Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

Hello, This is a game that I like to call Why Did They? To Play, one person must ask a question, then another person answers the question then asks their own "why did they" question, and the process keeps repeating. But you must not answer your own question.

And you must not make your post dirty.

To get started: Why did they make WCH bells sound so awful?

BNSF: Why were they so lazy in the early years?

They were newbies when BN and ATSF merged and they had to take baby steps before getting their own locomotives.

Why did they have to get rid of wig wags?

WCH e-bell question: The guy who invented them used to be a DJ in a hip-hop club, so he thought they sounded cool.

Wigwags:
There were complains of drivers getting seasick watching the swinging motion.

Why is there no standard signage for crossings where the track and signals are still in place but disused (some say EXEMPT, some say TRACKS OUT OF SERVICE, some don't have any signage but have the lights bagged and/or turned away from the road, and some used to actually say ABANDONED).

AndyWS wrote:Why is there no standard signage for crossings where the track and signals are still in place but disused (some say EXEMPT, some say TRACKS OUT OF SERVICE, some don't have any signage but have the lights bagged and/or turned away from the road, and some used to actually say ABANDONED).

Most abandoned signals and signs are left in place could be of many reasons; 1) Too much of a hassle to remove the equipment. 2) They are 'stored' there until the railroad could use some of the equipment as spare parts. 3) The railroads have bigger fish to fry than to waste time and money on having them removed.

Why do they remove equipment that functions properly and replace them anyway?