Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

It's been a while since these lit up!

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 3,,0,-6.38

If memory serves me correctly... we discussed those signals before. I believe they are now in signal heaven.

Interesting that they are turned to the side, never seen that before. My guesses are that somebody had to move a house through the crossing, it could had been done just to prevent them from being struck by high loads, or to visually signify that the track is out of service.

Wonder if you shunt the rails the signals will operate!

I hate to see this.
I looked at the other area where the track crossed a road.
No signals and only marks in the pavement which appears to be over the rails.

Would be interesting to knowhen the lastrain was there.

According to the FRA, this was once a C&NW crossing. You have to go back to 1981 to find any mention of it bieng used. Its number was 175576M. It's now officially closed on the FRA site.

gedunk wrote:According to the FRA, this was once a C&NW crossing. You have to go back to 1981 to find any mention of it bieng used. Its number was 175576M. It's now officially closed on the FRA site.

I'm told a crossing can be abandoned, (not used) for years before it is finally deactivated.

One evening after dark in Riverside, CA, I found a wig-wag signal on a track which had been taken up several blocks away.
When I shunted the rails with a piece of scrap metal, it operated!
Started up squeaking and took three or four swings to build up momentum to where its arc was enough to ring its bell.
I savored it running for a minute or two until I saw a vehicle approaching in the distance.

When I supposed that that was the firstime in decades that it operated, a signal maintainer said it was probably regularly tested.
He indicated that even though there could never be a train, until the crossing is officially designated as closed, power to the signals must be left on and the signals must be periodically checked.
Same with the siding crossing I operated at midnight in Santa Fe Springs, CA.

That's exactly what happened to the Blythe Spur of the AZ&CA railroad from Rice to Ripley, CA. According to the data filed, the line used to get 4 daily trains, but was cut back to about 2 times per month in 2007, and finally sat dormant for years before they put in the request to abandon the line. I think the rule is that no traffic can be operated on the line for a minimum of 2 years to qualify to be abandoned from what I've read up on.

I found one in the Phoenix area: http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=33.3 ... 65,,0,6.81

I've wanted that one on the site on the longest time...