Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

This is the strangest ped crossing I've ever seen. MARC platforms in Rockville, MD.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagorailfan/4877080359/

The side pedestrian walk signs do not light up how ever. I have a video I'll upload soon. The walk sign flashes and then stays steady once the train has reached the platform. The bell also rings but once the train has reached the platform it turns off but the red lights still flash. The bell needs to remain on seeing how it is for some reason mandatory (for MARC trains) to stop before the platform then enter it, they often stop at the point where it deactivates the bell.

Very weird signal.... Kind of cool that they used 8" WCH clear LEDs though.

Why stop BEFORE the platform?
Wish we could see orientation to the track.

Fun seeing the (o)+(o) in black & white - until it activates!

A signal like the above one made it onto Railpictures.net:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=339134

There is also a black and white picture that shows a similar signal mounted on a cantilever:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=168797

I received an email from Janusz Mrozek regarding this post. Here's what he has to add to this setup:

"HI, I am the photographer who made the two shots recently linked to by cabman701. I would like to make a few comments on the thread.

First, while I am not a regular MARC rider, I have ridden a few times (with the kids) and I do see MARC trains at stations occasionally, when I am doing the occasional mid-week railfan outing. So I have seen MARC trains occasionally over a period of a number of years, almost a decade. I have never witnessed or heard of the practice referred to earlier in the thread of stopping the train before the platform.

Someone else asked about the orientation of the signals. In the Germantown shot (the BW shot) it is clear, other than to say the reason one is looking down at the signals and station is that I am at the top of a set of stairs that lead up from the north platform to a parking lot on the hill above the north side of the tracks, the side opposite from the Germantown station.

At Rockville there is a single crossing path (paved, I vaguely recall) across the two tracks from one platform to the other, located roughly mid-platform. This is along with steps going down to a subterranian passage from parking lot with buses to MARC to Metro to Rockville Pike with more buses, so one doesn't have to cross the tracks as one can enter the platform of one's choice. However, for commuters who park at the south end of the parking lot, there is a side entrance to the platform there, and for those commuters it is convenient to enter the platform and cross the tracks to the other side rather than to go further and make use of the subterranian passage with two sets of steps to climb.

The platform on the SW side of the tracks (track 2, normal running EB, toward DC) has a concrete wall and a roof. The signal on that side is mounted on the wall and faces the tracks and thus the platform on the other side. This is the signal that appear on RP. The platform on the NE side (track 1, normal running WB, toward Brunswick MD) has a low concrete wall and a roof supported by pipe-shaped supports, so the view is open toward the parking lot on that side. The signal is mounted to that pipe structure and faces the tracks and, again, the platform on the other side. I am happy to provide a shot of that, Mike can post it on the forum, if desired.

BTW, I was able to catch a shot of the signal without distraction because it kept going off, probably because there was a train sitting a mile or two to the NW, waiting to move east. So I was able to take many shots, get the timing of the flashers, and get just what I wanted.

I know a bit about the MARC line to from DC to Brunswick. In addition to Rockville and Germantown, a similar set of signals (no gates) is at the Kensington station. Gaithersburg has no signal but does have a grade crossing at the W end of the platforms so plenty of noise to announce a train. Garrett Park has no signal as of last winter, but there is a pedestrian crossing only about 20 yards away from the station and that is protected with a bell only, no lights or gate, mounted on something like a 4x4 post. I can provide a shot of that also if desired (didn't make it onto RP, oh well!). A tiny station like Boyds (dirt parking lot for maybe 10 cars, platforms a few feet long) has no signals. Point of Rocks, Metropolitan Grove, Washington Grove, just don't remember. Brunswick, no signal but there is a crossing at the end of the platform right next to the station with full lights and gate. I am not familiar with any other station on the Brunswick line, nor any MARC station on the other lines. Well, I've been to a few stations on the Penn Line (NEC Northeast Corridor), for sure there are no pedestrians allowed to walk across that line!

BTW, in terms of safety, it is common for evening commuters at Gaithersburg and Brunswick to get off the train, walk around to the tail end, and just cross the tracks directly, rather than go to an "official" crossing location. I presume MARC/CSX take precautions to ensure their safety."

Smjh1979 wrote:...So I have seen MARC trains occasionally over a period of a number of years, almost a decade. I have never witnessed or heard of the practice referred to earlier in the thread of stopping the train before the platform....

Mr. Mrozek, here is a video depicting what I saw. This happened with all the MARC trains I saw that came to a stop at this station....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85JQjBGGEG0

Reply from Janusz:

Andrew, I see that now, I have no idea what was going on. It could have been just that one day, or it could be standard only for an outbound (WB) train, as I've only boarded inbound at Rockville, or it could be a new rule implemented since I last rode. I was not on the platform on my recent visit when MARC came by (I had gone off to try a scenic shot) so I have no current experience with that. I do know that MARC does not stop before the platform in Brunswick, because I was close enough there to see it a week ago.

I also see that my memory was incorrect, the crossing is not paved but rather boards.

I just figured out, from your video, why the train graphic is shown asymmetrically; that is an indication of direction of arrival. So my speculation about the train to the NW was wrong as the indication was to the SE. Interesting nugget of info, I have added that info to the caption in my RP shot. Cool stuff.

I just spent an hour yesterday at Kensington, MD, so I got a fresh look at those signals. And no, the WB that stopped (one was an express, two repositioning moves EB did not stop, exciting afternoon!) did not do an initial stop before the platform.

Nice video, tells a lot that a photo cannot.

J