any statistics. I was hoping for something more concrete which shows that there is a higher probability of an accident at a properly designed quiet crossing than at a normal one. Just because there was an accident does not imply that the cause of it was the one mentioned necessarily.

 

[Chey]

CSX Foamer......hold the phone, please. I really don't care for your flip remarks here. A homeless lady who was trying to get her life in order is gone, yes, quite likely by her own mistake and haste. This is a tragedy, not something to make snide remarks about.

You seem to know something about Flagstaff, and you are partially correct in that measures were taken within the past ten years to quiet down the railroad noise. Within the city limits there are one highway underpass, two overhead bridges, and five grade crossings. An ordinance or agreement was reached with BNSF to reduce the noise. Frankly, I recall the frequent locomotive horns right in the middle of town as rather obnoxious. The two crossings adjacent to the passenger station are marked " No Train Horn " as is the one about a mile east on a major street. In addition to the horn signs, there are others warning pedestrians to stand away from the tracks, and the conventional gates and ringing bells. This does not seem to be a problem. The two crossings east of there adjacent to Route 66 are less heavily traveled and are equipped with train horns attached to the gate mechanisms, which create a train horn sound, but it is less obtrusive than those from the locomotives. ( There are also large " X " blinking signals on the railroad, which I theorize signal engineers if this apparatus is working properly. ) I can hear these horns from my home approximately one mile away, but they are not annoying in my opinion. Some people may, but I too have lived around trains most of my life and am a retired employee. In my view, BNSF is a good neighbor here.

I lived in Arizona longer than I ever lived anyplace else (military brat - my father retired in Phoenix). The only place in Arizona I really miss now is Flag, it was a refuge for me. I remember all the trains; I could hear them clearly from any hotel in town and I always loved the sound but I realize not everyone likes it. Still, Flag was always a big rail town; to me it's like the airport controversy about flight paths: you should've known about it before you moved there! It's the same here in the South Plains of Texas, people near the tracks wanted a quiet ordinance. Perhaps because of their preponderance of people trying to beat the train at the crossings, they didn't get that ordinance. I was glad.

Does it bug Flagstaff residents for Valley people to call it Flag? It didn't when I went to school there but that was back in the stone age...

 

[greatcats]

I don't think the term " Flag " is a problem. Yes, it is a rail town in that all the towns are here because of the Santa Fe. However, since there are no longer any lumber mills, the amount of local freight business is modest. I see some freight cars at Winona several miles to the east and there is a freight yard of sorts by the Ralston- Purina factory ( dog food ) and a consignee or two closer to town. There is a local BNSF job that does switching here, but the freight action is at the division point of Winslow. Plus there is Amtrak, which is good especially to travel to Los Angeles, due to our rather sparse air service from Flagstaff. The number of through freight trains passing by Flagstaff is pretty remarkable.

 

[greatcats]

An addendum to the comments I made about the arrangement of grade crossings here in Flagstaff: the supervisor at the Flagstaff Shelter where I volunteer called me wondering If I had anything to do with " a donation from the railroad. " I have no connection with BNSF, having last worked for NJ Transit, but he knew I had something to do with trains. BNSF has made a donation to the Flagstaff Shelter, quite possibly because of the recent fatality at a nearby grade crossing of the young woman who was a shelter resident. More than likely the railroad has no fault here, but it does reinforce my statement on this thread recently that BNSF is a good neighbor to the community.