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WillM3luvTrains — Why Wishbone Gates Might Not Be Used [Anymore]
Published: 2018-12-25 06:14:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 2207; Favourites: 10; Downloads: 1
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Thanks for the drawing of a Rail road crossing and yeah I really love The Railway crossing so much. That's because I say that word in some Country.
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You really like railroad crossings... Don't you?
What made you get into trains and railroad crossings anyways?
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Answering this question you asked me a few months ago and I never got around to it...
I think you asked me this question once before and when I answered you said "Maybe you'll grow out of it," to which I might have said "I hope not."
Anyway it's a good question how I got into trains and railroad crossings. I guess it started when I was 1 or 2 years old and living in my hometown Gary, Indiana, where there are lots of railroad crossings. Maybe what got me interested at first were the crossing gates, the red and white sticks that go up and down (and I have to say I used to be scared of those things going down on cars and breaking them, now I know they cannot do that, I mean they can go down on cars but cannot break cars!)
I felt the same way about garage doors and cried about it once.
Anyway, and then it's probably because I noticed some crossings didn't have gates but had lights and there were different kinds of crossing signals
Back then I liked the mast signals (the left signal) I didn't like the cantilever signals (the right signal) because I thought they were ugly and that they were hurting the mast signals! Weird imagination I had, but now I like them but especially with crossing gates! I also like that they have more lights on them and it increases visibility.
I also like their physical appearance: Upright pole, X-shaped sign, red lights, especially the American style signals we use, I like those more than any other style like the ones used in Germany, U.K., Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, etc. (I also like the ones used in Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, and some in Argentina.)
I also like the fact that the lights are red, and the gate stripes, that's one of the reasons red is my favorite color (that and apples, strawberries, and cherries!)
I don't really know why I like railroad crossings, I guess I just do, I find them super interesting and I feel like life is nothing without them, at least my life. And I don't want to live anywhere that doesn't have them!
As for trains, I don't like them as much as railroad crossings but they're interesting anyway, especially trains that come with crossings, and continue to use such. Trains without railroad crossings are less interesting to me. I forget what got me into trains although way back then I liked freight trains more than passenger trains, now I like the passenger trains more. I think I like the passenger trains because for one you get to ride them and must be because of the trains I used to ride when I lived in Germany as a little little kid in the late 1980s to 1990. I took that for granted when I was a toddler, now I miss that and wish we had that back.
I probably love railroad crossings and trains so much because of me living in Sierra Vista, Arizona where there are none and I had a strong desire for trains, railroad tracks and crossings among other things being in Sierra Vista, especially after some visits to Tucson, where I now live! That and places I've lived before including Gary, Indiana and upstate New York.
Trains and especially railroad crossings are just interesting to me. And I love this about myself and never want to grow out of it!
I admit trains have nothing to do with my life, so my father once told me, and my life doesn't depend on them, I won't die without them, but I cannot stand life without them, at least not for too long!
Sorry it took so long to answer this, I had every intention of doing so but I needed the right words (and I probably still didn't come up with any or all the words I wanted/ would have wanted to use.)
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Daaang. That's a long explanation. I actually missed those.
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The long explanations?
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Yep. And I made a bunch new pics, too. Check em out. Also, I miss your awesome art. When'll you get back on that? I'd love to see more pics.
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Nice gate. I wonder if either a) certain companies just stopped making wishbone gates, b) bars are cheaper, or c) the US federal government outlawed them (but existing ones are grandfathered), much like they did with wig-wags in the 50's (these are all just speculation!)
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I don't think the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has issue with wishbone gates being used or being newly installed and I think some, well, few companies still make them, perhaps if requested. But I don't think the FRA objects to using them as long as their red and white and reflective, and now vertically striped, basically Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Device (MUTCD)-compliant.
I think it's that railroads prefer not to use wishbone gates anymore or on a lot of their crossings and probably out of fear of them getting damaged, and as I said, due to the strain they have on the gate mechanisms and those things are heavy! I mean I never touched a wishbone gate before, I've only touched the bar-type gates.
I think railroads don't use wishbone gates for the same reason they don't use mechanical bells, probably because of maintenance issues and costs and why electronic bells are used more often now. I mean some railroads still use and install mechanical bells, the FRA shouldn't have a problem with that, but railroads seem to prefer electronic bells more, to the dismay of many older rail-fans! And many of us, myself included, are about efficiency, at least parts of me are!
Railroads just cannot legally install wigwags anymore or 8" lights, not even L.E.D. 8" lights, (at least not on the major railroads,) all newly installed lights have to be 12" lights, although 8" lights should be okay to use on pedestrian-only crossings. Back when the Light Rail in Phoenix was constructed and finally opened in December 2009, nine years ago, some 8" light signals with L.E.D.s were installed but only on pedestrian crossings and slip-ramp crossings. On other crossings, you either get traffic signals or 12" light signals, all of which come with gates as far as I know. I would use 8" lights on pedestrian signals too, especially in L.E.D. form.
I mean if there are wigwags or 8" light signals still in place, same with slanted-striped gates, that's one thing, and 8" signals still in place can be retrofitted with L.E.D.s, and some have. But when new signals or replacement lights come, they have to be 12" lights, especially on vehicular crossings. The lights can be either incandescent or L.E.D., that still doesn't matter and some railroads still/continue to install incandescent lights.
Much of if not all of this is speculation too!
I think I might do a picture or two of what is required on crossings, what is forbidden, and what is optional but also recommended and unrecommended, at least what I think.
Anyone reading this who happens to know anything, please include it in your comments! Or if you know anyone who might know something, please share this page with them! Thank you!
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You said nothing but the gates changed.
THE LIGHTS SWITCHED. LIAR.
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Whoa now wait a minute!
First, I was not trying to lie and I'm sorry if I seemed like I did! I do see what you mean though, I did switch the position of the lights, but I meant I kept the lights 8", I didn't change them to other light types.
Also, you could have been more polite to me, you kind of were until you said "LIAR," that's when you went wrong! And easy on the all caps please! I'll let this go this time but if you continue to be rude to me I may have to block you, and I really don't want to! Just a warning.
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It was meant to be a joke. Sorry...
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Kind of scared me there, I took it seriously and I'm not always quick to know if something's a joke or not (that's why when I give joke comments I (usually) say I'm joking. But I understand.
I'm also sorry for being stern with you, I don't like being mean to anyone! Fortunately for you I'm a nice and understanding person, at least I strive to be, and I'm learning not to be quick to take offense although I still slip up. I was probably too hard on some other people that I have blocked.
Mind you, I really don't have the best people skills!
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Nor do I. I actually have Asberger's.
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