Scarborough considers quiet zone

From the South Portland Sentry:

South Portland Sentry wrote:The group, which is made up of residents and representatives of the town council, planning board and long range planning committee, is working with Town Engineer Angela Blanchette to explore the possibility of creating a quiet zone near Winnocks Neck Road that would prohibit trains from using their horns within a half mile of the train crossing.
. . .
Ron Mazer, a member of the town’s planning board and ad-hoc transportation committee whose Winnocks Neck Road house is 100 to 200 yards from the railroad, said using horns to alert motorists and pedestrians a train is coming is unnecessary in that location. Most of the traffic that crosses the road, he said, is local residents who are well aware of the train traffic in that area.

“We got the gates. We got the lights. We got the bells. You name it, we got it,” Mazer said.

Mazer said trains come every few hours during the day and into the night.

“Especially at night, it is unfair to everyone because it is unnecessary,” he said.

Some train operators, he noted, are cognizant they are passing through a residential area. Others, he said, are not.

“Some of the conductors take the residents and neighborhood into consideration. They have rules they have to follow and I appreciate that, but I seems some of them have, what I would call an attitude,” Mazer said.

Read the rest of the article at: http://sentry.mainelymediallc.com/news/ ... ality.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"We got the gates....." Four-quadrant gates? If not, horns are going to continue to blow until the required protection is installed. I think another option is to
install a concrete island between the two lanes on the roadway with the current gates.

Quite the complicated process:

https://www.fra.dot.gov/Elib/Document/3536" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Quad gates and islands aren't always a requirement for a quiet zone. There are numerous quiet zones without them. It depends on a variety of factors such as visibility, traffic, and the crossing's incident history.

This particular crossing has EXTREMELY good visibility, not much traffic, and I don't believe it's had a single incident in the past 15 years, so that sets the bar even lower.

I'm generally not in favor of quiet zones but I don't think they'll have any trouble getting one approved at this crossing, probably with minimal or no improvements.

South Portland Sentry wrote:...
Ron Mazer, a member of the town’s planning board and ad-hoc transportation committee whose Winnocks Neck Road house is 100 to 200 yards from the railroad,

mhmm...that about sums it up, doesn't it now?

I thought so as well.

Conductors blowing horns?

Consideration isn't really an option. The horn needs to be blown using the prescribed signal pattern, and also needs to commence the required distance from the crossing. Just one incident of the engineer not doing so could render him liable, if a car or pedestrian is hit.

Some of the old horn valves could be pulled out part way. Most newer engines use a button, which actuates an magnet valve. There is just on or off. No way to regulate the volume.

KSmitty wrote:mhmm...that about sums it up, doesn't it now?

This shouldn't really be an "ahah!" discovery... you weren't expecting that the issue would be raised by someone living out of earshot of crossing, were you?