The Safest Grade Crossing In America (REUPLOADED, 720p VERSION)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ธ.ค. 2023
- (STEALING THIS VIDEO IS NOT MY INTENT. THIS IS FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY)
Original Description:
On November 13, 2012 at 3:45 PM, a southbound Metro-North train passed through what may have been America's safest grade crossing. Not only was it equipped with LED flashers, gates and an electronic bell, but also is protected by trees on one side and stone pilings and K-rail barriers on the other.
Original Uploader: Joe Simonin
Original Upload Date: November 26, 2012 - เกม
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It's funny how railroads do this. I guess it has to do with regulations. I know of a couple of them like that. I like how it has the small pedestrian gate also. lol
Little background story here, I used to patrol this branch regularly. There was supposed to be a road here for an adjacent residence and business area that never came to be. These signals stayed for a number of years but was removed recently. Nice to see this video made a comeback!
Once a crossing warning system is placed into service, it requires federal approval through the FRA to remove the crossing from service, and all FRA testing must be kept up to date. It is a lot of paperwork and a long process that can take years.
@@kylefischer9766 another issue here is the property in question is in one town, the crossing is in another, and the investors involved in the project were not from this country. (they paid for the update) You can see where this is a rather cumbersome combination. The town of Redding now owns the place for back taxes, which took a few more years.
Maybe at least any dirt bike or off-road drivers won't be in danger crossing there.
🪶
@@revelationakagoldeneagle8045 going in there with a vehicle is not a wise move because the terrain is rough and there's no place to go or easily turn around once you go beyond the rail ballast. A dirt bike might squeak through, but still nowhere to go.... and riding in 2 inch traprock is not fun.
This is Wile E. Coyote's ACME do-it-yourself railroad crossing kit. When the Roadrunner stops at the signal, the coyote will jump out in front of the train and get all smashed to hell.
That's deep....
Your description got a real laugh out of me. Very clever. 😂
@@mikebrzostowski8183it’s so glever, that it is the most clever way of being clever! Awesome! 🤗
Loved your reply. Couldn't have thought of that myself. They must of got Government funding to put in so many crossing gates. They had one left over, so they installed it.
Beep---Beep......
My dad worked for the US Forest Service in the 70s and as part of his training he had to pass a driving test. When he took the test the first time, his examiner failed him because he failed to stop at a railroad crossing. When he was confused and asked where this had happened, the examiner cited a paved over crossing of an overgrown line that had been abandoned by the railroad a decade prior.
Was there any signage still there? If there was, then the examiner might have had a point, but if there wasn't or if there was a sign that read "exempt", then your dad should not have been failed.
@@thomasbryant6512he said it was paved over
@@Christa-hk4if Yes, but I was asking if there were there any signs. If there was still an old crossing sign or signal that remained, it wouldn't have mattered if it was paved over or not.
@@thomasbryant6512exactly. You can’t be expected to stop at something that’s not functional and unused and that has no signage.
@@mikewolf5367 try arguing that with a train that goes through every few hours. Doesn't matter of there are signs or even if the automated gear works. Best to stop and look for yourself.
What's interesting is that the train crews still blow their horns like it's an active crossing even though it's obviously not.
There probably are whistle posts, which means that blowing for this "crossing" is mandatory.
Ones with W?
As a former RR employee ( retired ) you treat all crossings the same unless a bulletin instructs you otherwise …
The PTC will literally blow either a crossing sequence or it will just lay on the horn forcing you to blow the horn to get it to stop. It will do that unless the Horn function is either cutout or the crossing is removed from the system.
That's why it's the safest crossing!
🚄
fun fact: if you havent seen the old video, this was suppose to connect to a road, but the signals have since been removed, and there is no road there.
This crossing is a half mile from me and was a proposed site development entrance that has since been canceled due to the investor's funds evaporating. Roughly 12 years later this site has yet to have any construction and the town now owns the property for back taxes. Most of the crossing equipment was removed several years ago.
Interesting story! Seeing it reminded me of urban explorers going into an old hospital and power is still on due to legal issues until its sold. @@rupe53
That was ambitious to build before the road.
@@pbilk The backers for the project had deep pockets and were ready to rock... then shit happened. Matter of fact, shit happened twice in 10(?) years, and the project got halted. Well, at least the prep work is done if they do it again, right?
@@pbilk But a big problem is lack of infrastructure. How many times do we hear (certainly here in the UK) that promised infrastructure (schools, doctors' surgeries) have been mysteriously "forgotten" from the delivery plan or "re-phased" (i.e. "later")? At least the preparation work and wiring was in place for the future...
Some years ago, when I lived in Colorado, there was one like this. Except the railroad was gone. All that was left were the tracks in the road itself and some old passenger and freight cars that had just been left were a siding once was. Even though the only way a train would ever get there was if Scotty beamed it down, there were still signals in place the school bus dutifully stopped and looked both ways. My understanding it was left there on the basis that if the railroad were ever rebuilt, the fact the crossing was not removed meant they wouldn't have to build a bridge instead.
There should have been a sign indicating inactive tracks, or “ exempt”
@@jr56440 Rural intersection east of Colorado Springs on the old Rock Island. Finally "fixed" it when rebuilt the intersection in a location the rails had been taken up.
The funny thing is that if you crossed here in front of Railroad Police they would cite you for trespassing on a railroad right of way. Strange, but THANKS for POSTING!!!!
They’d have to catch me before I got out of their jurisdiction.
Has it happened to you, or do you know someone it's happened to?
They would cite you for trespassing where you were trespassing? My goodness!
Seriously though, gates don't make a location a crossing; It's clearly blocked off.
@@thedemolitionmuniciple have to prove it.
Crossing gate or not, it would still be trespassing if you're on railroad property. What is your point?
We have one similar to this in Illinois where I live. Canadian National(formerly Illinois Central) has a crossing with lights and gates for a dead end road a block long. Only one house at the end of the road. Basically, its their own personal controlled crossing for their driveway. And yes, they always sound their horn properly. I don't think anyone even lives in the house anymore. I haven't seen a car cross it in years.
Not even remotely Similar at all. All roads will have crossings including private property since it's a rail right of way. You can see level crossings like that on farms and industrial yards as well. The Springfield Underground in Missouri also has one as well for the BNSF spur that runs inside the cave.
@@kishascape yes I see crossings all the time like that but they don’t have lights and gates, usually just a sign that indicates it’s a private crossing. This crossing is well maintained, I see workers there periodically checking it. There is another crossing nearby that does see a lot of traffic.
That's unusual for private crossings like that they usually don't add Gates and lights unless a fatality accident occurred there. Generally it's just a yield sign that says yield to oncoming. If you get the gate crossing number you can go online and check with the Federal Railroad administration. The collision reports are public
What town/road is that crossing located in/on?
But there's not even a goat track. Private or otherwise, there's nothing in the form of a traffic way or path.
The only clue I can see is the cast concrete barrier in the foreground.
Otherwise it's property owned a railfan or retired railhead.
In the words of the great Dwight Schrute,
“There’s no road here!!!”
But there is except for right over the tracks. This was intentionally filmed deceptively for view baiting.
In the words of Doc Brown:
"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need... roads."
I am guessing this is one of the following:
A) Installed for a road that was never built
B) Installed on a road that was removed and the signals were not taken out
C) A Pedestrian Crossing for a Hiking Trail
D) A test setup for testing signal designs
E) An Unusual Tourist Attraction in the Woods
Based on other comments, the answer appears to be A. Development that never wound up happening.
I would guess A.
All of the above
This looks like a rail crossing of the Appalachian Trail next to NY Route 22 in the Hudson Valley. NY's MNRR has a whistle stop station at this location.
F) to keep the wildlife safe
Here in UK I drive a route with a crossing that is similar to this. The crossing is no longer in operations, the access point for maintenance vehicles is gated off and has permanent bollards blocking it, yet the barriers still have to come down and the protecting signal still has to be cleared.
Sometimes, at night when the signaller is probably sleeping, it can take ages for the signal to be cleared which means loosing soo much momentum and speed.
Someone in a hurry will still find a way to go around those gates...
Fr
There was going to be a condo subdivision. Project abandoned due to heavy metal contamination.
Actually, found info., says abandoned due to real estate crash of 2008. Site of Gilbert & Bennett Wire Mill brownfield, Georgetown, Connecticut.
Heavy metal contamination. If its not a band name it should be.
well, that and foreign investors who went belly up. The town now owns the 50 acre property for back taxes.
@@boggy7665Ok so that means this is the Danbury branch then
Very simple solution here from Germany. The road has not been completed, but the railway crossing has been completed. In another video about it, I found this: This is the North Main Street grade crossing in Wilton, Connecticut that was still under construction on the Danbury Branch. The rubber crossing nor the road had been installed.
You are probably correct.
Finally! A TH-cam video that EXACTLY lives up to its title.👍👍
This is the Railroad equivalent of mysterious stairs in the middle of the forest.
Just mysterious railroad crossing signals in the middle of nowhere, on a road no one uses.💀
installation crew: hey, we just go where we're told to go and do what it says on the work order.
What’s that Railroad Crossing For ? Deer,Rabbits,Bears,Foxes, wolves and Raccoons 🦝
I guess you can say it an “Animal Crossing”
I’ll see myself out now.
No it's probably a crossing for offroaders despite being in ny
@@capt.fuzzball8956 I don't get it. What he posted was indeed a list of animals.
One thing I've noticed is that here in Washington state at any and all railroad crossings the bell comes on as the gates come down AND THEY STAY ON THE ENTIRE TIME TILL THE TRAIN PASSES unlike many other places throughout the country that have bells at railroad crossings where they switch off soon as the gates touch down. I watch and like Jaw Tooth's railroad videos here on YT and noticed that while the bells come on when the gate goes down, where he records trains in the Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and W Virginia areas mostly, they go silent as soon as the gates are in the down position. I believe that probably isn't as safe as the bell staying on through the entire cycle like it does here. Although with some of the very, very long trains on these mostly flat trackage (comparatively speaking) there, that's something we don't have to worry about here in mountainous terrain like we have in this state. Unit trains of midwest grains, North Dakota crude oil heading to one of Washington's five crude refineries and Wyoming coal heading to American and Canadian ports to be exported worldwide seem to be around 130 to 150 cars long and I'd say trains longer than that here are a rare sight indeed probably because the mountainous terrain makes that almost impossible and a couple of long trains in a system of shorter trains would be a control nightmare from what I'm told. And let's say one of those long trains stalled for some reason between Portland Oregon and Vancouver Canada where the UP - BNSF shared (mostly double tracked) mainline handles about 60 to 80 trains a day. What do you think happens after that?? My guess?? That entire system could come to a screeching halt...
Their will always be one stupid squirrel who will go around the barrier and get his nuts crushed.
under rated comment
What’s really strange is that it doesn’t appear that there was ever a crossing here, judging by the thick undergrowth! If it was a recently closed crossing, it would be evident.
Actually from this angle you can see there's enough of a gap for small road and it would be uphill on the leadup so impossible to tell.
This crossing is a half mile from me and was a proposed site development entrance that has since been canceled due to the investor's funds evaporating. Roughly 12 years later this site has yet to have any construction and the town now owns the property for back taxes. Most of the crossing equipment was removed several years ago.
train even properly gave the horn warning too lol. gotta be a road coming soon site or something.
more likely the driver just saw the whistle sign and followed his training
Looks like they tore out the crossing and closed the road . Probably, the crossing singnals are slated for removal. Railroad take forever to get to stuff like this. Worked for Conrail/ CSX up in the Northeast since 1999
I like this theory:
There was some sort of miscommunication on where the crossing was suppose to be installed because on the same road that runs next to the tracks, a blocked off road crosses the tracks. Located here: maps.app.goo.gl/i7R1zNfMWyCvCPEq5 This makes sense because the crossing is located exactly 590 feet away from the blocked off road.
@@washingtonstaterailfan6751 Saw this vid years ago here. Iirc, there was going to be a housing subdivision on the industrial land, but the developer abandoned the project maybe because of heavy metal contamination on the site. Could be wrong, I don't recall how/where I came by that info., might be just making it all up now. EDIT: Google Maps has plot # addresses, so recollection makes sense.
Gotta protect the wildlife.
it's gone now
@@washingtonstaterailfan6751 it was supposed to be a NEW road for access into a 50 acre commercial site. The project is now abandoned, and the crossing equipment has been removed for several years. The road was never built.
And the signal maintainer doesn’t understand all the broken gates!
Ah yes, I love exploring the woods and seeing the level crossings there. My favourite hobby.
Reminds me of the movie "Blazing Saddles" when they put the toll booth in the middle of the desert.
Jesus with all that noise I expected a mile long train to come through. I guess the passengers couldn’t even take a nap on that train.
Metro North #112 flies past a railroad crossing in the woods of Connecticut. Classic
Crossing is still half standing and yet the deer are extremely confused
Despite the setting, I still expected to see a blue station wagon somehow swerve around the gates and bounce across the tracks at the last moment.
pov: every lionel starter set
When you have an extra crossing kit and don't know what to do with it so you just put it wherever.
This perfectly maintained RR crossing that does absolutely nothing, then there are the RR crossings in my city that I have witnessed first hand malfunctioning and activating when there is no train approaching. And no they werent testing it, literally backed up traffic for miles and took the RR about half an hour to send a tech into the little shed to let traffic through.
Where we are going, we don't need roads! (Back to the future).
Crossed here once. Did you happen to see my oil pan?
no
Wow, not a single driver ran around the gates! Better call the number on the blue sign. This seems too safe. 😂
That was amazing, I was in disbelief the entire time. Yet the video lived up to it's name entirely 😂
There’s a very similar railroad crossing in Grafton, MA. It’s basically on a road that doesn’t go anywhere and it turns into a dirt road after the railroad crossing. And the other funny thing is that it’s on the Framingham/Worcester line on the MBTA so the railroad gets used all the time, and it’s one of only 5 railroad crossings on the entire line. The others are in Ashland and Framingham where they didn’t want to spend money to build bridges. The railroad only crosses the road 3 times in Grafton and the other 2 are bridges. But with this weird one, the railroad is already a bit raised, so I don’t know why they didn’t just build an underpass.
LMAO!!! 😂🤣😂🤣❤️ You go to the crossing, and you are met with a barrier of concrete and rocks. Now THAT is just rich.
Is it basically a visual pedestrian railroad crossing? Anyway, I love it.
There is a closed down crossing on the LIRR Port Jefferson branch that trains are still required to honk their horns at
I think this is going to be a street at some point but there's no track crossing platform yet ! It's possible that there will be one going in to keep construction workers safe !
I think the tracks, signals and gates were edited in to a separate video you recorded of the location the video takes place in.
Is this a roadway that has been converted into a hiking and/or bicycle trail?
This is something out of train sim world!
Oh, look at the baby barrier at the back. Cute….
I remember watching this as a kid
Yeah safest because there is no road or sidewalk. It’s abandoned but still works.
This reminds me of the old Gilbert and Bennet factory in Georgetown. A factory plus other buildings, that take up a city block out in the sticks. The train used to go through there on a regular basis (back in the 70's i think). But after everything got outsourced to china, the small side road that went straight into the factory property was blocked off.
that's exactly where it is. The proposed road over the tracks never got built and the project is now abandoned.
@@rupe53 seriously? That's too funny. I grew up in wilton, even though I spent all my time in norwalk.
@@VitoVeccia having lived in the area for 60 years, I know quite a bit of the local history. That small side street is N Main St, which was the only way to get into Georgetown before they built the overpass in the mid 50s, after the flood of 55. This new crossing was going to be a realignment of N Main St, going through the factory complex instead of skirting the outside. The original post office and some older buildings are still on the old road, although looking rather sad these days. The Nissan dealer leases space at the factory to store cars, which can be seen on Google Maps. The town of Redding now owns the property for back taxes and is slowly working toward a new plan for the place.
@@rupe53 I haven't been in that direction for a while now. Every time I drive by, it always seems like something changes. Hiebecks doesn't sell gas anymore, DeLuca hardware left, and in my mind I keep thinking Bob sharp nissan is there as a mom and pop shop. And the funny part is, my '75 hornet was bought brand new years before I was born, at Georgetown AMC Jeep. My dad wanted to junk it years ago, but I saved it instead.
@@VitoVeccia Heibeck's stopped selling gas because none of the major suppliers are doing freebie tank replacements in exchange for a 10 year exclusive on their brand. (likely well over $500k cost if they were to tackle that) Their tanks were inspected years ago and are now well beyond any extensions the state will grant on useful life. (normally 20 years and one extension) The entire family working there is around 70+ years old and eventually the property will be sold or leased to another party. The hardware store property was sold a few years ago and the guy running that is about 78 years old now. Basically, he retired at 73(?) because the lease was up and he didn't want to deal with the new owner. (his sister in-law once owned the building) Bob Sharp sold years ago and expanded with a new building plus a back lot where houses once stood. Seems like an on-going project over 10 years. The Georgetown Motors building is still owned by the same family and has gone through a few different businesses in the last 10 - 15 years. It's now a used car lot. Edit: Deluca tried to sell me the hardware store as a retirement job but after talking $$ it didn't seem like a wise move on my part. Basically, he wanted too much for the business and it was partially failing due to competition from the big box stores in the area. What was keeping the place alive was small sales with people who didn't want to drive 12 miles to Norwalk or Danbury to get trinkets they ran short of on a job. He finally had a liquidator come in and buy the inventory for pennies on the dollar.
The way that this looks it looks like a road was to be built but it never happened because of how the railroad lights are placed
Imagine you found a railroad in the woods
This answers the questions what came first? The road or the railroad???
Does anyone know where this was filmed? Like specifics like town, maybe a road near it?
Yes. 41.260515238685365, -73.43441503229539
That's some hella pre planning if they thought, "We're DEFINITELY going to develop this area...someday, better put crossing gates in ahead of time."
where we’re going, we don’t need roads.
Very useful !
Looks to have been in use a very long time after the road closed, notice the size of the trees on the other side.
this was for a proposed road to a 50 acre industrial site. The site was abandoned, and the road was never built so the crossing has long since been removed.
@@rupe53 Ah, I see, makes much more sense.
TY! 🤠👍
I remember this video! But why is there a crossing there and what happened to the original video?
Idk
Great video. I subscribed to your channel as well!
Not only that but they completely removed the road.
Why is there a random railroad crossing with no road or path?
Interesting how they removed the road but the railroad didn't remove the crossing.
Brilliant! 👏👏👏
More like railwoods crossing
Where is this?
Nostaliga.
That is cool that they left the signals
the signals and equipment are gone for many years now. (12 year old video) There was a proposed road that never got built.... and the rules say they needed a crossing first.
Why sound the horn if there's a corssing with lights and gates?
Wozu hupt der Zug pausenlos?
I'm really looking for that Port Jervis Irony
Danbury branch of the Metro North I can tell from the Google Maps link farther down in the comments. There is a big lot full of cars there and a Nissan dealer on the US-7 side of the tracks, Maybe the dealer got that put in with an intention to put a road to their storage lot in the future. Or heck maybe its there because dealer employees walk over to the lot and pick up cars so a crossing got put in.
they were parking cars there back when North Main Street was still open to traffic. There was a proposal to move the road to where this signal is located and it didn't happen.
I need to get me a complete crossing like that, set it up out in the woods-
Did somebody get bored? Or is there an invisible road?
I don't think that this is it, but there's at least one place with a grade crossing between Metro-North and the Appalachian Trail.
This is in the Georgetown section of Wilton Ct. You can find it on Google maps as North Main Street, near Rt 7.
IIRC, the Appalchian Trail crossing is on MN's Hudson line.
And then there was that mountainbiker coming from behind the trees and cross between the gates....
Almost looks like it's supposed to be an isolated tech testbed or something.
Is that the main gate crossing heading to the Boeing Quality Control Headquarters?🤣
Have one in Gardner, MA blocked off by barricades.
You should go there now.
What was going through the head of the S&C design engineer at the time....
Hi is it ok if i repost this video? Just wanted to ask becuase didnt want to get sued for reposting it.
As long as you give credit to Washington State Railfan and the original poster Joe Simonin
Oh yes for sure no worries man ill give credit to the both of you 😊 thank you so much for this opportunity😅
very good!
If this signal doesn't work, are you suppose to call the number on the blue placard on the signal?
yes
@@washingtonstaterailfan6751 that's awesome.
What town is this in?
N Main St, Wilton, CT
that is insane.
Was there a road here at one point ?
No
Now run a Brightline train through there and like magic, someone vacationing from Florida will still off-road around those gates to get hit by the train.
Wildlife needs a safe place to cross also.
We have one in my town for the Penguins and Zebras.
Did there used to be a road here, or is one GOING to be built here?
Someone else did research. There *WAS* going to be a road built there to support a condominium development, but the real estate crash of 2008 happened before it was built and the project was abandoned. Interestingly the crossing is still there, though it’s now out of service with lights and gates removed. I imagine the project is still on a shelf somewhere and the railroad is still patiently expecting it to be resurrected one day.
Thanks for the info. Strange it was put in before the road was even installed. A neat video though.👍💯
@@Bidenforprison2024 As I recall, DOT regulations say the crossing needs to be built first.
@rupe53 Thank you, I learned something new today lol.👍
What's the purpose of this crossing?
Why is there a railroad crossing located right there?
I bet it is even safer at night and in rainy, foggy conditions...!
I think someone forgot to remove all the gates and signals from that old crossing
From the original posting, now removed:
"Published on Nov 25, 2012
On November 13, 2012 at 3:45 PM, a southbound Metro-North train passed through what may have been America's safest grade crossing. Not only was it equipped with LED flashers, gates and an electronic bell, but also is protected by trees on one side and stone pilings and K-rail barriers on the other.
This is the North Main Street grade crossing in Wilton, Connecticut that was still under construction on the Danbury Branch. The rubber crossing nor the road had been installed when I recorded this video.
***UPDATE: I have received reports in the comments section that the crossing signals have been removed"
Half correct. All the masts and gate mechanisms are still there. However, The lights and gate arms are long gone.
Cool video and channel just subscribed
Thanks!
More like "The Safest Grade Crossing in North America".
🤓🤓🤓
Why did the other one and the rest get removed
There is no road here
Same setup as 167th and US 169.
These railroad crossings is still there?
Yesnt. The cantilevers are but the lights and bells are long gone
Yesn't. The cantilevers and gate masts are but the lights and bells are long gone. you can see it at N Main St, WIlton, CT
trying to see it on Google Maps but its not working