Recently I was in Oceanside, CA and saw a hi-rail truck come through. It did not activate the crossing signals or gates.
Evidently the truck is somehow insulated so that it does not affect the crossing signals?
Correct,they don’t. (apparantly it is insulated)
I had a friend who used a Hi-rail truck several years ago,and
he wired,and put a switch on it so he could start the flashers.
Some railroads attach wipers to their hi-rail rigs so they do activate the crossing warning devices and the signal systems. It is optional.
Fairmont, Mitchell and the others use air actuated “shunts” to set the current to short the signal circuit. They either use brushes (steel cable cut to length & then bound togeter to look like a funky paint brush or they use a round rotary cup bru***hat you would use with a buffer or power drill. Some brushes have constant contact with the rail and have to be adjusted constantly because they wear out. Most hi-rail wheels have a 1/2inch hard rubber tire to help smooth the ride. The hi-rail gear is insullated often to protect the truck electrical system from stay current in the rail wiping out voltage regulators, alternators, fusible links, etc. (it works BOTH ways!) from things other than normal signal cicuitry (like lightning)…
Power operated shunts can be pneumatic, hydraulic or electrical/solenoid controlled.
Down there at “Death-by-Water” (I know it well), the San Diego Northern, SANDAG or whatever they call themselves this week , has a ballancing act to perform in dealing with the public and/or getting out and maintaining a busy track.
What gets nuts is the shunts not working properly or not working at all. (In most states, the hi-rail/motor car operator is liable in a grade crossing collision)
Canadian Pacific’s handcars, speeders and trailers used to have a legend “insulated wheels”. This was to remind the crew that they wouldn’t operate crossing signals or block signals.
In this case the hi-rail crew were heading south and took the siding at CP Shell (the north end of the 2nd track at Oceanside). They pulled up behind a Coaster (commuter train) waiting to depart southbound from the Oceanside platform. A northbound Amtrak Surfliner was waiting a couple minutes at the Oceanside platform until the hi-rail was out of the way.
The hi-rail crew did “stop and look” before crossing Surfrider Way, the crossing where I was waiting.
Before somebody brings it up, shunts are all but useless with a PMD motion detector in the crossing detector system which is sonic instead of electric.
Do they have to blow their horn as a warning before going through a grade, especially at a busy crossing, or just “stop and look” as MP57313 said?
On the rare occasion that I’ve seen hi-rails at a crossing (both the one above and another case maybe 20 years ago) they did not sound the horn.
However, in the mid-90s, a large collection of on-rail MOW and maintenance vehicles…ballast tampers and the like…came through El Segundo (Douglas St. crossing) on the BNSF Harbor line. The crossing signals did not activate, but each vehicle blew his horn as he crossed the street! There were maybe 10 vehicles. The horns were not very loud; nothing like a locomotive horn.
They are responsible to flag the crossing, get cross traffic to stop or wait for it to clear. They do NOT have the same rights as trains (at least in any rulebook I’ve seen). It’s more than just a horn issue, especially if the shunts won’t drop the gates. Hi-railing in an urban center can be quite an adventure. (I know from experience.It really gets scary at 2am when the bars close and you are out there in the “hood” looking for high water, etc.)
I’ve always wondered that. An auditory warning (even if it’s not as loud as a train) is always good as opposed to just looking and waiting for it to clear since most people don’t even slow down or look when driving through a crossing. I’m sure they only cross when it is safe of course, but the more warnings, the safer it is for everyone.
MC–
You would be interested to know (probably) that at least 1 Texas district court (Nueces County) has ruled that track equipment (motorcars, hi-rails etc.) are indeed trains, regardless of the CGOR or whatever rule book you want to pick. Did it on the basis of a DPS officer’s testimony. Motorcar operator who was riding backwards, wasn’t looking and was running at high speed broadsided the second trailer of a tandem rig occupying the crossing.
Don’t ask my opinion on this–you can probably figure it out!
So watch out, guys, there’s always a judge out there to tell you it ain’t the way you think.[banghead]
Couple weeks ago almost saw a concrete truck and high rail truck hit at our crossing. They usually just slow down to a crawl before the crossing then go on through.
The only problem I have seen with the MOW equipment when they go by is the crossing lights will go on and off after they go by for about 2 minutes.
Brian (KY)
I have had a high-rail truck zip thru a interlocking on me like i wasnt even there I had the signal to come thru and about 6-7 cars from the interlocking a high-rail truck went thru not even slowed down.