Fox 29 Investigation

Matthew Mitchell wrote:

glennk419 wrote:You also mentioned gates...a year or more ago there was a story regarding installation of gates at that crossing but that obviously has never happened. Have you heard any word on that?

I wasn't aware of any such project, and it seems to me it would be rather impractical.

For those of you who haven't been there, this is a three-way intersection between two main roads (Easton Rd. and Susquehanna Rd.) and the railroad, which is single-track here. So there are four roads into the crossing, and you have to gate all of them. Because of the size of the crossing, the gates would be rather far back from the crossing, and there would often be cars in the intersection, waiting to turn left, when the gates go down. Though the gates are configured not to trap autos on the crossing, I would expect that if gates were installed, some drivers might incorrectly perceive they are trapped, and will either freeze and get whacked by the train, or do something else equally stupid.

Anyone know of any other crossings of this type which are gated?

that looks REALLY dangerous, especially if the train operator is reading, because we all know the drivers of the autos aren't paying attention...

it seems like there were a lot more grade crossings on the Reading side than on the Pennsy side. Any reasoning as to why?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q ... 015407&t=k

Well, the Pennsy always had more money to throw around when building lines, and to do grade seperation. Also, three of the Pennsy side lines were (and mostly still are) mainlines of a caliber not matched by the Reading's routes. In particular, the Hatboro (now Warminster) and the Doylestown branches are really rural branches (at least as they were constructed), and have more in common with the likes of NJT's Gladstone or even parts of the South Shore in Indiana.

The Media/West Chester branch was always a true branch, and its a lot more akin to the Reading lines than the other Pennsy branches.

Its been a while since I've been on the R2 -- I'm assuming that the traffic lights at Easton/Susquehanna are fully interlocked with the crossign circuit?

octr202 wrote:
Its been a while since I've been on the R2 -- I'm assuming that the traffic lights at Easton/Susquehanna are fully interlocked with the crossign circuit?

i sure hope so

i'd hate to think of a green traffic light with a pair of silverliners bearing down on the road...

...and with the operator doing a crossword puzzle!!!

nittany4 wrote:

octr202 wrote:
Its been a while since I've been on the R2 -- I'm assuming that the traffic lights at Easton/Susquehanna are fully interlocked with the crossign circuit?

i sure hope so

i'd hate to think of a green traffic light with a pair of silverliners bearing down on the road...

...and with the operator doing a crossword puzzle!!!

No I was just wondering if the whole intersection goes red on the traffic lights when the crossing circuit is activated -- sometimes drivers pay a little more attention to a red light than crossing flashers, although I guess if they associate the red light with the railroad crossing, they will start to ignore it too...

Rundriver: the answer to your question is yes, SEPTA does provide hearing protection in the form of little foam earplugs which are more irritating than helpful.

Wouldn't it be better to be a little irritated than to risk "punitive" action by a supervisor or FRA representative by not sounding the horn properly?[/quote]

octr202 wrote:

nittany4 wrote:

octr202 wrote:
Its been a while since I've been on the R2 -- I'm assuming that the traffic lights at Easton/Susquehanna are fully interlocked with the crossign circuit?

i sure hope so

i'd hate to think of a green traffic light with a pair of silverliners bearing down on the road...

...and with the operator doing a crossword puzzle!!!

No I was just wondering if the whole intersection goes red on the traffic lights when the crossing circuit is activated -- sometimes drivers pay a little more attention to a red light than crossing flashers, although I guess if they associate the red light with the railroad crossing, they will start to ignore it too...

Yes, the traffic lights are synchronized with the crossing protection and go red for all directions when activated. The same applies for the York and Davisville Roads crossing in Willow Grove and the Monument Avenue crossing in Hatboro, both of which also have gates.

And at Ardsley station (also R2 Warminster), another intersection of this type was reconfigured (a long time ago), so only Jenkintown Road crosses the tracks. Edge Hill Road would also intersect there if it were continued straight through, but instead there are a pair of intersections with Jenkintown Road, so if you're traveling through on Edge Hill, you have to first make a right onto Jenkintown, cross the tracks, and then turn left back onto Edge Hill. The intersections are very close to the crossing, so when the crossing circuit is activated, all traffic signals go red except for those exiting the crossing on Jenkintown Road. There's also a 'no right turn' sign on northbound Edge Hill that illuminates when a train is coming.

RunDriver wrote:

Rundriver: the answer to your question is yes, SEPTA does provide hearing protection in the form of little foam earplugs which are more irritating than helpful.

Wouldn't it be better to be a little irritated than to risk "punitive" action by a supervisor or FRA representative by not sounding the horn properly?

[/quote]

That's my point, they really don't shell out the sound. They do make your ears tingle, though.