Train Speed Limit Question

[Yucca-Man]

Maybe you train folks can answer it, but a gal here in Castle Rock was awarded $11M for getting hit by a train a few years ago. Somehow the train apparently snuck up on her and she didn't know it was coming or something

- I'm sure the lights and bells at the intersection must have helped distract her as well...

This led to a discussion about the speeds trains roll at; I know up here in Ft Collins the track running through town (down the MIDDLE of Mason) gets pretty good traffic, but it's probably no more than 20mph but how long would it take to stop your average freight train at that point?

What I REALLY want to know though is whether there's a listing of train speed limits especially for northbound tracks through Castle Rock, CO? I know of one gal who thinks it's 40mph but I have a feeling she's a little too full of herself. Any help here?

 

[OT]

Can't wait for Dan to reply.
I believe his train cruises at 120mph.
You know how volitile anger and malcontent can be when used together as fuel.

 

[Muddy_XJ]

Depending on train weight, length, weather (wet/dry rails) and if its on a grade or not, on average it takes a train traveling at 60MPH up to a mile to fully stop. Putting a train into emergency braking is a risky proposition and with freight trains can actually cause a derailment, pretty big event just for trying to avoid some dumb blonde.

 

[Grizzley]

Lost a good friend many years ago on the local PD. Got out of his cruiser in town to check something across the tracks. Stepped out from behind a bridge pillar right into the path of a B&M freight going through town. Didn't kill him right away, told the first cruisers there that he never heard the train. Clear night with almost no traffic on the road next to the track. Street lights probably prevented him from seeing the train headlight. Pillar was 6 or 8 feet thick round concrete. Some of us later stood behind the pillar just to see, you really can't hear the engine.

 

[Rev Den]

As someone with a home that backs-up to a crossing on the EJ&E, I see at least 1 or 2 a year...mostly cars...getting smacked. You know what? If you get hit be a train, you are not paying attention...period.

Thanks to morons, I have to live with train horns, 4 times, every crossing, every day, all hours. There are 5 crossings within ear shot, when will people learn??

Look, Listen, Live

It ain't all that hard.

Rev

PS - I in NO WAY mean any disrespect to you or your friend Grizzley, I am sorry for your loss.

 

[Grizzley]

I understand Rev, no problem. I grew up across the street from a roundhouse and yard and that was bad enough. It's amazing how many idiots like to play chicken with a train.

 

[bjoehandley]

My Dad has probably inspected and repaired the Tracks by Dan's house on a number of occasions before the EJ&E forced him to retire and has worked in the industry since the mid 60's and probably has had to fix some of the damage caused by the incidents that Rev speaks of.

If I remember right, some of the speed limits are set because of track conditions, track location, accidents on or in the vicinty of the track, etc. The whistle thing, IIRC, goes back to pre-1900's. Something to do with cattledrives and letting farmers know that the train was coming and not to drive their cattle over the track/ get them off the track because a train is coming.

A train can sneek up on you fast for something as big and noisey as it is. One of the tracks Dad had to inspect in either Lockport or Joliet ran through some "wetlands" that had some rare, endangered dragonflies and they enviromentalists had the train slowed down to about 7mph in that stretch of track to keep from hurting the things. When the agreement was wrtitten between who ever they worked for and The J, there was an clause that stated that the enviromentalists had to stay 20ft away from the track (which should be either Illinois or Federal law for ANYBODY!, so fair warning to Rev, and let the neighbors know too please) or The J held the rights to get the contract voided and they would be removed from the right of way. Dad was out doing some track inspection in a Suburban Hi-Rail and came across all three of them walking down the middle of the track through some swampy areas. Dad follwed them for a good distance without them knowing and finally honked the truck's horn, and proceeded to rip them a new one. If you can't hear a Suburban ( a real work truck, not a dressed up light duty soccermom wagon like normally seen) just a few feet off you ass, doubt you can hear a train coming.

 

[Lawn Cher']

You think I could get a Hi-rail kit for my Suburban? It would cut my commute to work in half by avoiding all the morons on the highway.

 

[bjoehandley]

You'd still run into them at road grade crossings, sometimes literally. Dad's seen people who haven't seen a BIG, ORANGE and GREEN, Locomotive untill they get to the crossing and try to stop at the last minute, and get a coupler shoved into the front clip (if they'er lucky, they get stopped before teh passenger compartment gets that far). I seem to rememeber Dad seeing a wreck on another 'road's crossing where two guys tried beating the train and managed to run head onto each other almost just off the track.

 

[Jeff in VA]

I have to live with train horns, 4 times, every crossing, every day, all hours.

That's the national standard for train crossings....2 long, a short, and a loooonnggg blast. It's interesting to listen to different trains and how bad some can butcher up that signal, while others time it so perfectly.
Over here on the east coast, CSX imposes track safety speeds when it gets really hot out. They lower the speeds of cargo trains in case the tracks deform/buckle when they heat up (and just lowered the trigger temp to 85 from 90 ambient). That makes a real fustercluck because Amtrak (sp?) shares the CSX lines and it turns 90 minute commutes into 3 hour nightmare rides when a passenger train gets stuck behind a CSX train and can't sidetrack around it.
Jeff

 

[Muddy_XJ]

That's the national standard for train crossings....2 long, a short, and a loooonnggg blast. It's interesting to listen to different trains and how bad some can butcher up that signal, while others time it so perfectly.
Jeff

Some of the new locomotives being delivered to the railroads have that sequence for crossings already programmed in so all the engineer has to do is hit one button! But if they accidentally bump it, it will do the whole sequence, and ya can't really stop it.

 

[Danno]

We were traveling back from Moab last Saturday and while passing thru the canyon just east of Glennwood Springs, CO we noticed an Amtrak train coming thru the gorge next to the Colorado River. I mentioned that had a member that drove for Amtrak. We hadn't gone 10 minutes further east when there was a really long coal train that had derailed while crossing a bridge. The rail is only a one tracker at that point. The train guys were still walking up to inspect the wreck when we passed. Probably had happened only 5 minutes before. Amtrak just barely made it thru. There were coal trains backed up into Kansas. Hope nobody was hurt.

 

[Yucca-Man]

Sooooo.....what's the speed limit through Castle Rock? Is it the same for all trains regardless of load, or do heavier ones have to go slower?

 

[XJ Dreamin']

You'll probably have to call the folks who own the rail. It may be that they have an agreement with the rail control board or whatever and someone in the city/county/state government might know. Finding out who knows could be an interesting little adventure.

I grew up behind the Berlington Northern rail that runs through the Missouri/Mississippi River bottom in eastern St. Charles County, MO. Our driveway passed up and over the limestone rip-rap embankment on which the rail sat, some 12' above the fields. We had to cross the track twice every school day and I guaranty, if you are not looking, you will be run over. A hundred yards away were bells and lights on the county road crossing but those would go off with no train in sight. Sometimes they would be sitting on a side a couple miles down the track and those bells would go on for hours. The engineers did not feel obligated to signal for our private crossing so if the train was coming from the east, with the county road crossing a hundred yards west, you got short notice - if any at all.

Scary times were when the fog was set in. You couldn't see a hundred yards and you knew you couldn't hear the damn train. It felt like trying to get across a shooting gallery. One winter morning I was bundled up against the wind with my head down. The only thing that saved me was my sister grabbing me from behind. I didn't even hear her yellin' at me. It there is anything between you and the train, even just a field of corn or the hood of your jacket, you will not hear it.

The top of the embankment was wide enough for two rails, but for a couple of miles either way from our crossing there was only one. The space beside the rail was smooth gravel and wide enough to drive on. When the rivers would get up and cover the county road you could turn off our crossing onto the roadbed beside the rail and drive over to the state road crossing. So, picture my Dad in his bright yellow 1960 TR-3. He gets in to work at McDonnel Douglas and one of the guys says, "Hey, Don! How did you get past the high water?" "I drove on the tracks," he says. The other guy looks puzzled for a second, then comes back with, "What do you do if a train comes along...race it?" "Race it, Hell..." says my Dad. "I beat it!" True story.

Shoot, when the water finally got high enough to chase us out we would come back to West Alton, MO once a week, climb up onto the tracks and walk high and dry above the flooded fields 5 miles to the house to feed the cats and dogs. Sometimes we'd get the boat out and drive around over the fields. You had to watch out for barbed wire fences though. That stuff's nasty to get out of a prop.

Good luck on you search. Sorry to waste so much screen space.

 

[XJ Dreamin']

You'd still run into them at road grade crossings, sometimes literally. Dad's seen people who haven't seen a BIG, ORANGE and GREEN, Locomotive untill they get to the crossing and try to stop at the last minute, and get a coupler shoved into the front clip (if they'er lucky, they get stopped before teh passenger compartment gets that far). I seem to rememeber Dad seeing a wreck on another 'road's crossing where two guys tried beating the train and managed to run head onto each other almost just off the track.

Shoot! Back home they'd run smack into the side of the train. Here's how: The train is on a raised embankment of limestone rip-rap. The fields are grown up in 10' tall corn. The crossing has no bells or lights - just the black-on-white crossed tracks sign. It's midnight. As you approach the crossing your head lights shine into the side of the embankment, not up onto the train. Not, that is, until you are already climbing the embankment - at 50mph cause you never slow down for the damn crossing anyway. SMACK! Right into the side of a mid-train box car doing about 50 mph itself. My best friend's Dad went that way. 'Course, his blood alcohol was 0.12. Oh, well! But, that happened about every 3 or 4 years while I was growing up. I don't remember anybody getting any payout, though.

 

[Lawn Cher']

XJ Dreamin' describes the line I would take to work if I had a Hi-Rail on my Suburban, or if anyone had been smart enough to plan a passenger rail service from St Charles county to the St Louis Lambert Airport area. It basically parallels I-70 and Hwy 370 for my entire commute.

 

[jdogg4]

I had this thing posted on a local board and I just don't get it. When people say they don't hear these things. I live over a mile from the tracks in my town and I can hear them all the time. Day night really good at night. I used to drive alot for the company I work for, so I know I might watch out more than some people, but come on to say you didn't hear or see one. I can see in some issues not seeing them ya. But they are so big and the desiel motors make such a rumble the ground will shake. It must be from my driving I keep a bit more of an open eye for stuff like that. Sound travels vibration travels. I understand that sound can be muffled from it's suroundings but those horns are loud. They aren't your run of the mill car horn or icecream truck horn.

 

[red91]

I understand Rev, no problem. I grew up across the street from a roundhouse and yard and that was bad enough. It's amazing how many idiots like to play chicken with a train.

What gets me, is that in Portland, the lovely city that it is, has commuter trains that run on an overhead rail. Makes a very distinct sound as it comes down the tracks.

If you know what the SOUND is...you know its coming. HOW THE HELL do you not see, or hear a NORMAL train ?

Look , Listen, Live. BINGO Rev.

 

[DrMoab]

I had this thing posted on a local board and I just don't get it. When people say they don't hear these things. I live over a mile from the tracks in my town and I can hear them all the time. Day night really good at night. I used to drive alot for the company I work for, so I know I might watch out more than some people, but come on to say you didn't hear or see one. I can see in some issues not seeing them ya. But they are so big and the desiel motors make such a rumble the ground will shake. It must be from my driving I keep a bit more of an open eye for stuff like that. Sound travels vibration travels. I understand that sound can be muffled from it's suroundings but those horns are loud. They aren't your run of the mill car horn or icecream truck horn.

They make a lot of noise when they are accelerating or really making power. There is a place I pick up Propane that is right next to the tracks in Wyoming. Its very level and there isn't any crossings. The trains are pretty much coasting as they come through and its hard to hear them till they are right on top of you.

 

[jdogg4]

The tracks right down from me you can hear them when they are just idle sitting there. I'm about a mile away. I think with alot of other noises during the day they might drown out a bit and if you get used to them you can't hear them. But in motion I just don't get it. Sorry.