Old "A" gate destroyed by wind

[cabman701]

http://www.ameshistoricalsociety.org/ex ... /wf_05.htm

Scroll down to the 3rd picture.

Found this while fishing around on-line, thought it was a neat picture... looks to be from the 50's. Those older gates must have been quite heavy!

[illinoistrains]

thats a nice picture, this is why modern crossing gates have wind guards . However i dont think a dinky little wind guard would have stopped that!

[owensri]

thats a nice picture, this is why modern crossing gates have wind guards . However i dont think a dinky little wind guard would have stopped that!

Those wind guards are only effective if the wind isn't blowing too hard. I've seen many times a gate bend right over the wind guard and snap half way. Those are mainly for guiding the gate into the correct vertical position.

[SirKrunch]

Impressive indeed. And Duff Avenue has always been 4 lanes through there. However I believe these days that the signal is positioned closer to the roadway, inbetween the roadway and sidewalk. For that signal to be way over there though back then... That had to be a VERY lengthy gate.

[AlvinAZ]

Those wind guards are only effective if the wind isn't blowing too hard.
I've seen many times a gate bend right over the wind guard and snap half way.
Those are mainly for guiding the gate into the correct vertical position.

I never had any "guides" (we called 'em) on any crossing I ever had.

Cool one Cabman, I never heard 'em called "A" gates before! :)

"wood gates" or the single arms were "fiberglass gates", that was it,
just those two choices when I was working. LOL :)

I know there were some new types showing up but since I did my best
to stay out of the city and work and live out in the middle of nowhere
I hadn't messed with the new type gate arms and big lights yet.

The few times I was caught in it and repairing storm damage in Phoenix
I was busy restoring the train signals and let the others mess with the
crossing gates. ;) Sorry guys, but I was always way more interested in
the train signals and switches than the crossing stuff. :(

Alvin in AZ

[AlvinAZ]

Impressive indeed. And Duff Avenue has always been 4 lanes through there.
However I believe these days that the signal is positioned closer to the roadway, inbetween the roadway and sidewalk. For that signal to be way over there though
back then... That had to be a VERY lengthy gate.

"40 foot gate" seems like was about it, but if I remember right Bobby Wright
had some even longer. they had the cables on 'em like a suspension bridge.
Happy happy joy joy to repair one of those with traffic whizzin' by too. ;)

Those were situations where the road was there and the gates came later.
They got to designing crossings with a cement median and four short gates.

-----------------

One evening when I was a coderman the dispatcher's office routed the phone
call to me. It was an upset gal confessing she'd broke one of those 38+ foot
gate arms (north side, Park Ave. Tucson). I told her...
"don't worry about it, it happens all the time LOL :)"
"yeah but, I don't want to get into trouble in case someone took my license
plate number :("

It took me a few minutes to figure out what to do in the meantime I told her...
"they pad the hell out of the expenses on those reports, to get extra material
money from San Fransisco, you won't like the cost of one of those things! :/"

Then it dawned on me what to do, take her name and phone number (I had
refused to let her tell me before LOL ;) and then I just-sat-on-it-forever.
If something did come up, we were both covered, she'd tell them my name
and when she'd called in...
"oh yeah, she called in, here's the information, sorry ;)"

Never heard another word about it.
Whew.

Alvin in AZ