Mike's Railroad Crossing Forum

Is there a database anywhere that tells when railroad crossings were installed or updated over the years or accidents, etc? I'm always curious of when certain crossings were installed or first signal-ized, but I don't have the expertise to tell yet. I know if it has 8" signals, that means it must be 70s(?) or earlier I guess. But other than that I can't really tell if a crossing is from 1970, 80, 90 or even 2020 for that matter. They all look about the same to me other than LED vs incandescent, 8", very old relay cases etc. I'm guessing most all of the crossings in my area/state here in Florida must have equipment that are at least 1990s or newer when it was last updated.

I'm always on the lookout for rare in use or abandoned crossings that are very old, but there doesn't seem to be much here in Florida and I've done a lot of looking. There are a few abandoned crossings I've found and I hope to visit them evenutally but I only know of two. CSX must keep their crossings pretty modernized I'm guessing.

The FRA has a database of every current (and technically former) crossing in the US, as long as you know the DOT numbers for the crossings you're curious about. However, it doesn't go into specifics of the equipment each crossing has, just what type of equipment can be found there. Also, the information can be (and is) sometimes inaccurate, nor might a crossing have had its inventory reports updated all that regularly.
Here's a link to it:
https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Officeof ... ssing.aspx

There’s also an app but I think it costs money

pluey200 wrote: Mon Sep 14, 2020 9:28 am There’s also an app but I think it costs money

The FRA's app? If so, last I checked, that one was free.

freebrickproductions wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 10:20 pm The FRA has a database of every current (and technically former) crossing in the US, as long as you know the DOT numbers for the crossings you're curious about. However, it doesn't go into specifics of the equipment each crossing has, just what type of equipment can be found there. Also, the information can be (and is) sometimes inaccurate, nor might a crossing have had its inventory reports updated all that regularly.
Here's a link to it:
https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Officeof ... ssing.aspx

Thanks for the link! I see you can also search by state, city and street, which is really useful!

It does seem some of the info is incorrect, because I know at least one crossing in my town shows as not having gates up until about 2010 but I know it has since at least 2002, if not much earlier. Also what does it mean when it says "2 masts" under lights but doesn't list how many pairs or what type. Does masts mean it had lights at that point in time regardless? Some even list a bell but doesn't list any lights except "2 masts," so I would assume they had them.

ColeD wrote: Sun Sep 27, 2020 7:53 pm

freebrickproductions wrote: Sun Sep 13, 2020 10:20 pm The FRA has a database of every current (and technically former) crossing in the US, as long as you know the DOT numbers for the crossings you're curious about. However, it doesn't go into specifics of the equipment each crossing has, just what type of equipment can be found there. Also, the information can be (and is) sometimes inaccurate, nor might a crossing have had its inventory reports updated all that regularly.
Here's a link to it:
https://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/Officeof ... ssing.aspx

Thanks for the link! I see you can also search by state, city and street, which is really useful!

It does seem some of the info is incorrect, because I know at least one crossing in my town shows as not having gates up until about 2010 but I know it has since at least 2002, if not much earlier. Also what does it mean when it says "2 masts" under lights but doesn't list how many pairs or what type. Does masts mean it had lights at that point in time regardless? Some even list a bell but doesn't list any lights except "2 masts," so I would assume they had them.

I'd have to double check later, but I'm pretty sure "masts" indicates the number of signals.