One of the roads I commonly use crosses over a portion of a CSX mainline that has a paavssing siding. So yesterday I needed to use said road, so what happens? the CSX train parks way to short on the siding and blocks the crossing gate! whats worse is, it could easily have parked farther up on the siding!
Now I see why a lot of railfans think lowly of CSX 
Not knowing where you live makes little differenceā¦ The Problems with CSX are common with many of the railroads[probably: all of them ats some time [|(] ( and many other business, as well) .
Trains block many crossings each day; at some point, all of us are victims of ātimingā . Weāre in a hurry and our route is somehow delayed by a random happeningā¦ The cost of these delays vary, individually.
Unfortunately, you apparently suffered particularly badly on this one[:'(] So you take to your keyboard and visit your anger on the offending party [CSX]ā¦ It could have easily been NS, or BNSF or some other entity. The degree of which is depending upon whose ox is being gored at the timeā¦ [:-^]
So a word of adviceā¦" ā¦suck it up, and wait for the next timeā¦"[:-,]
Where we watch trains has 6 tracks. This is also right in the middle of a very old neighborhood with school children.
Trains set out bad order cars here a lot at this crossing and cut this neighborhood in half. The city built a tunnel for pedestrians but w/o constant upkeep people are reluctant to use it.
I have timed some of these blockages @ up to 45 min. People adapt cuz it isnāt going to change!
This is BNSF territory.
Two words: Alternate route.
I think we can call it even nowā¦ Iām a railroader so, āweā wasted a few minutes of your time while blocking a crossing. In turn, Iāve now wasted a few minutes of my life reading your thread about this instance.
If I were you, Iād make the Governor in your state pass a law immediately, banning CSX from your state and ordering that all the CSX trackage in your state be pulled up this afternoon! To think that they had the audacity to block a crossing in front of YOU is just too much to handle. CSX must be punished for this huge crime.
You need to do your part as well. After all the tracks from naughty old CSX are gone in your state, make sure that you no longer purchase anything that rode on a train to get to you-even though it wonāt be coming on a CSX train in your case, once you have them outlawed. These items include: oil, chemicals, minerals, coal (and the electricity it produces), grain, ethanol, consumer goods(including that computer youāre not going to be using any more), automobiles, (better plan on walking- the bicycles come in a container) clothes, shoes, steel, plastics, gravel, corn oil, ā¦
In addition to the circumstances you cite, there are many good reasons to disdain CSX, but never allow facts to get in the way of good story.
You think they do that on purpose?
How about helping them out? There are two ways. If you can get close to the head end, get the crewās attention and let them know. Theyāll gladly pull down a bit.
Or, call the 800 number on the crossing and talk to CSX. Theyāll have the dispatcher talk to the train.
I have the same issue near where I live and have employed both methods successfully.
Was it a double ending passing track? Maybe clearance to the main at the back end required the front end to be where it needed to be.
haha guy!
Maybe I wasnāt clear about this in my post, but my complaint is about how the engineer could easily have parked the train further up the siding. I guess I dont get why the train was parked there when it didnāt have to be.
Your supposition and the reality of the operational abilities of the train may not be in agreement! Nothing in railroading is as easy as it appears from the outside. Do you know if the locomotives were working and had sufficient power to move the train from where it sat? Do you know if the train had a mechanical malfunction that prevented its movement until the defect was fixed? Unless you know the answer to these, and potentially a dozen other questions you cannot make the assertion that the train ādidnāt have to be thereā.
Sorry for your incovience.
Some states have laws allowing trains to block grade crossings for no more than a certain amount of time. If a train has to occupy the grade crossing for an extended period of time the dispatcher will order the crew to cut the train so as to clear the grade crossing.
All well and good - IN THEORY. In many cases because of mechanical issues the portion of the train blocking the crossing canāt be moved, despite the crewās desire to cut the crossing. When cutting a crossing it can take 30 minutes to an hour (depending on train length & crossing location) to get the Conductor in position to make the cut - additionally when making the train solid, the crossing could be blocked even longer as a Class 1 brake test may have to be done on any cars that were not attached to the trains brake system for longer than 4 hours; and the conductor must also get back on the locomotives for the train to move.
Indeed - The loco I was running on Saturday decided to quit, probably due to a failed oil pressure sensor (I havenāt heard yet). It sat where it stopped for the rest of the day. Fortunately, it wasnāt blocking the other train or, worse, the mainline. It happens.
The point is:
a) he didnāt know - thought he was clear
b) he had to be where he was for reasons not known to us