Railway crossing

“ Notwithstanding the fact that thorough bridging constitutes a considerable portion of the expense of road construction, the best plan is to put in substantial structures, wide as the traveled way, and straight with it, thus lessening a grave source of danger.
Railway Crossing Accidents. —The great number of fatalities at railway crossings has for years been a theme for much talk, and many suggestions for the elimination of grade crossings have been made. The public seems to think that the railways are the ones that oppose the elimination. ”

“ Don't ever approach a railway crossing without looking out for the engine while the bell rings, and listening to see if the train is coming; for there is good sense as well as good law in the suggestion of Chief Baron Pollock, that a railway track per se is a warning of danger to those about to go upon it, and cautions them to see if a train is coming. ”

“ Thus every railway crossing in Europe is superintended day and night by watchmen. These watchmen are noticed by signal-bells, at the departure of every train running in the direction of their crossings. Under such a system, accidents are impossible. Even the doors of each "compartment" are barred by the conductors before the trains are dismissed, and will not be opened by the conductors of the next station, until the train stands still. ”

“ Railway Crossings, people must look out at, 63, 64 letting off steam at, 67, 68 watchmen not always needed at, 88 when crossing dangerous, 89 bell or whistle to be sounded at, 64, 88, 89 diligence required in crossing, though bell is not rung, 64, 90, 91 negligence of driver of carriage affects all in it, 65 leaving railway gates open, 90 rails must be level with road, 92 Railway Police, 167 Railway Stations. ”

“ At all level crossings of public roads, the gates to be so constructed that they may be closed either across the railway, or across the road at each side of the crossing, and a lodge, or, in the case of a station, a gatekeeper’s box, to be provided, unless the gates are worked from a signal cabin. The gates must not be capable of being opened at the same time for the road and the railway, and must be so hung as not to admit of being opened outwards towards the road. ”

“ Planking is, to be sure, more to prevent persons in vehicles from injury, or the vehicles or teams from damage, by being stalled on the crossing. But, where a crossing is much traveled, safety, to say nothing of convenience, may require a separate space, like a sidewalk, reserved for pedestrians. There is a peculiar peril to travelers on foot, where many vehicles pass and the attention of the drivers is diverted to looking out for trains liable to use the crossing. ”

“ Railway Crossings.—Bridges are seldom thought necessary to carry the common highways across the railroads where they intersect, gates are even in many cases dispensed with, and a notice of "Look out for the locomotive when the bell rings," is considered a sufficient warning, and wayfarers are left to take care of themselves. Sharp curves and steep inclines are frequently submitted to for the sake of economy. ”

“ Every crossing of a navigable river will have to be considered and dealt with according to its own individual requirements. An arrangement suitable for the one may not be admissible or prudent for the other. A frequent and important train service might be much interfered with by an opening bridge, and, in a similar manner, an opening bridge might cause much interruption and detention to the navigation of the vessels on the river. ”

“ No sooner had the formation of railways commenced for carrying passengers in long trains of carriages drawn by heavy locomotive engines, than the want was experienced of some different kind of bridge from any then existing for crossing rivers, roads, and valleys. The train could not be turned sharply round a curve to cross a road at right angles; and to make the requisite bend to enable it to do so would have taken the railway considerably out of its direct course. ”

“ That for freight trains the time consumed would be more than sixteen hours, the maximum speed of such trains on the company's road being 20 miles an hour.
That the crossings are the usual and ordinary grade crossings and there are no conditions which make any one of them peculiarly dangerous other than such danger as may result from the crossing of a public road by a railroad track at grade. ”

“ Women appeared on the railway side at every level crossing when a train was passing, and, armed with a staff as badge of office, held up the traffic, vehicular and pedestrian. As a rule there was neither, but the conscientious female went through the solemn ceremony of standing sentry over the gate or chain which separated the single track from the highway until the train had passed, and then lowering the sign of authority and opening the gate or releasing the chain to indicate that carts and human beings were at liberty to cross the metals. ”

“ Yet the “Hanging Bridge” is but one of many engineering wonders to be found on this railway. Go where one will over its 1,800 miles of track among the Rockies, and some striking and daring work confronts one at every turn. Here the railway threads its way through a winding abyss, there it passes over the crown of a towering peak, or toils laboriously up the side of a sheering cliff. No two miles are alike. In all it traverses five yawning canyons, each possessing a strange individuality, and crosses the mountain backbone by which the continent is split in twain by three different passes. ”

“ The sleepers are transverse, three feet apart, to which the outer or ordinary rails are fixed by bolts or nails. The line is fenced off from the portion of the roadway to be used for ordinary horse traffic, (the greater portion of which will disappear on the opening of the railway) by means of substantial posts and rails. The railway, in passing from one side of the roadway to the other, crosses it thirty-three times, one more than half the number of these crossings (seventeen) are on the roadway, where it is practically on the level. ”

“ A roadside enigma that doubtless puzzled our forefathers, and afforded food for discussion when journeying in these parts, the railway traveller misses them and much else besides as he is whirled through the land at a speed that only permits of a blurred impression of fields and woods, of rivers and hills, of church towers, towns, hamlets, and farmsteads—that is, when the train is not rushing through a cutting, or plunging into a darksome tunnel. In a scenic sense between the Great North Road and the Great Northern Railway is a vast gulf! ”

“ This delightfully disposed road by the sea may well be reviled by the automobilist because of the fact that every half dozen kilometres or so it crosses the railway at the same level. These level crossings are about as dangerous as the American variety; in a way more so. They are barred simply by a great swinging tree-trunk, which, of all things, swings outwards and across the road when not in use. ”

“ The water must be soft, to protect the locomotive boilers; if hard, an apparatus [Pg 42] is erected for the softening process. Grade crossings are to be avoided, highway crossings being built, wherever possible, over or under the railroad.
A railroad crossing another railroad at grade is an abomination not to be permitted nowadays. The universal use of the air-brake has permitted a reduction of the “head-room,”—the necessary clearance between the rail and overhead obstruction—from 20 feet to 14 feet. ”

“ The genius loci must look with wonder on the gigantic offspring of the little railway, which has swallowed up its own sire. Lean mules no longer crawl leisurely along the little rails with trucks of stone through Croydon, once perchance during the day, but the whistle and the rush of the locomotive are now heard all day long. ”

“ One device used at grade crossings is the well-known arm gate, operated by a flagman, or by compressed air, when several gates near together are used. Another method for crossings where the travel is infrequent is to provide an electric bell at the signal post, which is put in operation by the car wheels, and continues to ring for several minutes before the passing of a train. A considerable number of other appliances are in general use for promoting safety on railways, which would require too much space to describe.
Railway Management. ”

“ The prairies have a monotony of their own. Your eye searches all round the horizon for the joyous blue peak of a far-off mountain. You cannot even see a tree. The railway itself is tiresome in its straight-lined and dead-level uniformity. A deep cut, a high embankment, a heavy grade, or a sharp curve, would be a relief. The only variety we had was that of the violent motion caused by the displacement of the ties by frost. This was so great at times as to set all the cars dancing, and almost to throw the passengers from their seats. ”

“ The new railroad, the first public line, was opened in September, 1825. As its construction progressed, its engineer had become increasingly sanguine of success. He said to his son Robert at this time: "I venture to tell you that I think you will live to see the day when railways will supersede almost all other methods of conveyance in this country—when mail coaches will go by railway, and railroads will become the great highway for the King and all his subjects. The time is coming when it will be cheaper for a workingman to travel upon a railway than to walk on foot. ”

“ On the London & North-Western there are more than sixty through down trains, taking no account of local trains, each day passing over the same line of tracks, among which are express trains which stop nowhere, way trains which stop everywhere, express-freight, way-freight, mineral trains and parcel trains. On the Midland road there are nearly twice as many similar trains on each track. On the Metropolitan railway the average interval is three and one-third minutes between trains. ”

“ Information was passed through the fleeing crowd that the work-train was taking the people out of danger as rapidly as possible, and that the best course to pursue was to make for the railway station. In any case, the railway track eastward would be the safest highway down the Pass, as the mountain stream two miles away might be reached on foot if necessary. ”

“ To see waggons with flat wheels drawn over cast-iron rails one yard long by a horse, cannot fail to interest those who watch the workings of railways, and it most clearly shows the great improvements made and the perseverance which has been required to develop the present gigantic railway system out of such small beginnings. ”

“ Where a branch diverges from a main line, one rail of the one must cross one rail of the other, and a V-crossing is formed (V) . Where, as at a double-line junction, one pair of rails crosses another pair, “diamond” crossings (D) are formed. At both types of crossing, check rails (c) must be provided to guide the wheel-flanges, and if these are not accurately placed the safety of the trains will be endangered. At double-line junctions trains passing over the diamond crossings evidently block traffic going in the opposite direction to that in which they are travelling. ”

“ Nor are railways always hideous objects. It is true that in and around the great centres of population where railway lines converge and run in filthy tunnels and along smoke-begrimed viaducts they sound the last note of squalor, but in the country it is a different matter. ”

“ Is this train for Queen's Road, Bayswater?
Haughty Official. Yes, Queen's Road. Look sharp! She'll be off in a minute.
[Country Cousin scrambles through the crowd to a carriage; drops his umbrella; stoops to pick it up and on rising finds train three parts through the tunnel. Exit Country Cousin in a rage, to get a cab, having lost twenty minutes, the price of his unused ticket, his self-respect, and that of everybody he has come in contact with in the Metropolitan District Railway Station.
[Pg 41]
WHEN IN DOUBT—DON'T!
Scene—Country Station
Gent. ”

“ It was to be worked and maintained by the West Midland, Shrewsbury and Coast of Wales Railway Co.; the prospects of mineral and passenger traffic were “most promising,” and throughout its entire length of 90 miles, the promoters pointed out with all the emphasis which italics can afford, “it has only one tunnel, and that slightly exceeding a mile and half in length.” ”

“ Outside are factories, and railroad yards, and everywhere tall black chimneys, vomiting their heavy, muddy smoke. But always the train glides on like some swift, smooth river. Now the track is elevated, now depressed. You run over bridges or under them, crossing streets and other railroads. At last you dive into a tunnel and presently emerging, coast slowly along be [ 515] side an endless concrete platform raised to the level of the car floor. ”

“ The system of cast-iron railways is as yet to be considered but in its infancy. It will be found to be an immense improvement on the common road, and also on the wooden railway. It neither presents the friction of the tram-way, nor partakes of the perishable nature of the wooden railway, and, as regards utility, it may be considered as the medium between the navigable canal and the common road. We may therefore hope that as this system develops itself, our roads will be laid out as much as possible on one level, and in connection with the great lines of communication throughout the country. ”

“ The railways of the country, in their present form, have been built since the close of the Civil War, or in less than fifty years, and are the wonder and admiration of students of the transportation problem who come here from other countries. There are 234,182 miles of railway, and more than 340,000 miles of track in this country, as compared with a trifle less than 300,000 miles of railway in all the other countries of the world combined. There are nearly 58,000 locomotives; more than 45,000 passenger-train cars; nearly 2,200,000 freight- and service-cars. ”