Level crossing stupidity...

[SHMD]

...but would the idiot learn anything?

 

 

Kev.

 

[SHMD]

...more importantly, ramps to get back onto the road from the ballast would encourage 4x4 users to use the ballast/railway, between crossings, as a road/short cut - as we have already seen on this thread.

 

 

Kev.

[101]

11 minutes ago, SHMD said:

...more importantly, ramps to get back onto the road from the ballast would encourage 4x4 users to use the ballast/railway, between crossings, as a road/short cut - as we have already seen on this thread.

 

 

Kev.

 

Portable ramps - which as I said could be carried by the recovery truck.

And as a land rover driver I can assure you I could drive on and off of there quite easily without ramps! 

[newbryford]

Looks like she's texting as she climbs out.....

 

 

[Kris]

9 hours ago, newbryford said:

Looks like she's texting as she climbs out.....

 

 

Nah, posting of her social media platform of choice "#train didn't steer round me"

[jcm@gwr]

I've stopped watching those Railfan videos, firstly, because of the childish noises they add

(their poor attempt at trying to make it funny), and secondly, it just confirms how stupid

most american drivers are, most wouldn't pass a driving test in this country, or indeed

many other developed countries!

[Hobby]

I have to agree, and it's usually the same thing over and over at the same crossing, just different vehicles!

[johnofwessex]

I understand that the US is noted for poor driving standards

[corneliuslundie]

Unlike Ashland it is not at all clear why she decided to turn onto the tracks. If there is a left turn it seems to be some distance from the crossing.

And if she could back off so easily why didn't she do so as soon as she realised her mistake, before the train was close?

But the real reason for posting was the interesting loads on the first few flat trucks. Any suggestions?

Jonathan

[Michael Hodgson]

4 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

And if she could back off so easily why didn't she do so as soon as she realised her mistake, before the train was close?

 

Because she's a stupid cow.

[Michael Hodgson]

On 13/12/2021 at 09:22, melmerby said:

Ashland VA gets it's crown back:

 

I notice that the train is handsignalled to resume its journey whilst the barriers are still up, and the train is almost over the crossing before they descend.

[Wickham Green too]

On 16/12/2021 at 08:45, corneliuslundie said:

........ interesting loads on the first few flat trucks. Any suggestions?

I'm working on a stack of Roxey SECR coach bogies that look rather like that ................................ but I don't think that's what they are ! 

[newbryford]

On 16/12/2021 at 12:55, Michael Hodgson said:

I notice that the train is handsignalled to resume its journey whilst the barriers are still up, and the train is almost over the crossing before they descend.

 

In the case of Ashland (and some other crossings), if the train stops short of the barriers, they will raise. When the train moves again, the barriers will descend.

Speed and motion detection.  As well as operation from the cab.

 See this video 3.30 onwards.

 

 

[melmerby]

duplicate posting - removed

Edited December 17, 2021 by melmerby

[Dunsignalling]

5 minutes ago, melmerby said:

They keep coming thick and fast.

Loco crew responded well on this:

 

That was very disappointing.

[melmerby]

6 hours ago, newbryford said:

 

In the case of Ashland (and some other crossings), if the train stops short of the barriers, they will raise. When the train moves again, the barriers will descend.

Speed and motion detection.  As well as operation from the cab.

 See this video 3.30 onwards.

 

Watch the barriers here at Kearney NE

They raise after a train passes, the semi starts to move and then lower onto it for the next train!

 

If you look closely the previous train is still in the distance, there is only about 20 - 25 secs between them.

IMHO that was a dangerously short gap.

 

 

 

Edited December 17, 2021 by melmerby

[Michael Hodgson]

In this country on multiple track lines there is a minimum open time for road track (about 10 seconds I think) before the crossing is allowed to re-activate for train on the other line.  In practice this means slightly longer strike in times on double track than would be necessary for single track.  

[ejstubbs]

On 12/11/2021 at 18:06, Compound2632 said:

can I just remind you all that Birmingham has more miles of canal than Venice

 

Hardly a huge surprise when you consider (a) the UK's history of industrial canal building in the 18th and 19th centuries, and (b) that the area of the city of Birmingham is 26,780 hectares, wheres the main island of Venice (the 'centro storico', which is what most people would take this oft-quoted 'statistic' to refer to - and there really aren't many canals at all elsewhere in the lagoon) is 520 hectares.

 

It's basically a meaningless statistic which tells you just about nothing,  The actual figures are 56km of canals in Birmingham vs 42km in Venice.  So Birmingham has about one and third times as much length of canal as Venice, while being fifty times bigger, meaning that you are phenomenally more likely to stumble across a canal in Venice than you are in Birmingham.  In fact, having been to both cities, I can state categorically that at busy times of year you can literally hardly move for canals in Venice.

[Compound2632]

3 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

Hardly a huge surprise

 

Ah, you're taking it too literally. It's a statement about 19th century Birmingham's place in the world. The great commercial and cultural metropolis of the late Middle Ages has been superseded by the Venice of the North:

 

[highpeakman]

On 15/12/2021 at 08:25, jcm@gwr said:

I've stopped watching those Railfan videos, firstly, because of the childish noises they add

(their poor attempt at trying to make it funny), and secondly, it just confirms how stupid

most american drivers are, most wouldn't pass a driving test in this country, or indeed

many other developed countries!

I would agree with your comments about the noises added to Railfan videos.

 

However, as one who, over 40 years, has driven many miles across both the US and the UK (and Europe), I didn't come to the conclusion that US drivers are generally that stupid at all. Of course there are a few which we see on Railfan, etc but, percentage wise, I think I came across as many idiots in the UK as I did in the US. The driving style is very different to the UK however being generally slower and more relaxed with more people following speed limits more closely than in the UK. Typically not as aggressive "must get there quickly" as the UK. Watch the Ashland videos and see how the 4 way junctions work with people giving way on a first arrive principal - can't see that working in the UK. However that relaxed attitude does lead to other problems like allowing use of hand held mobiles and other distractions. It probably means that they sometimes do not pay as much attention as they should sometimes but, there again, I see that often in the UK as well. 

 

Perhaps a bit like the stereotype American as big, loud, brash. After 40 years of dealing with them I can say that I didn't meet many like that - some, yes, but I met a few like that in the UK as well. As usual, and with all nationalities, we tend to hear of only the loud ones and events that make the news but, for the most part, the everyday, normal people are no different to most places.

 

Back to level crossings. 

[PhilJ W]

2 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Ah, you're taking it too literally. It's a statement about 19th century Birmingham's place in the world. The great commercial and cultural metropolis of the late Middle Ages has been superseded by the Venice of the North:

 

The Venice of the North is generally accepted to be Bruges.

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

The Venice of the North is generally accepted to be Bruges.

 

In the 15th century, maybe, and perhaps to the Brugensiens still, but Brummies know better.

[Grovenor]

That's irrelevant to the road traffic. He was referring to the time between the barriers raising and the flashing lights starting up again, ie the crossing open time.

[phil-b259]

15 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

In this country on multiple track lines there is a minimum open time for road track (about 10 seconds I think) before the crossing is allowed to re-activate for train on the other line.  In practice this means slightly longer strike in times on double track than would be necessary for single track.  

 

In double track cases we effectively move the strike in point further out and build in a 10 second delay between the train (traveling at full line speed) passing over the 'strike in point' and the crossing sequence being triggered (which in itself must be done so that 80% of trains reach the crossing within 37 seconds of the sequence starting).

 

This setup means we can ensure the crossing remains lowered if another train is approaching in the opposite direction (because the train has already 'struck in') while the barriers are down for the first one).

[melmerby]

32 minutes ago, Coombe Vale said:

If you are referring to the time/space between the trains, they're on different lines. The first one is on the third line from the left and the second one is on the fourth.

The gap in trains across the crossing, i.e. the gap for road traffic to cross.

 

In the case in question, the crossing clears and barriers raise, so the semi starts across but no sooner than it had started across, the crossing re-activates meaning the truck had barely moved half it's length before they came down for the next train.

Although there is an edit in the footage it is only a few seconds, the time stamp suggests that the barrier ought to have stayed down for the second train, the truck can't have cleared the crossing much before the train came through.

Edited December 18, 2021 by melmerby