Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

I guess the traffic signals are the warning devices here because I can find only one wooden crossbuck

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 30427&z=15

but if you go just down the line a bit

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source= ... 30427&z=15

I think you are right about the traffic lights in that first link. You can see a crossing relay box dead ahead in that picture.

The railroad still has to provide something to communicate with the traffic control box to detect a train. My guess is that the traffic lights go red in all 4 directions when a train is present.

cabman701 wrote:I think you are right about the traffic lights in that first link. You can see a crossing relay box dead ahead in that picture.

The railroad still has to provide something to communicate with the traffic control box to detect a train. My guess is that the traffic lights go red in all 4 directions when a train is present.

Theres a few mothballed railroad lines out in that area from Ex WP and D&RGW that might be one of them.

In the second one, I cannot figure out why there is an extra mast signal on the wrong side of the road.

Brian556 wrote:In the second one, I cannot figure out why there is an extra mast signal on the wrong side of the road.

Trees on the side of the road block the signal from FRA/AAR sight distances

TRAINMANKIGHT wrote: Theres a few mothballed railroad lines out in that area from Ex WP and D&RGW that
might be one of them.

The rail tops look used to me.
I'd guess at-least twice a day.

{edit}
Oops! :)
I had just looked at the first crossing at that point.

Yeah the rail tops are rusty, that track hadn't been used in a while. :/
I've seen rusty rails tops that were still being used but it was an odd
situation with the copper mines and their chemicals. Played hell with
the track-circuit-operated crossing signals. :)

They had the welders weld down certain lengths of beads of rust resistant
hard facing rod a certain distance apart all the way down the track circuits.

Butthead in AZ

AlvinAZ wrote:

TRAINMANKIGHT wrote:
Yeah the rail tops are rusty, that track hadn't been used in a while. :/
I've seen rusty rails tops that were still being used but it was an odd
situation with the copper mines and their chemicals. Played hell with
the track-circuit-operated crossing signals. :)

They had the welders weld down certain lengths of beads of rust resistant
hard facing rod a certain distance apart all the way down the track circuits.

Butthead in AZ

Hey Alvin nice to have you posting again.
Yah rust plays problems out here with the Harmon PMD's but the GCP's work fine through the rust at least we've had no problems.
When you worked on the signals in the "golden days" were they "C circuits" or did you work with Phase Motion Detection too.

TRAINMANKIGHT wrote: Yah rust plays problems out here with the Harmon PMD's but the GCP's work fine
through the rust at least we've had no problems.
When you worked on the signals in the "golden days" were they "C circuits" or did
you work with Phase Motion Detection too.

LOL ! :)

I recognize "Harmon" there. LOL :)

Trying to remember the electronic systems names maybe over the next week or so
they'll come back to me.

AFO Audio Frequency Overlay with its cables tacked down to the ties to form a loop,
kinda like the automobile traffic signals use. I always got a kick out of that one for
some reason. :)

Marquart's (right?) Predictors and Motion Sensors. I didn't like Predictors because
they were all the time messing-up and leaving the gates down. Dangerous, that!

There was an ATAK(?) that used a diode that didn't short out the track circuit but
would transmit half the AC signal.

I was always more interested in the mechanisms and relays and that sort of stuff
and especially the train signal systems and not so much into the crossing stuff. ;)

Oh heck, gotta go. TTYL

Alvin in AZ

AlvinAZ wrote:

TRAINMANKIGHT wrote: Yah rust plays problems out here with the Harmon PMD's but the GCP's work fine
through the rust at least we've had no problems.
When you worked on the signals in the "golden days" were they "C circuits" or did
you work with Phase Motion Detection too.

LOL ! :)

I recognize "Harmon" there. LOL :)

Trying to remember the electronic systems names maybe over the next week or so
they'll come back to me.

AFO Audio Frequency Overlay with its cables tacked down to the ties to form a loop,
kinda like the automobile traffic signals use. I always got a kick out of that one for
some reason. :)

Marquart's (right?) Predictors and Motion Sensors. I didn't like Predictors because
they were all the time messing-up and leaving the gates down. Dangerous, that!

There was an ATAK(?) that used a diode that didn't short out the track circuit but
would transmit half the AC signal.

I was always more interested in the mechanisms and relays and that sort of stuff
and especially the train signal systems and not so much into the crossing stuff. ;)

Oh heck, gotta go. TTYL

Alvin in AZ

AFO I remember hearing about that one it sounded neat but I've never seen one
here are two videos that are worth watching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AsDUcyQ ... age#t=409s
this ^ on is a rust issue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2b8k-0ZlE8
this ^ one is where trains stop in the approach and crawl at 1 mph then stop again.

Well, according the FRA Inventory report, the second crossing gets 17 trains a day. That would apply to the first crossing to then.

Cheers,
Joshua