Re: Signaling for crossings
Author: Shortline Sammie
Date: 11-23-2011 - 07:37
FRA regulations require you to whistle at ALL public crossings UNLESS they are part of an OFFICIALLY DESIGNATED quiet zone. They specify a certain distance and pattern as to how to blow.
Anyone that doesn't puts himself and the railroad at risk in case an FRA Operating Practices inspector is watching or an accident is involved. A trespasser could be crossing over or under the standing train and be injured as a result, sue the railroad and WIN...even though he was trespassing at the time. Always err on the side of safety...too many lawyers out there!
PRIVATE crossings (usually protected by a STOP/PRIVATE CROSSING sign) do not require one to sound the horn unless it can be seen to be necessary due to traffic or sight distances around a building.
Unless there is some provision I don't know about in the whistle rule?
Dick Samuels