Saturday (Yesterday) was the first day this year that the Boone & Scenic Valley ran their full summer operating schedule... so I couldn't resist a trip to Boone to grab some videos and photos.
Boone & Scenic Valley
Unmarked crossing, Story Street, Boone Iowa
(Trolley move)
Frasier Road Crossing
Chinese Steam Locomotive
And some misc. action on the UPRR mainline (Boone Sub)
Story Street
Story Street (@ 0:13 Shhh. Don't tell the local PD I was packing a cold "Krunchweiser" with my "Pic-A-Nic" basket for lunch)
Iowa 17 @ Jordan Elevator
Last edited by SirKrunch on Mon May 25, 2009 8:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Uh...they are horrible. It sounds like a continuous tone...and those certianly should shut off after the gates lower. Talk about a bell you want to shoot...sheesh...
The FRA should tell WCH not to make those anymore, or else they will be deemed "ineligible" to be installed on any crossings, and removed from service.
WCH should really improve their tone to stay in business IMO.
WCH are the norm around these parts, sad to say. Every new install around here gets them. Doesn't matter if it's a safetran or WCH setup. I'd be so happy if they'd install some Safetran E-bells. But I won't complain too much... as long as I still have that wonderful Safetran Hybrid yet at the US Hghy 69 crossing.
Although I'm very surprised that they installed the Highway 17 and Duff Avenue crossings with continuous bells. Basically most new installs have been bell sound only on startup to gate down, and on gate rise.
Smjh1979 wrote:The FRA should tell WCH not to make those anymore, or else they will be deemed "ineligible" to be installed on any crossings, and removed from service.
WCH should really improve their tone to stay in business IMO.
NO wch bells are fine with me its them DAMN gs e-bells that need to be shot
wch has inproved there tone its called the wch type 3
i didnt see any problem with these gates other than the bell ringing when the gates go up
it would also be kinda of interesting if they did make a strobeing light get drivers to notice it better (and give seizure after 5 mins )
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I've still got a few more various ones to upload from Saturday yet.
But for now (until I get around to uploading them) here's another UPRR "all-WCH lovefest" setup on "XL Avenue". (It's really not all that XL) A very vacant, hardly traveled gravel road 3 miles West of Ames.
Had Saturday free this last weekend and broke in my new Canon A1300 Power Shot camera. Wanted to give the video record mode a good workout.
UPRR Mainline, Clinton and Boone subdivision
And after leaving Story Street and cruising to check out the new museum over at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad I saw the dinner train departing, and headed out to the Frasier crossing to grab a video
On the crossing with the quad gates... do the exit gates always take that long to go down? Or are there sensors to keep them up until traffic clears? Those gates were only down a few seconds before the train hit the crossing.
They normally don't take that long to come down, however in this case, there are sensors that keep the exit gates from closing when there is something detected in the island so it doesn't become trapped. When the signals started up, there were three cars in a line parked over the tracks... so that's why the exit gates were so late, when the last cleared, then both gates dropped.
Here's an older video of the same crossing showing a more normal train activation sequence. (Minus the Automated Horn System, of course... those bit the dust awhile back now.)
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