I like looking at trains. I dont care from what country either. If its on tracks I like it.
I had the pleasure in 2002 of taking the Eurostar from Waterloo station in London to the Nord in Paris. And then back again. I didnt think it look funny, I thought it looked Grand. To bad the US cant have rail sevice like that.

We used to, and I miss it, too. I remember Christmas 1965 we took the California Zephyr from Stockton to Chicago, going on to Milwaukee to visit grandparents. Came home on the Santa Fe Chief via Los Angeles. Both trains were full.

Now with air travel, you can get there in 1 day instead of 3 or 4. But watching the country go by is a lot more fun than flying over it. Starting this summer I'll be taking some short trips on Amtrak California. And in a couple years, once I'm fully retired.......

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

EWS 66

Maybe if we had crossing gates like that here, more people would pay attention to them.

Don, we had good trains, but never as fast as Eurostar. California is starting to build a system, but it could still get trashed by the politicians. I hope it makes it. People just need to understand that the cheapest way for government to do something isn't always the best way.

I almost went for a ride this weekend. Due to lots of trains and lots of snow, BNSF is using directional running on its two mainlines between Minot and Fargo. Amtrak's Empire Builder normally runs both ways on one of these lines, but now it is being forced to go west on the other and send passengers for three missed stations by bus.

Having a 3-day weekend, I thought I could ride some rare mileage by going to Minot, sitting around there all day, and coming back again. As it turned out, the westbound train ran just late enough that I would have ridden pretty much all of the detour in daylight. But I wimped out. I wasn't sure if there would be anything to do in Minot if watching trains got boring. I also didn't know if the station would be adequate shelter from the weather. And I didn't know if the eastbound train would run on time or close enough to it. Mainly, I was worried about getting back in time to go to work tomorrow, especially after I found out one of my coworkers won't be in and the boss has a morning meeting.

I did track my trains on the computer, though. The westbound got to Minot about three hours late, which would have reduced the sitting around time. The eastbound got there about an hour late, but has lost nearly another hour since then. I was listening to an online scanner and heard it get delayed a bit when a Northstar commuter train hit a car and threw it about 40 yards, but the upshot was Amtrak got looped ahead of two freights. It made up some time at Minneapolis/St. Paul, but lost some again when a switch wouldn't throw and the conductor had to go out and line it by hand, probably digging some snow out of it.

Right now, the train is just south (timetable east) of Minnesota City, next stop Winona.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Yep, Crossing gates like that should be in the states. Ive seen to many idiots drive between the gap that we have on our gates. Ive never seen a car get whacked, But as a fireman Ive seen the aftermath.

Edit- And I think thats a damn fine looking locamotive.

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[/quote]

Old James

We get idiots who drive through those gates, or round the ends of "half barriers" (similar, but only cover half the road width), and even greater idiots who wait until the gates are crossing, move slowly onto the line and stop.... It is generally a very one sided debate between a train and a lorry, never mind a train doing 100mph and a car....
British Transport Police (the police authority for the railways) prosecute a great number of people each year for doing stupid things at crossings. There are massive publicity campaigns, but the stupidity gene is just too strong in some folks :-(

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Yep, Crossing gates like that should be in the states. Ive seen to many idiots drive between the gap that we have on our gates. Ive never seen a car get whacked, But as a fireman Ive seen the aftermath.

Edit- And I think thats a damn fine looking locamotive.

Our subdivision looked into having the rail road install one of the full barrier (four arm barrier if I recall) and they said it would cost $700,000.

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BOINC WIKI

Yep, Crossing gates like that should be in the states. Ive seen to many idiots drive between the gap that we have on our gates. Ive never seen a car get whacked, But as a fireman Ive seen the aftermath.

Edit- And I think thats a damn fine looking locamotive.

Our subdivision looked into having the rail road install one of the full barrier (four arm barrier if I recall) and they said it would cost $700,000.

It's a requirement on all lines (two of them so far outside of the Northeast Corridor) where Amtrak can go over 90.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Yep, Crossing gates like that should be in the states. Ive seen to many idiots drive between the gap that we have on our gates. Ive never seen a car get whacked, But as a fireman Ive seen the aftermath.

Edit- And I think thats a damn fine looking locamotive.

Our subdivision looked into having the rail road install one of the full barrier (four arm barrier if I recall) and they said it would cost $700,000.

It's a requirement on all lines (two of them so far outside of the Northeast Corridor) where Amtrak can go over 90.

In that case, they could not insist that the locals foot the bill.

---

BOINC WIKI

Yep, Crossing gates like that should be in the states. Ive seen to many idiots drive between the gap that we have on our gates. Ive never seen a car get whacked, But as a fireman Ive seen the aftermath.

Edit- And I think thats a damn fine looking locamotive.

Our subdivision looked into having the rail road install one of the full barrier (four arm barrier if I recall) and they said it would cost $700,000.

It's a requirement on all lines (two of them so far outside of the Northeast Corridor) where Amtrak can go over 90.

In that case, they could not insist that the locals foot the bill.

Four-quadrant gates are also an option for establishing a quiet zone, but they're not the cheapest option. The locals do have to pay for the improvements for a QZ.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

British Transport Police (the police authority for the railways) prosecute a great number of people each year for doing stupid things at crossings. There are massive publicity campaigns, but the stupidity gene is just too strong in some folks :-(

Which reminds me of a quote from Robert Heinlein's character Lazarus Long (Methusla's Children, Time Enough For Love, ...)

"Stupidity is the only Universal Capital Crime. The Punishment is swift, and there is no appeal."

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

British Transport Police (the police authority for the railways) prosecute a great number of people each year for doing stupid things at crossings. There are massive publicity campaigns, but the stupidity gene is just too strong in some folks :-(

Which reminds me of a quote from Robert Heinlein's character Lazarus Long (Methusla's Children, Time Enough For Love, ...)

"Stupidity is the only Universal Capital Crime. The Punishment is swift, and there is no appeal."

I actualy went to an accident scene in which two morons on a motorcycle tried to beat a train at a crossing with gates. They lived but with sever road rash.
The story they told the cops was they saw the blinking lights come on and he gunned it trying to beat the gates. The gates came down before he could make it. So he layed the bike down. Him and his rider came within two feet of being on the tracks as the engine passed the crossing. The engineer saw the idiot and hit the brakes, But we all know how long that takes. The motorcycle idiot got a DWI for that one.

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[/quote]

Old James

The engineer saw the idiot and hit the brakes, But we all know how long that takes.

I saw the above comment and thought yes WE do but unfortunately most of the Darwin award candidates actually have no idea.

I also read somewhere that a motorist in collision with a suburban tram was surprised the tram driver hadn't manoeuvred to avoid the accident.

There was no report as to whether the driver was blond.

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The engineer saw the idiot and hit the brakes, But we all know how long that takes.

I saw the above comment and thought yes WE do but unfortunately most of the Darwin award candidates actually have no idea.

I also read somewhere that a motorist in collision with a suburban tram was surprised the tram driver hadn't manoeuvred to avoid the accident.

There was no report as to whether the driver was blond.

In Fresno, there are several areas where the BNSF, UPSP and Amtrak tracke run next to city streets. Several times a year, people walking or riding bicycles ON the tracks, wearing headphones or earbuds, get injured or killed by trains they apparently never heard coming, no matter how many times the engineer sounded the horn.

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

The motorcycle idiot got a DWI for that one.

Is that all?

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

The engineer saw the idiot and hit the brakes, But we all know how long that takes.

I saw the above comment and thought yes WE do but unfortunately most of the Darwin award candidates actually have no idea.

I also read somewhere that a motorist in collision with a suburban tram was surprised the tram driver hadn't manoeuvred to avoid the accident.

There was no report as to whether the driver was blond.

In Fresno, there are several areas where the BNSF, UPSP and Amtrak tracke run next to city streets. Several times a year, people walking or riding bicycles ON the tracks, wearing headphones or earbuds, get injured or killed by trains they apparently never heard coming, no matter how many times the engineer sounded the horn.

There is no limit to how stupid people can be.

I have a pet theory that we have evolved to the point where we have stopped evolving. The less-fit are surviving and procreating anyway.

---

David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

The engineer saw the idiot and hit the brakes, But we all know how long that takes.

I saw the above comment and thought yes WE do but unfortunately most of the Darwin award candidates actually have no idea.

I also read somewhere that a motorist in collision with a suburban tram was surprised the tram driver hadn't manoeuvred to avoid the accident.

There was no report as to whether the driver was blond.

In Fresno, there are several areas where the BNSF, UPSP and Amtrak tracke run next to city streets. Several times a year, people walking or riding bicycles ON the tracks, wearing headphones or earbuds, get injured or killed by trains they apparently never heard coming, no matter how many times the engineer sounded the horn.

There is no limit to how stupid people can be.

I have a pet theory that we have evolved to the point where we have stopped evolving. The less-fit are surviving and procreating anyway.

Yes, but as Heinlein pointed out, Mother Nature still has ways of thinning out the weak and less-well adapted. I sorrow for the Engineers who have to live with the memories of witnessing these fools' demise.

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

There was a case a number of years ago where some idiot drove into the side of a stopped train and was killed (my memory is vague, but I think the crossing had only crossbucks). His mother demanded that whoever was responsible for his death be brought to justice.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Well stupid is as stupid does. They are the same dolts who would sue because they got burnt by hot coffe, Just as they would bitch that it was to cold.

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[/quote]

Old James

There was a case a number of years ago where some idiot drove into the side of a stopped train and was killed (my memory is vague, but I think the crossing had only crossbucks). His mother demanded that whoever was responsible for his death be brought to justice.

There was a similar case in New Mexico about 3 decades ago where a young lady drover her car into the side of a train -- someplace aroung car #60...

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BOINC WIKI

In Fresno, there are several areas where the BNSF, UPSP and Amtrak tracke run next to city streets. Several times a year, people walking or riding bicycles ON the tracks, wearing headphones or earbuds, get injured or killed by trains they apparently never heard coming, no matter how many times the engineer sounded the horn.

Another one lost a bout with a train yesterday (Friday 07 March). A homeless/transient man, near the Povarello House, a Catholic rescue mission in an industrial section southeast of downtown Fresno. Late news didn't give much detail. God rest you, sir, and bless and comfort the engineer of the train.

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

A teenager in Chicago was killed by a Metra train on his way to school the other day. Also wearing earphones.

WGN TV

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.