I’ve observed gas switch heaters at CSX’s Westborough Yard (once an autorack terminal, now only used by a local to switch a corn syrup plant) in the winter, but tonight as I was driving home I saw the telltale blue flames still burning in late May. They’re easy to see from I-495 near the I-90 interchange and impossible to mistake for anything else.
So my question is…do railroads ever turn those things off? It’s not like (even in New England) we often get snow and ice this time of year! Maybe it varies by railroad, or CSX just forgot to shut them off here?
Many switch heaters can be turned on and off remotely by the dispatcher. Perhaps they were training somebody and working through all the controls at the desk. Other places have automated the action with local sensing of adverse climate conditions; automation sometimes misinterprets the input. If the gas supply is a propane tank, perhaps they are burning off the remaining gas to reduce the risk. Vandalism or derailments do happen, and an empty tank through the summer is much safer.
Could also be sensor failure in an automatic installation…Wanna see a roadmaster go berserk? Wanna see a signal maintainer with a shortened life expectancy?