That`s funny!! We were in wally- world and this little kid was running around & thru the clothes racks, tearing down clothes. Her Mom tells her that she was going to give her a time out. A TIME OUT!!??? I laughed out loud at that, because I was thinking of the "time out" I would have got from my Mama If I was acting like that!! When I cut my eyes at my boys, they know that time`s just about out. OH trains!!! Here where I live, We have a Railroad Festival every year. Two diff. lines run thru. Tracks everywhere. Got a set about 400' behind my house. This guy that I knew got high one night and decided he could stop the train (literally-- he was walking the tracks), well it was a mess. He got dragged a few hundred yards down the tracks, pieces everywhere. People don`t look at the ratio.

 

Well, I do know. Yes, there are speed limits for trains, known as restrictions. I'm guessing you're not in a yard limit, so the speed is up around 10-25mph. Trains are not allowed to go wide open unless they are out in the country where there are very few crossings and industrial sidings/runarounds. Another thing, have you ever seen a timetable? They specify when a train is supposed to be where. They cannot stop just because it's inconvienient to someone waiting on it to move. It's their job to move that cargo--and move it as quickly as possible--and do it as safely as possible. And conductors are far from losers, which, by the way, do not drive the trains. Engineers drive the trains. The conductor makes sure they are on time and safe. If you knew what conductors have to do and I'm not talking about the ones who take up tickets--I'm talking freight here--you'd change your mind. His job requires him to walk the whole train if there is something wrong, even if the train is several miles long. He also is responsible for the paperwork regarding the loads onboard. Without railroads our country would freeze up.

 

The lights at a railroad crossinga re desiged to come on 20 seconds before the train gets to the crossing. So no mater if they are doing 1, 10, or 100 mph the lights will be on 20 seconds before the train gets there.

Chris

 

About 25 years ago there was a young man from my town who went to sleep on some R.R. tracks. Now he's dead fool. Same thing happened just a couple years ago to this other man, only he lived. In both cases a large amount of alcohol and a large amount of wasted brain cells were heavily involved. Some peoples kids!!!

 

We haven't used timetables to schedule trains for a long time.

Also the speed at which a train can operate through a town is not a universal one. It varies by municipality and usually has more to do with the length of the predictor circuit on the crossings than anything else. Some old crossings have predictors that are too small and thus cannot provide the required 20 sec at high speed.

 

I think the passengers on the train should sue the driver of the SUV for their delay and emotional trauma! I love watching trains so I see a few boneheads pull around the gates and never realize how dangerous that was. I remember seeing something on Discovery or TLC about how trains appear slower and farther away than they really are. SD70MAC's can ruin your whole day!

 

I think Traffic Safety Education needs to be more "train" intensive.

 

Yes, grade crossing education seems to be a forgotten element of driver's education. I posted this earlier, you can request a free presentation about grade crossing safety from Operation Lifesaver at www.oli.org.