http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwNnThytOOU&feature=related
What a joke!
Since there are countless crossings in countless towns and cities where the railroads don’t give a hoot about the condition of the crossings, this particular town is lucky CSX gave a darn and repaired the crossing at all…but they sure slapped CSX in the face by putting up those signs. It would be interesting to see who is the legal owner of those posts and signs in the first place…CSX or the town government. I felt sorry for the poor guy who got tangled up in the middle of that one.
I’m betting that the City owns/maintains the signs that are far out of the RR RoW. Crazy…
My quess is that signs that stand alone might be ok but that the city cannot mess with the “no train horn” sign in any way. It should not be obscured or have added distractors.
From North Charleston, South Carolina - ‘uploaded’ July 24, 2009.
Wonder who legally owns the green sign post and the yellow 'Advance Warning" and “No Train horn” signs on it - CSX, the SCDOT, or the City ? If either of the former, how does the mayor get off with messing with someone else’s sign ? Let him put his own sign post in and stick his a** (synonym for a ‘refractory’ mule or donkey) - er, sign - on it . . . [:-^]
Here in Pennsylvania there’s a state law and a DOT regulation that each prohibit messing with an official sign, or posting a sign that looks like an official sign, but isn’t authorized. If South Carolina has anything like that - and I imagine they do - then Mr. Mayor would be in violation of that.
About 5 - 10 years ago there was a similar ‘stand-off’ type situation involving a CSX grade crossing in western suburban Philadelphia - the Borough of Darby, I believe it was. The mayor there parked either her car or a police cruiser on the grade crossing. Despite what we might have wished to happen, cooler heads prevailed, though I’m not sure what the gripe was - a rough crossing, or an excessive number and length of blockages by trains, etc. - or how it was resolved.
- Paul North.
Links to articles about the Darby situation:
Darby Borough–CSX Apologizes for Rail Stoppages - March 15, 2000:
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002mYX
Gates Malfunction, Mayor Blocks Rail Tracks - - Again - April 10, 2000:
http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=002wNc
Mayor Paula Brown lost the 2005 elections and left office in January 2006.
- Paul North.
(1) The first thing the CSX roadmaster should have done (maybe he did?, lotsa info missing here) would be get hold of the CSX Public Works Engineer for South Carolina.
(2) Grandstanding aside, the sign issue is very valid. The CSX Law Dept. has plenty of ammo.(SC 56-5-1020)
(3) The SC Public Service Commission needs to drag out Title 58 and hit der Mayor over his fat head over this and then go after the town transportation engineer. (SC 58-17-450)
(4) The crossing may have been repaired/replaced…but the road agency is responsible for the approaches (always has been)…Railroads (generally, most states) are only responsible for out to two feet beyond the the tie which covers the joint between the crossing plank and the surface of the road.
(If the town bubbas paved with concrete right up to the edge of crossing plank, they’re dumber than they already look)
(5) Somebody needs to carefully read the the AREMA/AASHTO joint standard on road crossing approaches and grades. The crossing will NEVER ride properly if the approaches are screwed up.
Referring to the title of this thread - I doubt the roadmaster was too upset. I’m sure they are used to dealing with hick towns that have nothing better to do…
The who;e deal sounds like a glorified case of Political Grandstanding by a local politician who believes that getting HIS Name in the Newspaper or his Facwe on the Six O’Clock news is good for him. The old " Any attention, Good or Bad," is strictly attention for Hisshoner Da Mayor; To move forward Da Mayor’s political aspirations.
You can most likely predict when CSX sends some of their Corporate attorney’s around to 'Splain to Da Mayor how many laws and rules he has succeeded in breaking by his publicity hunting actions. Not to mention the potential for fines, and punishments for breaking those various laws. Hisshonor will crawl into a hole and hope THAT does not make the Six O’clock News. [2c]
So if some resident gets clobbered by a train at the crossing can they claim they were distracted by the white sign and missed the sign that said there was no horn sounded at that crossing, thus putting the city on the hook for the settlement?