Broken gate this morning at Ardsley

Saw maintainers at Ardsley about 9:00 this morning, repairing a broken crossing gate. Suppose someone got impatient and stopped where he shouldn't have.

With the events in California today on Metrolink, I'm wondering if we're going to see more vigilance with regards to vehicles on RR tracks, running crossings etc.

Only once in my life did I see someone get stopped by Police for running a crossing. It was on Street Rd in Warminster where the NHIRR delivers chemicals to a mfg. plant on the corner of Jacksonvile & Street.

The NHIRR train had just passed the crossing, and anyone who had railfanned there knows there are flashing lights but because of the infrequency of train crossings, all trains are hand flagged (Usually once a week around 12p-3p NHIRR does daylight freight moves here). Anyway, the train had cleared the crossing but the lights were still flashing (I think the lights are hand-activated) when an impatient driver decided to proceed over the tracks. There was no danger involved but the lights were still on. A Warminster cop saw this and faster than you can say SCHLEPTA, he got ticketed.

Years ago, I remember many a times drivers going around the gates in Southampton when the Newtown line was active while passengers were loading, but I never once witnessed anyone getting nabbed. I guess its a matter of chance.

One more note on this, I wonder if SEPTA would invest in more fencing along its ROW like NJT did (or was it Amtrak) along the Atlantic City Line. I'd hate to see it as a railfan, but it would keep idiots, and animals off the tracks. Of course then the RR has to maintain that fence, because last summer 2 kids were killed on the NEC when their car broke down on I-95 and crawled through a hole in the fence near the Wissanoming Station and got hit. Their parents blamed Amtrak for not maintaining the fence.

jfrey40535 wrote:Only once in my life did I see someone get stopped by Police for running a crossing. It was on Street Rd in Warminster where the NHIRR delivers chemicals to a mfg. plant on the corner of Jacksonvile & Street.

The NHIRR train had just passed the crossing, and anyone who had railfanned there knows there are flashing lights but because of the infrequency of train crossings, all trains are hand flagged (Usually once a week around 12p-3p NHIRR does daylight freight moves here). Anyway, the train had cleared the crossing but the lights were still flashing (I think the lights are hand-activated) when an impatient driver decided to proceed over the tracks. There was no danger involved but the lights were still on. A Warminster cop saw this and faster than you can say SCHLEPTA, he got ticketed.

Yeah, this happens almost every week. That crossing no longer needs to be hand flagged, but the locomotive must make a complete stop before entering. People usually stop before the final blast of the horn, but naturally some drivers are oblivious. The flashers there are actually automatic, and it's only a 5 mph circuit. In that particular situation, the locomotive probably had not yet cleared the island circuit for the flashers to cease, but it very well might have been stuck, I don't know. SEPTA is actually responsible for that crossing. I help maintain the 18 or so grade crossings north of it