Going past the yards in Neenah Wisconsin today seen a bunch of cars {CN} with reflective yellow tape on them.Really shows up.Read about this in a thread a while back.First time today i have seen. Good idea
from a train crew porspective… i wish they would put some of that tape on the ends of the cars… going down a yard track at night with poor lighting…its hard to see the ends of the cars that might be on your track… you can see them with plenty of time to stop…but still would be nice to get something on the ends of them that makes them more visable…
csx engineer
Not a bad idea, though in many cases reflectorized material on the ends would take more abuse from dirt being kicked up by normal operation. I’d find such a “marker” useful on some dark yard tracks, even with just the floodlights to illuminate it.
I started seeing the markers pop up on cars around a year ago… maybe I just noticed them. Mostly the here and there. I usualy catch them when I am camping down of the Sunset Route. Everything from tank cars to intermodal, new to old.
I heard that by 2015 there all supposed to have them… Seems kinda far off, anyone know?
correct the FRA mandated that by 2015 entire fleet of operational cars (passenger cars excluded) need to have a X amount of 4 by 18" yellow reflective tapes applied.
Hmmm, who’s supplying the tape, 3M or Scotch? Need to go buy stock…
The last time I looked, Scotch was a registered trademark of 3M Corp. Beyond that, I’m sure that state and county highway departments use a lot more reflective tape than railroads.
Great idea, that’s been around for quite awhile. I’m for anything that increases the visibility of a train, but I’ll also tell you that there will always be that motorist who will plow into a train at a crossing, even if it’s lit up like a rolling gambling casino.
mp173 (Ed) should comment here, IIRC he sells the stuff.
Thanks Dutch…nice to know I was paying attention that day.
The tape is a good idea. At first I thought it was kinda silly, like how could you miss a train? But at one of fmy favorite spots to camp and railfan, it is in the middle of the desert. It is a spooky thing, being in the dark, even with a flashlight and not being able to see it. Even though you are less than 50 feet away and you can hear it, feel it, and smell the wind coming from it. Some of the cars are so dark, dirty and flat, they just eat any light shown on them.
There was an unfortunate auto-train collision near Bear River City a few weeks ago where an SUV slammed into the side of a train, stopped on the tracks, at about 60 mph at night. The crossing had the standard reflectorized crossbucks, which should have warned the driver to slow down - but no. The railcar that was hit was a black scrap gon that did not yet have the tape on the sides. Some do – especially the newer RailGons. I think the side tape would have prevented or minimized this accident.
dd
Sure trains are hard to see in the dark, but motorists are supposed to have their headlights on at night. Even the reflectors are invisible in the dark. I would submit that anyone who runs into the side of a train is most likely to be impaired, asleep, or otherwise distracted, so, under those circumstances, the visibility enhancement provided by reflectors will be irrelevant.
But I see another issue with these FRA mandated reflectors. If they work well to highlight the presence of a train, people will rely on them and tend to lower their guard to some degree as a consequence. These reflectors are now an official, safety-warning device just like the crossing flashers. If they fail due to being damaged, missing, or obscured by dirt, packed snow, or graffiti, it will be a liability issue for whoever is responsible for the maintaining the safety device.
3M sells their “Diamond Grade” product, which is the same as what is on trailers, except it is yellow. (trailers = red and white).
A company out of RI called Reflexite also sells it. The street price is about $150 roll for 150 feet. Railroads and car builders get it cheaper. It is a great product for safety purposes.
ed
Don’t get me wrong - I think it’s a fantastic idea. I do foresee a problem along the lines of what happened to the ACI markings some time ago. Eventually some of them will get so dirty that you can’t see them, especially those cars in “dirty” duty.
I think we discussed these a year or better ago - one take was that it was just another maintenance item.
As I understand it, there is a period of time allowed by the FRA to apply these reflectors. Once that phase-in period ends, and the reflectors are mandatory on all freight cars, I wonder how the railroads will deal with the maintenance issue. I wonder how the FRA will enforce the reflector rule. Certainly their mandate must stipulate that not only must the reflectors be present, but also, they must be undamaged, clean, and uncompromised in any way. Today I see reflectors applied haphazardly, pealing off, and obscured with dirt and graffiti. Surely this cannot comply with the ultimate requirement to have reflectors on every car.
With this legally required warning, if someone happens to run into the side of the fiftieth car of a train, you can bet that their lawyer will want to know the condition of the reflectors on cars 1-50, on the side of the collision.
Big candlepower on this product, somewhere in the area of about 300. I believe the yellow was possibly used for daylight as it gives an extreme color.
Yes, it will collect road grime and dirt. Still, it will have considerable candlepower down the road.
It also has a very aggresive adhesive. However, the surface should be prepped prior to the installation.
ed
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Reflectorization of Rail Freight Rolling Stock |
Background
Over the past two decades, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has sponsored several studies regarding the reflectorization of rail cars. In 1982, the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center conducted a study to determine if retroreflective materials were a feasible option to enhance freight car visibility and, thereby, reduce the number of highway-rail grade crossing accidents. The study concluded that, although the use of reflectors enhanced conspicuity (i.e., visibility), the reflective material was not durable enough to withstand the harsh railroad environment. Since 1982, technical advancements have been achieved in the brightness, durability, and adhesive properties of reflective material. Because of these advances, FRA funded renewed research through the Volpe Center to re-examine this issue. In July 1999, FRA announced the results of its renewed research efforts with the release of a report on freight car reflectorization. The results of this research suggest that microprismatic retroreflective material can help in the recognition of freight cars.
Reflectors on the sides of rail cars make trains more visible to motorists. Currently, there are no requirements for lighting or reflective markings on freight cars. Reflective tape increases the conspicuity of freight cars so motorists can identify them and better judge their speed and distance. This greater visibility will help drivers avoid some accidents and reduce the severity of other accidents that are unavoidable.
Summary of NPRM
On November 6, 2003, FRA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register req