January 31, 2006
Dangerous Railroad Crossing
UPDATE 12/31/2006: Believe it or not, the signals are working according to Federal and Tennessee standards. You are only supposed to have 5 seconds from the time the gates are fully down until the train is in the crossing!
For details, please see this link: http://www.portlandtn.com/railroad.htm.
In another thread, Casey made this comment:
"I noticed something today that is very dangerous. Does anyone else realize how quickly a train is upon you at the tracks? I was pulling up the hill on the road beside Subway, looked up and a train was on the road where the lawnmower shop is, and the crosslights weren't on nor were any bells ringing. Maybe the reason we have so many fatalities by trains should be examined, and there should definitely be more of a warning, I as a child was taught to look both ways, and Ive taught my children, but many just take for granted that the lights and bells will warm them. And with such a short delay time, it may not be enough of a warning."
Casey had stopped at the railroad crossing at McGlothlin Street between the Subway and the Farmers Bank branch. She was reporting the train had already made it to the Market Street crossing, just two short blocks south.
What Casey reports seems to be a very dangerous problem.
This week, I will visit the crossing and record the crossing number that's posted under the flashing lights. I'll call this into CSX's emergency number.
If anybody happens to be at the crossing when a train approaches, please look at the second hand on your watch and note: 1) when the lights begin to flash, 2) when the gates are fully down, 3) when the train is on the McGlothlin Street crossing, 4) the date and time, and 5) approximately how fast the train is moving. Please post this to the blog. The more information we can give CSX, the better they will be able to solve the problem.
Thanks.
(Note: the photo above is a stock photo of a railroad crossing. It is not the actual crossing in Portland.)
Posted by admin at 08:23 PM | Comments (2)