CSX Blocks Crossing for 12 Hours, "Hems" in Neighborhood

A few days ago, a CSX train stopped on a crossing between Monroe and Wadesboro, NC. and left it. The crossing on which the train stopped was the ONLY way in or out of a neighborhood. People couldn't get IN, people couldn't get to work. Thinking like the old railroad man I am, I says to myself while watching the initial report, "I just bet they outlawed and the board was exhausted, and they didn't have a crew available to move it". The 6 o'clock news mentioned this for a couple of days and the uproar it caused, not to mention a lot of ugly feelings towards CSX. Sure enough, the next day's evening news mentioned that the train had finally been moved & a spokesman for CSX, indeed, confirmed that the crew had come up against some Federal law that prohibited them from moving the train. The talking heads then attempted to explain what this law was and botched it badly (as usual), since they don't have a clue about railroads...or anything ELSE for that matter! The CSX spokesman made a weak apology, which didn't appease those who were hemmed in. And I don't blame them. Me, I'd have attempted to SUE for the lost wages and the difficulty of explaining to my boss why I couldn't get to work.

I understand the outlaw rules for trains, but there was no reason why they couldn't stop SHORT of the crossing so long as his rear was in the clear, OR cut the train to keep from fouling the crossing. My competitor railroad used to make fun of CSX, calling them the "Derailment Road", and the "Slowboard Clothesline"!

Blocking an entire neighborhood for an entire 12 hours??? I mean REALLY??? Oh, CSX promised it would not happen again.

That's pretty bad. And I'm pretty sure that as long as a detailed record is made, it would have been acceptable to continue beyond their outlaw time to tie down where there are no crossing blocked. Just need to make a detailed record of the circumstances and reasoning and forward it to the FRA, if I recall correctly. Any fine, if any, would probably be equal to that of blocking a crossing for 12 hours, but without the horrendous PR and possible life-threatening consequences.

CSX once blocked a Pedestrian Crossing in Bogota,NJ on the River Line for 38 hours. 1am Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Train was a K041 with CP AC44/BNSF MAC/BNSF GP50/BNSF GP38-2. The GP38-2 led the loads south lol

waldwickrailfan wrote:CSX once blocked a Pedestrian Crossing in Bogota,NJ on the River Line for 38 hours. 1am Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Train was a K041 with CP AC44/BNSF MAC/BNSF GP50/BNSF GP38-2. The GP38-2 led the loads south lol

How many emergency vehicles were stopped by this blockage?

mmi16 wrote:

waldwickrailfan wrote:CSX once blocked a Pedestrian Crossing in Bogota,NJ on the River Line for 38 hours. 1am Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Train was a K041 with CP AC44/BNSF MAC/BNSF GP50/BNSF GP38-2. The GP38-2 led the loads south lol

How many emergency vehicles were stopped by this blockage?

none, because its a pedestrian crossing not a vehicular crossing.

Steve F45 wrote:

mmi16 wrote:

waldwickrailfan wrote:CSX once blocked a Pedestrian Crossing in Bogota,NJ on the River Line for 38 hours. 1am Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Train was a K041 with CP AC44/BNSF MAC/BNSF GP50/BNSF GP38-2. The GP38-2 led the loads south lol

How many emergency vehicles were stopped by this blockage?

none, because its a pedestrian crossing not a vehicular crossing.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Steve F45 wrote:

mmi16 wrote:

waldwickrailfan wrote:CSX once blocked a Pedestrian Crossing in Bogota,NJ on the River Line for 38 hours. 1am Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Train was a K041 with CP AC44/BNSF MAC/BNSF GP50/BNSF GP38-2. The GP38-2 led the loads south lol

How many emergency vehicles were stopped by this blockage?

none, because its a pedestrian crossing not a vehicular crossing.

No need to stick up for them just because you like to take pictures of choo choos. They screwed up and somebody should go to jail for it.

The RR Authority wrote:

Steve F45 wrote:

mmi16 wrote:

waldwickrailfan wrote:CSX once blocked a Pedestrian Crossing in Bogota,NJ on the River Line for 38 hours. 1am Saturday to 3pm Sunday. Train was a K041 with CP AC44/BNSF MAC/BNSF GP50/BNSF GP38-2. The GP38-2 led the loads south lol

How many emergency vehicles were stopped by this blockage?

none, because its a pedestrian crossing not a vehicular crossing.

No need to stick up for them just because you like to take pictures of choo choos. They screwed up and somebody should go to jail for it.

Nah, its fine. Blocking the few pedestrians that use the crossing and making them walk the extra 1/4 mile around the tracks isnt that bad

Not blocking the "crossing" in Bogota is a courtesy we do on the River Line, some times it must be done. If you want it treated like a real crossing we can start doing full FRA horn blows for it 24/7.

What monetary penalty will likely be assessed? It would be a shame if the town dump truck (they probably only have one) came to the end of their shift and "outlawed" on the CSX crossing. Of course the police would call CSX and let them know that the crossing was temporarily blocked.


http://www.ansonrecord.com/news/home_to ... Lilesville

Kristin Seay, a representative of CSX Corporate Communications ...blah blah... “We understand the frustrations of residents and local officials and are making operational adjustments,” she said. “If a train is stopped for more than 45 minutes, crews have been instructed to separate the train’s cars at rail crossings to allow motorists through. Again, we sincerely apologize for this disruption.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilesville,_North_Carolina

Steven Spielberg filmed The Color Purple mostly in Lilesville, and a large white farmhouse (the James Bennett Plantation, which is an old farmhouse located a few miles off Highway 74) was used extensively as the main exterior location in that film

BostonUrbEx wrote:That's pretty bad. And I'm pretty sure that as long as a detailed record is made, it would have been acceptable to continue beyond their outlaw time to tie down where there are no crossing blocked. Just need to make a detailed record of the circumstances and reasoning and forward it to the FRA, if I recall correctly. Any fine, if any, would probably be equal to that of blocking a crossing for 12 hours, but without the horrendous PR and possible life-threatening consequences.

Sounds to me like they didn't give a D- ! Poor attitude, "It ain't my job", and "get home -itis"! Would it have worth it if ONE person died because an ambulance couldn't get in?

As to the post about the town 'outlawing' a dump truck on the tracks? Scratch one dump truck!!!!!

The entire exercise highlight the lack of testicular fortitude of local operations management not to ORDER the crew to cut the crossing(s) and secure the train as a matter of PUBLIC SAFETY.

The intent of the Hours of Service law is to protect the PUBLIC SAFETY, but to do this in this kind of situation requires operations management to have balls enough to order the crew to do the right thing.

Having a railway crossing, which could be closed as easily by an accident as by a stalled train, as the only way in or out of a neighbourhood doesn't seem like the brightest idea ever...

As far as I can see this was the Cowan Street crossing in Lilesville but google maps only has a handful of residences on the far side - if the residents are that fired up they should accept an alternative - close the Cowan Street crossing and exit via an extended/improved North Railroad Street exiting at one or other of the *grade separated* crossings to the east and west. Sure, it's more remote from the town but no crossing delays and no horn blowing for the crossing,