On 2/14/06, a ACF CenterFlo Hopper apparently “got away” from a switching crew in the Bakersfield area. The car rolled for approximately a mile attaining speeds estimated at 20 to 25 MPH by officials. The car struck a Yellow Freight Lines tractor/trailer at a marked and signalized RR Xing, causing moderate injuries to the driver, and a power outage as the freight car and truck knocked down a power pole. Officials said that the signals did not activate to warn the driver and also said that freight cars cannot activate signals. I thought all signalized RXR’s would activate at the approach of a train, be it a car or locomotive. Can anyone shed light on this?
First of all — welcome to the Forums!
Secondly, there are several possible reasons for what you describe. After you have delt with public safety workers trying to describe what has happened with a railroad incident, you will understand that statements which you quote from the police are often simply wrong. This is not necessarly their fault - they are misinformed.
Next, you need to understand the theory of how such signal systems operate. All are based on an electrict or electronic circuit traveling down the track to a certain point where the two rails are connected by a wire to make a complete circuit. The signal circuit is activated by a train or car entering that circuit, the vehicle “shorts” the circuit and causes the signal system to activate.
I don’t want to write a many paged “Great American Novel” about signals and their variations, but the situation you describe tells me the following are possible reasons for your question -----
== car comming from an industry track with only a short or no approach circuit - these sorts of tracks require the train to come to a complete stop prior to entering crossing. Quite often these tracks only have the Island (or Center) Circuit.
== truck entered crossing and stopped on it prior to crossing signals activating.
== short cars (usually 30 feet or less in length) operating alone may not activate the warning devices
== age and actual design of the detection circuits – and here we get into those long involved space eating and mind bending discussions.
And, lastly, whoever it is that “owns” the upkeep job for those signals can not simply modify or upgrade them without written FRA approval. For instance, a crossing having only cross bucks can not gain flashing lights without going through this formal regulatory process.
Hope these basics answer your question.
Naw, Eric…professional public safety officers make mistakes about railroads?
Trona…Eric isn’t pulling your leg…it happens all the time.
At the last grade crossing accident I was involved in, the police officer had written in his report that “the train was driven into the side of the Volvo, from the west side of the crossing”
Now, from his point of view, that’s exactly what happened…but it makes it sound as if the Volvo was just sitting there, and we threw into notch 8 and tagged him on purpose…
The phrase implies intent to hit the Volvo on the part of the train crew.
We pointed out in court that you can not “drive” a train, it can only follow the tracks, that the Volvo driver, after stopping behind two other cars, pulled out and around them, then zigzagged between the gates, where he got hit.
The saving grace was the two drivers on that side, and the other driver on the far side of the crossing, all testified in court that they could hear, and see our locomotive, that the horn was sounding a proper crossing warning, the loco bell was ringing, the gates were down, and the gate bell and lights were working.
The two on the side of the injured Volvo testified the driver of the Volvo was looking at our train as he tried to get through the crossing…
But the plaintiff’s attorney kept coming back to the phrase “the train was driven into the side of the Volvo from the west side of the crossing” and the jury almost went with it…
All because a HPD officer had no clue how a trains brakes work, and wrote was easiest for him in his report…
And this was a veteran officer, 20 plus years on the force.
From the witness stand, he tried to explain what he meant was the train had impacted the Volvo from the west side…but the attorney kept coming back to the word driven, which implies intent…the officer, on cross, got his point across, and had to look like a fool, as our attorney had to lead him along to explain why he
If I remember correctly, our system specials dictate that movements less than 12 axles (Ithink its 12) must approach crossings at grade prepared to stop until it can be seen that the warning devices are activated and the crossing is protedted, for that very reason. That runaway hopper should have stopped and waited for the crossing to be protected and then continued to runaway.
I believe that is more of an issue on jointed track, where motion detectors are not used. There used to be a similar rule on the CNW years ago.
The reason for the restriction is that with a light engine, the wheels might end up between insulated joints, confusing the circuitry into thinking there was no equipment on the rails.
Hirail trucks have insulated wheel contacts so they do not set off crossing protections.
Was the line double track. In the UK on double track lines usually each line is for one direction only. If the truck was rolling away in the wrong direction then it would not activate the crossings.
A number of years ago I saw an incident where a freight car got away from a switch crew and rolled over a grade crossing.The car,in this case, was heavy enough to activate the crossing bells and gates.The loco came by shortly afterwards to retrieve the car.
Ed, Zardoz and both Kens (Iron and neo) have it right. Add to that a lightly used sidetrack with the ball of the rail crusted over with the local sand, sun and natural corrosion/surface hardening and you get a poor gate circuit. (Why some rails around a gated crossing on little used track get a bead of welder’s rod micronang solder along the top) -what zardoz is hinting at with the stop-activate-procede rule on CNW
Ironken - How rude of the railcar not to wait on the truck before ambling along on its way.[(-D][(-D][(-D]