Rockland County, NY Quiet Zones

I assume this is one of the spurs off the West Shore/River Line of CSX:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... /612300311

I am glad that I am not working in that area any more, the people ought
to get a double whistle for every crossing, they go right through the
lights and gates or at least they did when I worked in that area. I doubt if
it has gotten any better recently and New Jersey is even worse.
Anything to please and the hell with safety. Railroad employees don't
count anyway.
Noel Weaver

It always amazes me that people take such chances to save a few minutes at such great risk. What are they thinking? My sympathies lie with the train crews/engineers who end up needing therapy, particularly when the motive is suicide. Not to mention the risk to them physically.

Sarge wrote:I assume this is one of the spurs off the West Shore/River Line of CSX:

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti ... /612300311

I guess engineers can blast their horns if they wanna to... The article said "conductor dont need to.."

yeah, sure, if you waive the crew of responsibility. the first thing the authorities wants to do is blame the train crew, not the motorist. 150,000 doesn't seem like alot of money for a project like this, that might do one crossing w/ 4 way protection, but if the really wanted an income source, they could put cameras up and fine drivers by mail all day long. why should the rest of the the taxpayers pay, or the railroad?
taxes are high enough in rockland allready. go after the individuals, and emphasize more through driver programs. lack of accountability and responsibility for those who cause the problemb
take away the horns and you loose a bit of the 'soul' of the railroad as well. some of my earliest memories were the horns late at night, must've been over in congers or valley cottage, as we lived along lake deforest.

Noel Weaver wrote:I am glad that I am not working in that area any more, the people ought
to get a double whistle for every crossing, they go right through the
lights and gates or at least they did when I worked in that area. I doubt if
it has gotten any better recently and New Jersey is even worse.
Anything to please and the hell with safety. Railroad employees don't
count anyway.
Noel Weaver

The article failed to mention that the funds will go to install barriers at the crossings that will meet FRA requirements that permit "quiet zones". Norwood is considering the same approach in neighboring Bergen County. You say, "the hell with safety" Noel, but I disagree. Installing barriers that will keep idiots from going around the gates is a positive move. Relieving crews of the responsibility of blowing the whistle during certain hours is just a side benefit. Maybe it will help with the hearing loss that most of us obtained after many years in a locomotive cab.

I have been consulted on this issue. As far as I know, no one has suggested stopping trains from blowing their horns with the current crossing gates that are frequently ignored, often with fatal consequences.

I still don't like this idea. We have a lot of crossings in this area of Florida
and some of them have the double gates, they will not stop a large truck
from going right through, people stop on the crossings and if these gates
go down, they really are at a loss for direction.
I realize that our problems might be a bit different than the River Line but
both lines have problems. Our crossings get a lot more vehicle traffic
than the ones in New York and New Jersey do, I am pretty sure of that
one.
The Florida East Coast runs about 12 plus trains each way a day and in all
of Broward County there is only one grade separated crossing of Florida
East Coast tracks and that is on I-595. The Tri-Rail line has 20 commuter
trains each way a day plus 2 Amtrak trains and some CSX trains too but
again, there are only about 5 or 6 crossings where highways do not cross
these tracks at grade, they are seeking to do the no whistle zones on this
line but I do not think it is a good idea. I guess I am of the "old school",
use the horn, the louder the better.
I know I saved four lives on the River Line because I believed in using
that horn, I can provide the details on this one if necessary but I would
have to find the records, I still have that stuff from many years back.
There were a few trainpeople on the River Line who did not like the way I
used the horn but at least two of them thanked me that trip and never
complained about my use of the horn again after that one.
Noel Weaver

They are not talking about gates, Noel, but physical barriers that would prevent vehicles from entering the crossings. Another option being considered are high-tech audible warnings that would emit the train horn sound in the immediate vicinity of the crossing and not three miles down the valley like a locomotive horn does now.

I don't think you understand that this line is not like when we worked there, with a dozen trains a day. There are nearly three times as many now with larger locomotives and higher speeds. Engineers now push a button that opens a magnet valve and blows the horn at full blast. You can't regulate the sound and still blow the proper _ _ 0 _.

Before being so quick to criticize, you should realize that those who are trying to implement this are very concerned with safety. Don't rely on a newspaper account from a reporter who doesn't even know who blows a train whistle. People in our community have been killed because the old technology of train whistles and breakable gates has not worked. Physical barriers are the way to go when grade separation is impractical or unfordable. I have seen this technology demonstrated stopping a tractor-trailer. It works. While less desirable, the local sound solution would keep the status quo, while cutting down on the noise pollution in the community.

Remember that nothing would ever stop an engineer from sounding the horn if someone should attempt to go around a barrier.

I am kind of interested in just what kind of physical barrier you are talking
about?
Here the only physical barriers that we have is a barrier on the Andrews
Avenue drawbridge in Fort Lauderdale. When the gates go down for this
bridge to open up for boat traffic a rather thick barrier raises out of the
road surface and I would not want to hit this barrier. If you are talking
about a barrier of this nature, then you are indeed accomplishing
something very constructive and I should add, effective. I do not want to
think what will happen to the front end of a motor vehicle that hits the
barrier on this particular bridge. Unfortunately, none of our dangerous
crossings have a barrier of this nature as yet but maybe someday they
will.
Unfortunately, we have full time residents who are driving vehicles here
who originally came from various places in the Carribian and maybe
other places where there are no railroads of any kind and they have no
idea of the consequences of a tie at a railroad crossing.
Finally, one more point, I have heard from people on CSX that the CSX
has supervision out on the road checking to insure that engineers are
using the proper whistle signal for grade crossings and from what I have
heard, the engineer being checked had better be sure that he/she used
the proper duration for the ----------- ------------- ------ ------------.
Noel Weaver

Just wait until somehow one of the bumbling idiots gets hit by a train
in one of these quiet zones. They will still point the finger at the
engineer saying "He should have sounded the horn when he saw the
car anyway!"

amtrakhogger wrote:Just wait until somehow one of the bumbling idiots gets hit by a train
in one of these quiet zones. They will still point the finger at the
engineer saying "He should have sounded the horn when he saw the
car anyway!"

engineers still will blow the horn if s/he see someone going to try to beat train.



on other side... how would traincrews KNOW that fixed whistle/bell is work well, and at the same time, sounded right???

I know you are still required to sound the horn in an emergency if
by chance an idiot with his/her car on the tracks. I really mean
if you comply with that requirement in that situation it will still
be "The guy didn't blow his horn soon enough!" or MGM will
say "Didn't you know the car was on the tracks?" So therefore
"You should have been sounding the horn in deference to the quiet
zone requirement!" All this going on when the crossing is right
after a curve and the first time you see the car it is already too late!