Who Likes Railroad Crossings?

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Note: I would prefer that this thread is ONLY visited and responded to by people who like railroad crossings or people who are experts on railroad crossings, that is, people who have a measure of knowledge about railroad crossings. This is not limited to U.S. residents, residents in or from other countries are welcome to chime in.

WARNING: This Is A Long Thread!

I am a huge railroad crossing enthusiast and have been since I was a baby. Well maybe when I was one or two years old but I started noticing railroad crossings in Gary, Indiana, where I'm from, by the time I was three years old.

I like railroad crossings in just about any country such as Germany, The Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Argentina, but my most favorite ones are the ones in the U.S., including the kinds of crossing signals and gates used in the U.S.

What I like about railroad crossings are the crossing gates (also called crossing barriers, crossing arms, boom gates, and other names). In fact gated crossings are my most favorite kind, especially gates that are red and white striped and have lights mounted on them like in the U.S. They also do that in Canada, Australia, The Netherlands and parts of Argentina. Many gates that have lights have up to 3 lights, the light at the tip of the gate being solid while the other two lights flash alternately with the bigger signal lights.

My next favorite kind of crossing are the signals with red lights, especially the flashing lights. Crossings without gates but with lights. There are two common kinds of crossing signals: the standard mast crossing signal, or the small signal that's usually on the side of the road of approaching traffic. In some countries including but not limited to the U.S., the usual signal is an upright pole sticking up from the ground, or on a base or foundation, with an X shaped sign, called in America the Crossbuck, which in the U.S. has the black letters, RAILROAD CROSSING, and below the crossbuck are a pair of flashing lights facing approaching traffic, or forward facing flashers. Many of these signals also come with a pair of lights that face the other direction, called rear-facing flashers. And where there's a side-road or intersection near the railroad crossing, there can be an additional pair of flashing lights facing traffic running paralell or almost parallel to the tracks. Sometimes you'll find these on raised medians on islands of divided highways and very rarely on the opposite side of approaching traffic.

The other kind is the cantilever signal, the larger signal that has flashers above the road in addition to the lights to the side of the road (mounted on the pole), although some cantilever signals have been made with lights only above the road and not on the pole, which I don't really like, I prefer to have lights both on the cantilever arm and on the pole.

As far as American crossing signals go and similar signals, my most favorite signal light sizes are the signals with 12" lights and 20" backgrounds, 12x20 lights for short. My next favorite light size are the 8 3/8" lights, or 8" lights and these are very popular among rail-fans like myself. These kinds of lights are the oldest kind and have been used since the 1930s, although I read on Mike's Railroad Crossing Website that they were invented in 1919. There are still some 8" light signals around to this day but many of them, namely the much older ones have been replaced with the 12" signals, including the 12x20 ones. There's also the 12" lights with 24" backgrounds but we'll get to that in a little bit. Very few new signals with 8" lights are installed in the U.S.

Before those signals were used though, those Automatic Flagman Signals, better known as Wigwags have been in use. They were very common in the early 20th century and there are some that are still around to this day, but no new ones are installed today, by law, the flashing light signals we see have to be installed. Wigwags though that are still in place can remain in place but when it's time to get rid of them and the crossing is still in use, then flashing light signals with or without gates have to be installed in their place.

I like the Wigwags, especially the cantilever ones, but their not my favorite signals, I prefer the flashing light signals and I prefer the signals we use in the U.S. to any other signal, like many of the ones used in Europe and the U.K. (no offense to those of you who do like them, I respect your likes. I do like some of the European Signals, especially the ones in Germany and the Netherlands and I sort of do like the British signals, but I prefer American Signals and similar signals)

Now we come to the American signals with 12" lights and 24" backgrounds, or 12x24s. Many railfans, well some I've spoken to, do not like these because of the size of the backgrounds. But these signals are installed and either on brand new signals or retro-fitting some older signals. Depending on the railroad, 12x24 signals are being installed and are either on new crossings or replacing older signals whether the older signals were 8", 12x20, or even 12x24. I do like the 12x24 signals but not as much as the 8" or 12x20 signals, but I'd rather have the 12x24 signals we use in the U.S. than any other kind of crossing signal.

Which signals and light sizes do you like. How do you feel about the 12x24 lights?

There are also two types of lights: the incandescent bulb lights and the Light Emitting Diodes, and they're both used on both signals and gates. Most people prefer incandescent lights to L.E.D.s but I prefer L.E.D.s to incandescent lights. I like the incandescent ones, but I prefer L.E.D. and many railroad crossings I've seen in Tucson and along Union Pacific's Sunset Line from Tucson to Eloy have L.E.D.s. In fact there are now few incandescent signals left in Tucson as far as I know although there are still some crossings I haven't visited since 2007, 2008, or 2009. Even though L.E.D.s are typically installed in 12" signals, some 8" signals are getting L.E.D.s, whether be new 8" signals, which only few railroads in the U.S. install on vehicular crossings or for non-vehicular crossings (pedestrian crossings). In fact we only have one pair of 8" signals in Tucson that started out as incandescent lights but are now L.E.D. and it's on the 7th Avenue and 7th Street crossing, the first crossing west of the Amtrak Train Station. But 8" L.E.D.s are very rare to find but they do exist so have fun finding them!

Many of Australia's signalized crossings seem to have 8" light signals, I haven't seen any 12" lights there. I've never been to Australia and would like to go just to see their railroad crossings, but I'm going by what I've seen in pictures and video clips. Most of Australia's signals look like the U.S. signals but there are some that have 2 lights in one rectangular background, which I'm not crazy about. Some of the crossings in Argentina use such backgrounds although many of their signals look like the U.S.'s signals as well. Australia uses incandescent lights and L.E.D.s, Canada too.

Don't want to forget to mention that many L.E.D. signals have red-covered lenses like the incandescent signals. But there are some L.E.D.s that have clear-lensed covers. We have both kinds in Tucson although I don't think they're installing anymore of the clear L.E.D.s. The last time I saw clear L.E.D.s installed in Tucson was back in June or July 2006, and they were 12x20 lights, which replaced 12x24 incandescent lights! And it's very rare to have 12x24s replaced by 12x20 lights when usually it's the other way around.

L.E.D.s also come in the form of dots, or the pixilated form, where there are a lot of diodes showing. There's also the High-Flux L.E.D.s which many railfans call Ball L.E.D.s. These L.E.D.s are more like incandescent lights than the mini-diodes because they are one big L.E.D inside the signal light housing. Safetran and or Dialight installed these. Well Dialight definitely made these and probably still do but I don't know if Safetran has made them and if so if they still do, but only in 12" form. The only 8" High-Flux L.E.D.s I've seen were in traffic signals. There's also the General Electric L.E.D.s which come in pixilated form, or in the Uniform form. Originally they were Harmon L.E.D.s and they might still be, but General Electric manufactures these. I think Harmon was bought by General Electric. But the Uniform Lenses to me look kind of weird but I still like them. I didn't like them but they grew on me in 2009, but they're still not my favorite lights to use. And L.E.D.s come in different patterns: A Honey Comb Pattern, A Circular Pattern, A Hexagonal Pattern (by W.C.H.) and an Octagonal Pattern (also by W.C.H. and in the Clear Lensed signals)

Plus L.E.D.s normally simply just turn on and off really fast, but there are some that fade in and fade out like incandescent lights. Safetran's dotted L.E.D.s, the Safetran or Dialight Ball L.E.D.s, and the General Electric Uniform L.E.D.s, as far as I know, fade in and out.

Which do you prefer, incandescent or L.E.D.? Or do you like both or does it not matter? If you like L.E.D.s, which color do you prefer? Which pattern do you prefer? And do you like the fading or non-fading type?

And let's not forget the bells. There are three kinds: the classic mechanical bell, the modern electronic bell, and the hybrid bell that was made by Safetran, one of several railroad crossing manufacturing companies, which also include Western Cullen Hayes (formerly Western Railroad Supply Company), General Signals, General Electric, Alstom, Union Switch and Signal, and more.

Anyway, many people prefer the classic mechanical bells to the modern electronic bells and I can understand why. In fact, I was one of them. I didn't always like the electronic bells but they grew on me and on some others who at first didn't like them. Thing is, I'm not sure if I like the mechanical bells or the electronic bells better. My most favorite mechanical bells though are the Western Cullen Hayes (W.C.H.) kind and the Western Railroad Supply (W.R.R.S.) kind. But my most favorite crossing bell is the General Signals electronic bell, especially the type 1 kind. I like the type 2 sound but the type 1 sound is my cup of tea. There's also the W.C.H. electronic bells. I like those too but they don't sound as good as the G.S. electronic bells. In fact, many people dislike these bells and Union Pacific has been using these kinds probably since 1999 or so, but now I think Union Pacific is installing the Safetran, or Invensys. Rail electronic bells on their crossings, at least here in Arizona and most if not all the crossings from Ruthrauff Road up to the last crossing before you get to Eloy on I-10 have these bells, which look like the General Signals electronic bells and sound like the G.S. type 2 kind.

I have mixed emotions about the W.C.H. electronic bells. They are sour sounding and don't sound like good railroad crossing bells to me but they're okay. They come in three tones, the type 1 tone which nobody likes, the type 1.5 kind, which I like, and the type 2 kind, which is better than the type 1 but not as good sounding as the 1.5. These bells also ring in at least three different speeds, slow, medium, and fast. I prefer the fast ringing kind to the other two and I don't like the slow-ringing kind that much and would rather have the medium speed bell than the slow speed bell.

There are many kinds of mechanical bells and a few kinds of electronic bells. The hybrid bell, manufactured by Safetran, which I don't think they make anymore, is supposed to be an electronic bell that looks and sounds like a mechanical bell and several crossings in the U.S. have had these installed on them and there might still be some. I've never seen a Safetran Hybrid bell before and I probably never will, all I have are the G.S., W.C.H, and Invensys Rail electronic bells and very few mechanical bells left. Some Australian crossings have these kinds of bells.

Which bells do you prefer, mechanical, electronic, or the hybrid bell? Do you like electronic bells?

And what do you guys think about the Western Cullen Hayes electronic bell? If many of you give them a thumbs down, I don't blame you.

There are some railroads that still install mechanical bells, even reuse old bells.

There's also that boring Crossbuck Only crossing with no lights or gates or bells. I do like these but much less than the crossings with signals and with or without gates. I do like that some crossbuck crossings come with STOP signs even though STOP signs override the crossbuck, which means the same as the YIELD sign. The crossbuck tells drivers not only that they are crossing the tracks but to YIELD to approaching trains because trains always have the right of way. In fact, ever since 2004, I've been seeing crossbuck crossings with YIELD signs on them (not counting the Buckeye Crossbucks used in Ohio, which I remember only seeing one of in person).

Thankfully though, many crossbuck crossings have been upgraded to signal crossing or signal-gate crossing, and the first time I saw something like this happen was when I lived in Upstate New York on two crossings, including the one on Scotch Settlement Road in Gouverneur, New York. The Scotch Settlement crossing was a crossbuck only crossing until sometime in 1991 or more likely 1992. They installed three mast signals, two of which have forward and rear facing lights and gate arms. The third signal just has forward-facing lights. It's also like that on the Factory Street Crossing also in Gouverneur. The reason the third signals are used might be because the main signals cannot immediately be seen by drivers approaching the crossing to their right because of buildings or whatever.

I don't mind crossbuck crossings but I prefer crossings with gates or at least lights, and not just for safety but also for cosmetic purposes, even though that's not what they're for. What about you?

One more thing I want to note about crossbucks, well two, at least in the U.S., even though the crossbuck we see are white with black lettering, there have been some black crossbucks with white letters (inverted crossbucks). The number of tracks signs have been like this too as have been STOP ON RED SIGNAL signs, which used to be used on many crossings in the U.S., but now their rare to find (except in Michigan, where it's State Law that STOP ON RED SIGNAL signs are used on signalized crossings with or without gates.) Now black crossbucks, black Number of Tracks signs, and Black STOP ON RED SIGNAL signs are not made anymore. It's a shame, but by law, all new crossbucks have to be white and reflective. But I wish we could go back to using black crossbucks on some crossings.

Plus some crossbucks are single sided (or facing one direction and blank on the back) and some crossbucks are double-sided and we have many of those in Tucson too, in fact most of the newly installed crossbucks are like this, I think Union Pacific uses Double-Sided crossbucks, and except for the Metro Transit Light Rail Line in Minneapolis Minnesota, and some railroad crossings I've seen in Minneapolis, I don't know any other railroads that use Double-Sided crossbucks.

Which crossbucks do you prefer, single-sided or double-sided? Also, would you like to see black crossbucks again or are you just fine with the white ones (and other railroad signs)?

Getting back to crossing gates. As you know, they're red and white striped and the most modern of gates have reflective stripes on them instead of just red and white stripes painted on them. But gates weren't always red and white. In the earlier days they were at first plain colored, and then later turned black and white and were used up until the 1970s. I think red and white gates started to be made in the 60s but didn't come into full use until the 1970s but don't quote me on that, that's just my theory.

Older crossing gates were made out of wood, which wasn't environment friendly, and at least many wooden gates were A-framed, also called wishbone gates. As far as I know, wishbone gates have been used in the U.S. but they're getting harder to find. They're also used in the Netherlands, Argentina (namely the Buenos Aires area) Australia, and even the U.K. although I don't think the U.K.'s wishbone gates are made of wood.

In the U.S. and Australia, black and white wishbone gates have been used. Then red and white ones have been used although I highly believe the U.S. used red and white gates before Australia did. And in the U.S., wishbone gates either were just painted red and white, and some black and whites may have been painted over with red and white stripes, but others have been installed with reflective stripes. There used to be a lot of wishbone gates in Gary Indiana, some along the South Shore commuter line (N.I.C.T.D.) and on this spur track south of downtown Gary. Now all the wishbone gates are gone and have been replaced with more modern gates.

I don't think anymore wishbone gates are installed on U.S. crossings and it could be because wishbone gates are very expensive and complicated to build, they're made of wood as mentioned, and they break easily, and impatient drivers are not their only enemies (when cars crash through them, those gates are pretty much done and they're smashed to smithereens) but also strong wind can take them out.

The gates we now use are made either of fiberglass, aluminum, or both aluminum and fiberglass, aluminum at the bottom and fiberglass on the upper section. Don't let the gates you see on T.V. and in movies fool you, those gates are made of wood, especially the gates that get intentionally shattered by motorists who refuse to stop at them, but the gates we use in real life are aluminum and or fiberglass and are somewhat stronger, and less expensive, than the wooden gates. They're still breakable but are not as easily breakable. But if an impatient driver runs into them, one of two things will usually happen: they'll either get bent or, if there's a break-away pin installed, the gate will get knocked completely off the gate arm holder but stay in tact and if the crossing gate is fortunate enough, it can be reattached and be restored to service but it's lights may need to be replaced.

As for striping, many gates still have slanted stripes, but due to M.U.T.C.D. standards, new crossing gates now have to have vertical stripes, and many of the crossings in Tucson are already receiving them. From what I read on the M.U.T.C.D. website, slanted stripes tell driver to go left or right depending on the angle, but at a railroad crossing, you're supposed to stop.

Even though I do like the slanted stripes, since every gate I've seen had them, crossing gates should have been vertically striped in the first place, even on the black and whites. Weren't there also black and yellow crossing gates as seen on some cartoons? Anyway, at first I didn't like the vertical striped gates, which were used in Canada first, it's because they made the gates look more European and I've been to Germany and lived there for almost 9 years, but now I'm okay with them, and they make more sense to use.

In addition to the gate arms, there are also the gate lights. Unfortunately not every country uses gate lights. I thought gate lights were only used in the U.S. but beginning in 2002, I learned that the crossing gates there have lights. Later that same year I learned gate lights are used in Australia and in the United Kingdom. In 2005, I learned that Argentina, which also use U.S. like signals, in fact many of the signals there are U.S. signals exported from us and imported to them, but some of Argentina's crossing gates have lights on them, but not all of them have 3 lights, some only have one light and most have 2 lights, but most of the gates in Argentina, as far as I know, lights lack.

Then in mid 2006, I learned that crossings in the Netherlands, which use crossbuck signs almost similar to Germany's, only horizontally adjusted instead of vertically adjusted like in Germany, but use U.S.-like crossing signals, also use gate lights and their signals and gates function like ours, only their lights flash rather fast and their bells ring fast too. If I ever have to move back to Europe, I think I want to live in the Netherlands or at least go back to Germany, which is one of the many countries that does not put lights on their gate arms but on only their signals.

I don't mind gates without lights on them, but I prefer to have lighted gates. I've been highly fascinated by it since 4th grade thanks to a dream I had of a crossing gate made out of Lego pieces and it had three red light-like pieces, those round red transparent blocks, sticking on them. To be honest, I wish all crossing gates, regardless of what they look like and what country their in, had lights on them, mostly for cosmetic purposes but gate lights can also make a crossing gate more visible at night.

I could get into detail about gate lights but I'll spare it, this thread is long enough as is and there are many kinds of gate lights within as well as outside the U.S. But some are incandescent and some are L.E.D. And as mentioned, most gates with lights on them have 3 lights on them, the lights near the end of the gate are steady or solid while the other two gate lights flash along with the signals. Some gate lights work differently though.

Which gate color do you like? Do you prefer the diagonal striping or the vertical striping? Do you like gates better with or without lights or does it not matter?

And I don't just enjoy real crossing signals, I also enjoy toy crossing signals, which I also have, and I like the ones that light up more than the ones that don't. I also enjoy toy crossing gates, although very few toy gates have functioning lights installed on them, but some gates have fake, non-working lights, namely NJ International gates.

But the bottom line is, railroad crossings are my biggest interest in the world and I enjoy their existence, especially the American style crossing signals with white or black crossbucks, preferably double sided crossbucks but single-sided exist forward and rear facing lights and I'll either take them with 8", 12x20, or 12x24 lights, incandescent or L.E.D. mechanical or electronic bells (if electronic, I want at least one G.S. type 1 electronic bell) and I want most if not all of my crossings to have gates, preferably red and white striped, diagonal or vertical striped, (or black and yellow but red and white is more preferred), and with 3 gate lights on each gate. And I'll take my gates either wishbone but preferably reflective, or the modern single gates. I also prefer my crossing signals to be either silver or black colored.

I also started this thread because I wanted to talk about railroad crossings on T.V. and in movies, especially in cartoons. I don't know if I should post it in this thread or start an entirely different thread. But a topic Railroad Crossings on T.V. and in Movies was inspired by the Topic in College Life: "Why are fire alarms in movies and on TV always unrealistic" by Wiley2012, which I participated in because railroad crossings on many cartoons are unrealistic.

What should I do? Should I post it only in this topic or can I start a new topic pertaining to Railroad Crossings on TV and in Movies and in Cartoons?

This is enough from me for now. Now I'd like to hear your opinions on railroad crossings, preferably from you my fellow railroad crossing likers and from you who know a more or even less about railroad crossings than I do, or even those of you who know way more about them than I do. And not just American Railroad Crossing fans but Railroad Crossing Fans born in or living in other countries. Please don't forget to answer the questions.

And if I get permission, I'd like to post some pictures pertaining to this topic so you can see what I mean by 8" lights, 12x20 lights, 12x24 lights, mechanical bells, electronic bells, incandescent lights, L.E.D.s, etc.

I don't mean to be rude, but is this a joke? ^^^

Looks like somebody has a special interest

I occasionally watch videos of trains in Youtube. This is my fave channel for that if you haven't seen it already: https://www.youtube.com/user/Rocketboy1950

I rarely get to see a train at the crossing around here despite travelling over it 2 times a week. I like winding my windows down and experiencing the thunder as the train rolls past loudly on the tracks.

Disclaimer; I'm not an enthusiast or anything but I can appreciate your interest somewhat.

Thanks for asking and for reading but no this is not a joke. I was just hoping to start a discussion about railroad crossings (or level crossings as they're called in the U.S.)

Thanks for the link but I don't go on YouTube
I don't like that website and am not at all comfortable there. Long story.

An uber geek!

A regular geek would like trains in general. Or would be into steam trains. But only an uber geek would be enthralled by railroad crossings.



I'm an American, and Ive never heard the term "level crossing". We just call them "railroad crossings".

And we are terrified of being stuck on one in a stalled car.

You're right. Oops! I made an error. When I said "Or level crossings, as they're called IN the U.S" I meant to say "as they're called OUTSIDE the U.S."

I was not paying attention to myself. My mistake!

To naturalplastic, you're right, I am a geek, I cannot deny it and I don't claim to be a cool person. And plus, if I was your teacher and were my student I'd give you extra credit points for that, thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Yeah in the United States, and I'm American too but not a very bright American, but getting back on topic, in the U.S. they are typically known as railroad crossings. But what most of you might not know is, in the U.S. they are also called:
-Grade Crossings
-At-Grade Crossings
-Railroad Grade Crossings

In Canada and Australia they're called Railway Crossings, because Railroad is more of an American word. Railway is usually used outside the U.S., kind of like the American System and the Metric System.

There are, or were a few railroads in the U.S. that say Railway. For example, we have the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (B.N.S.F. for short) Railway (Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway); Norfolk Southern Railway (NS); Elgin, Joliet and Eastern (E.J.&.E) Railway (now owned mostly by Canadian National; my late great uncle worked for E.J.&E. until he passed away in February 2009). One more example is the Great Northern Railway (also belonging to B.N.S.F., in fact if I'm not mistaken, B.N.S.F.'s locomotive colors, Orange, Green, and Yellow were the Great Northern Railway's color scheme, whereas A.T.S.F.'s colors were either blue and yellow (for freight trains) and black, yellow and mostly red and even more-so silver for passenger trains, when Santa Fe (or A.T.S.F.) had passenger rail service as did many other American Railroads, which is why we have Amtrak now. I think though, some A.T.S.F. freight locomotives were silver, yellow, black, and blue where red would normally be. I wasn't around until July 1985 though, I'm just going by what I've seen in pictures. And I've seen some Silver and Red B.N.S.F. locomotives, as well as few White, Turquoise, and Maroon colored B.N.S.F. locomotives, associated more with Burlington Northern (B.N.)

Anyway, don't quote me on all this, I'd research this myself to make sure this is accurate if I were you.

Back to Railroad Crossings. In other lands, like the United Kingdom, Railroad Crossings are called Level Crossings. And I think there's a term Railway Level Crossing.

I think many people are afraid to stall on a rail crossing. I like rail crossings but I don't want to be stuck on them. Do remember, if your car stalls on a track and a train is coming and near the immediate vicinity, get out of your car and stay out and run away, and run toward the direction the train is coming, but obviously not to the train. From what I've studied, if you run toward the train when evacuating your stalled vehicle and the train hits your vehicle, you're less likely to be a victim of flying debris from your vehicle-turned-scrap-metal. I shouldn't have to tell you what could happen if you run the same direction the train is heading.

I also don't want my driver trying to beat a coming train, ignoring the flashing signal lights, or driving me around or through the down gates. And as a little kid, I've been driven around the lowered gates, but when the gates stayed down even after a train passed, in other words, when the crossing malfunctioned, and this happened on multi-track crossings!

Plus, I almost lost my mother to a train when I was a baby. Her driver saw that the gates were coming down but he decided to race the train and went under or around the gates (from what my mother told me) and there was more than one track at the crossing. The driver drove my mother and one other person with them across the first track thinking they passed the train only to find out they were on the next track, WHICH THE COMING TRAIN WAS ON! Thankfully they got out of the way in the nick of time. But I almost lost my mother that day and if I did, I don't know if I'd still like trains or not.

So does anyone have anymore to add?

Maybe that incident triggered your obsession. Its somekind of love-hate complex.

When I lived in the southern part of the state when I was a teen,I liked to get the VW bug going fast and use them as ramps.I was pretty stupid at the time.
There isn't a single train track in the county where I live now.

Good guess, but actually I liked railroad crossings many years before my mother told me this story (I think I was 18 or 19 when I first heard this).

And I have to say, I don't think my mother would have suspected I would like trains and railroad crossings after that incident. In fact, no one knew I was going to develop this interest.

I think I had another relative, or at least my family had a friend (I cannot remember very well but I'm almost sure it was a member of our family, if I find out, I'll correct it later) but he was killed at a railroad crossing and this crossing did not have the train-activated warning devices, i.e. the lights and the gates, at the time, but does now. This was at one of the railroad crossings on Martin Luther King Drive in Gary, Indiana, where I'm from, and that city is crawling with railroad crossings, most of which, if I'm not mistaken, have gates. And some of the streets there have more than one railroad crossing, like Broadway Street and Grant Street, check Mapquest, Google Maps, or if you happen to be in Gary, Indiana, well if you are in Gary, Indiana you already know.

But there are two railroad crossings on MLK Drive, which some people, like my mother, called King Drive and that's how we'll refer to it for simplicity. There's one north of 21st Avenue, where my late great great grandmother used to live, and incidentally where I used to live when I was a baby and again when I was five and my sister was a baby, and there's another one south of 21st Avenue, close to where Interstate 80 is, and I think that's the one my possible relative was killed on. The one north of 21st has standard mast signal, or at least it did the last times I saw it, and the one south of 21st has cantilevers, but both crossings have gates. I think the one near I80 was more like the one north of 21st Avenue in the early 90s, but now it has cantilevers. But he was killed at night, which makes it much worse.

I don't like those ungated-unlighted crossings, mostly because they're boring to me, but also because they're very dangerous, especially at night and where the tracks are obstructed, namely by trees or buildings. At these crossings, and boy were there lots and lots of these in the old days, and they're still very common to this day, but at these crossings, you have to be extra, extra careful, especially at night. My advice, well this isn't my advice but if you come up on these crossings, especially at night, slow down, turn down or turn off your music and A.C., roll down your windows, have others with you be quiet, and listen for a train. You may even have to stop and look both ways for one.

Do watch out though, just because a crossing has lights or gates doesn't mean you're in less danger, there have been some incidents where the lights didn't flash and the gates (if present) didn't go down even though a train was coming. One such incident, I think occurred in Illinois and at a 4-Quadrant gate crossing of all crossings. One lady driving one direction crossed the tracks and then saw an Amtrak train in her rear-view mirror. But sadly that same train killed two teenaged boys travelling the other direction. It was because a railroad worker working on the crossing forgot to reactivate the signals! And I think the railroad in charge of that crossing blamed the teens for the accident, but no it was the fault of a railroad worker who was being immature and was ordered by a police officer to leave. I believe this happened September 26, 1999 but I could be wrong.

Follow this U.R.L. for more information articlesDOTchicagotribueDOTcom/2000-06-30/news/0006300045_1_maintenance-worker-federal-railroad-administration-amtrak Copy this URL into the address bar but replace the word DOT with the sign.

You should also be careful even after a train passes and the signals time out, at least at multi-track crossings. In Janurary 2009 at a crossing on University Drive in Tempe (Phoenix), which is about two hours north of where I live, and this was on a Light Rail crossing, but not long after the Light Rail opened to the public, one south/east bound train passed and then the gate(s) went up and a driver drove across the tracks only to get hit by a second train heading north/west. In addition, the driver was cited for crossing while the gates were still in motion, and on a suspended license.

mDOTeastvalleytribuneDOTcom/news/article_e2757554-a9a)-54b3-9b69-a8c3e10a0f89.html?mode=jqm

On more brighter notes, even though I started noticing railroad crossings and became interested in them by the time I was 2, I didn't know what they were called until I was 4 years old and visited my hometown for two months that year (1989), I moved to Germany in April 1988 when I was 2 and 3/4 years old and saw different kinds of railroad crossings. More on that later.

But when I went back to Gary in 1989, I started seeing American crossing signals in person again asked my grandmother (who now works for Amtrak) what they were and she told me. She even had a miniature black railroad crossing signal in her house to my amazement, only instead of having two red lights like the real ones, this one had a red light and a green light, and I think many of you should be familiar with those. I have one that my late Uncle, who also worked on the railroad, EJ&E, got me off of eBay more than 10 years ago, but it needs a new red light, or better yet, two new red lights since real crossing signals don't have green lights.

But thanks to my grandmother, I was able to go back to Germany with more knowledge, and perhaps an increased interest, in railroad crossings, and my mother among others learned that I was into railroad crossings. But later this did concern them and others because that was one of my biggest interests and my family and others wanted me to try to be interested in other things, and I now understand why, even though it does get under my skin when I'm told to concentrate on other things than railroad crossings. But I know that I should and I do try to so I don't have to be told it again. But I admit it, railroad crossings can be an obsession to me, and I think my Asperger's Syndrome might be a factor, and I know, and have heard of other people that have Asperger's and like railroad crossings.

I think the fact that other Asperger's-Positive people liking railroad crossings might be another reason I started this Thread, and I hope those of you who do have Asperger's and like railroad crossings like I have and do chime in on this thread and talk about your view of railroad crossings, why you might like them, what you like and dislike about them, what your favorite thing about them is, and more. And even those of you who don't have Asperger's but like railroad crossings anyway.

To Misslizard, unless you don't like or care for railroad tracks, I'm sorry to hear that. I don't like living anywhere where there are no train tracks, especailly active tracks, and I don't like living in cities or towns without railroad crossings, especially since I cannot drive myself and I'm too careless to drive though I'm 28, I just cannot trust myself behind the wheel.

But before I ever lived in Tucson, I lived down in Sierra Vista, where my sister is from, and there used to be a railroad track that ran into Ft. Huachuca, where my stepfather was in 1990-91 and again in 1999-2004 or so. Anyway, they took the tracks out before I first moved there from Germany in 1990. Didn't really like it there until sometime after I moved out to upstate New York, Gouverneur was where we lived for two years, and where there is a railroad track, and two tracks extending from it.

When I moved back to Sierra Vista in 1999, at first I liked living there, but the next year after some visits to Tucson, I realized I didn't like Sierra Vista and had a burning desire to move to Tucson. What I didn't know was my mother wanted to live in Tucson too. Then in June 2001, my mother moved to Tucson, and in May of the next year, my sister and I finallly did. But my main reason for wanting to live in Tucson was the railroad crossings we have here. Living in Sierra Vista deprived me of that. I know it was not a very good reason to leave Sierra Vista and move to Tucson but it was what I wanted to do. If Sierra Vista still had a railroad track, or better yet a more active track with at least moderate train activity, and gated crossings (none of Sierra Vista's former crossings had gates so I've been told), I might still be living there. It was also because of past times I've lived in railroad towns in Indiana, New York, Florida, and possibly Germany.

When I lived in Germany in the late 80s, we lived in Strullendorf, a small town south of Bamberg, where my stepfather was stationed. There was a rail-line that ran from Bamberg through Strullendorf and my mother and I, and sometimes my stepfather and or one of our friends would take the trains between there and Bamberg. Near the train station in Strullendorf, there was a railroad crossing with gates but no lights, not even on the crossing signs, these were manually operated gates that went down three minutes before any train came, and unlike the gates here in the U.S., those gates blocked off the entire road and had these bars underneath them to keep people from crawling underneath them, making the gates look kind of like giant red and white hair-combs.

I took that for granted back then but that's because I was little and didn't think much about that, but now, I miss those days, I miss taking trains on a regular basis, or almost regular basis. They keep talking about having passenger rail between Tucson and Phoenix but I don't know if they're ever going to do that. It would be nice if they did.

To Kraftiekortie, admittedly I did want to be a railroad worker, but unfortunately I cannot work full-time and I don't know if I'd make millions. Plus, I'm not sure I'm really ready to turn my hobby into a job. But I'm on disability right now and lately I've been starting to have health issues like my mother has, otherwise I could be working at a grocery store right about now.

I do thank you all for your contributions and comments to this thread and I hope this can grow more in the future.

I'm in the US; I've always heard them referred to as railroad crossings; never heard "level crossings."

I've always been interested in the weather. I should have been a meteorologist; instead, I'm a data-entry clerk.

I dont know why he suggested that .

I dont know how a person "makes millions" being an expert in railroad crossings. Maybe you could team up with a photographer and make a coffee table book of America's railraod crossings, or "raiilroad crossings of the world" thta would sell. Or not sell.

I think more folks are interested in seeing steam locomotives than in oogling railroad crossings.

An old acquaintance is fascinated with the old narrow gauge trains,he went to South America just to ride them.He worked on a few here in this state,The Possum Trot line,and the one at Eureka Springs,they are still operating as tourist trains.The Possum Trot was used in the movie the North and the South with Johnny Cash.He worked for A&M for awhile.He brought back tons of cool photots from South America,had a sponsor interested in making a book and then the sponsor died before he got a chance to do anything,bummer.

What I meant is: if one could obsessed with something like railroad crossings, one could use that "power of obsession" to make millions in that, or other fields.

And remember, I said "I wish" you could make millions, not that you PROBABLY will make millions, out of your enjoyment of railroad crossings.

Thanks again for all the replies. I admittedly want to try to keep this topic going on as long as I can and I want others who share my interest and those who can relate to me to have a chance to contribute to this.

Yeah like I said, in the U.S. they are called railroad crossings. They're also called grade crossings or at-grade crossings.

But, in other countries, they're called railway crossings (at least in Canada and Australia) or level crossings. Still don't believe me? See Wikipedia, or ask the people from the U.K. or the people from Australia.

Naturalplastic is right, most people would be more interested in trains than in railroad crossings and this I can understand. We Railroad Crossing enthusiasts are incredibly out-numbered by non-enthusiasts although many non-rail-crossing enthusiasts do like trains. And I do understand the interest in steam locomotives. In fact, I'm a fan of the steam locomotives myself! It's just too bad that they had to be, for the most part, discontinued and be replaced by the diesels we now see today.

I mean yeah the steam locomotives were a lot of work, and required lots and lots of fuel, namely coal, needed to be watered a lot, costs lots of money and man-power, and polluted the air (diesels do to but not as much I don't think) but they were so cool.

Thankfully some steam locomotives are still in use to this day but far less than they were this time last century. I do like the diesel locomotives, really I do, and the electric locomotives, the ones that have the bendable pantographs that go up to the overhead catenary wires, but I wish the steam locomotives were back. I know that will never happen but it would be nice if steam locomotives were back and used again, only without polluting the air so much if not at all, and be much cheaper and easier to operate. But that's all just a fantasy.

What would actually be nice are diesel locomotives that looked a lot like steam locomotives. Wouldn't that be nice? But they'd be too expensive, not to mention complicated, to build, and how would they be operated? And they wouldn't be the same as real steam locomotives and probably would be no more popular than the diesels we use.

It would also be nice, going back to railroad crossings, if those old A-frame gates (or wishbone-shaped) gates could be used again. But, they're too expensive and complicated to build and install. In addition, they're not environment-friendly, at least not the ones made of wood, which is what earlier gates were made out of, and some gates on T.V. and movies that are made to be plowed through by drivers running from people, like cops, or by those pursuing someone, or just drag-racing a train like on The Fast and the Furious, or for whatever the reason. Even metal wishbone gates wouldn't do much good or any better. The ones we use in the U.S. today (also used in Canada and some other countries,) made of aluminum and fiberglass, those are cheaper and easier to install. They're unfortunately still destructible, but unlike any wooden gate, which if crashed into get shattered to smithereens, the gates we use today, depending on the severity of the damage, can be reattached and restored to service. Once a wooden gate is crashed into or broken any other way, that gate is pretty much done forever and will have to be removed and replaced altogether by another gate if the railroad and the crossing it was on was still in use, although gates are usually driven under or driven around.

I however, don't want to go back to using black and white striped gates. I mean they're okay and they're better than having nothing, but I prefer the red and white gates a lot more, especially the reflective gates.

It would also be nice if the 8" light crossing signals could be installed much more and if many 8" lights could still be used instead of being replaced by 12" lights. I mean some 8" lights are still in their places, and very rarely are 8" light signals are installed, but most railroads install 12" lights on new installations, especially with the 24" backgrounds. In addition, according to the Federal Railroad Administration (F.R.A.) the major railroads are not allowed to install new 8" lights, they have to be 12" lights (except in the case of pedestrian-only crossings.) Plus the 12" lights are more conspicuous than the 8" lights.

I generally like railroads but I'm not sure I'm a fan of narrow-gauge railroads. I prefer standard-gauge like we, for the most part, use, although if all we used were narrow gauge tracks, I'd be okay with it. I'd have to settle for it bit I'd rather have narrow gauge than no railroad at all.

I don't think I've ever seen a narrow-gauge railroad before, at least I don't remember so.

I think I see and understand what Kraftiekortie means. I think his idea did have good intentions. I mean, when I was a high school Junior, I've been told that my artwork could be worth money, I'm an artist, but an amateur, and I believed it. No one has ever told me that before. I currently don't plan to sell artwork. But what I'm saying is, because I'm a nice person, or I try to be at least, it's not always easy, we should try to be more understanding of what Kraftirkortie said, I think he meant well.

I CERTAINLY did (said in the voice of Stan Laurel).

I like to look at railroad crossings in conjunction (conjunction junction LOL) with the lights and sounds of both the train and the crossing.

I don't like driving over them, though--bad for the tires.