Local Railroad Safety Regulation?

[Engineer Spike]

In Streator, IL, they found a cash cow by ticketing trains for blocking crossings. One street went to just a cemetery. At 0300h, who would be there? The railroad warned crews that they would be get in trouble for any more crossing tickets. Soon afterward, I blocked some crossings on the Conrail-Santa Fe connector. There was a road parallel to the track on both sides. Streets crossed the track at every block. I was having air trouble, and stopped so at least one cross street was open. I never saw a police officer.

Soon after, I received a cordial invitation to an investigation. After telling the local chairman what happened, he said the company would drop the issue, if I agreed to write a statement. A company lawyer called me about this. Her case was based on safety of the brake system, and federal airbrake laws having precidence over local laws, on blocking crossings. I left the company shortly later, but was half worried that I would be dragged to court to testify.

[AgentSkelly]

Years ago, I heard this story about a Conrail crew in New York somewhere outside of Rochester where a small town by-law enforcement officer saw there was a locomotive parked but idling. The town had a idling law apparently so the bylaw officer tapped on the door to the cab and the tried to get the engineer to shut off the locomotive but told several times he can't. Well, the engineer got annoyed so he radioed up the dispatcher to get railroad police down there for a trespasser. Conrail Police shows up; they talk to the bylaw officer, they tell him he has no authority on Conrail property and that actually, his car is parked illegally on the MoW and can be towed. He left immediately.

I asked one of my cop friends here in Portland and he told me if the issue involves a railroad employee operating a locomotive, they call up railroad police to handle it directly.