Truck rate vs Train rate

Some states have rules that a train cannot block a crossing, usually for more than ten minutes.

Sometimes we get around that rule by moving about 5mph. The problem is if you end up needing to send a conductor out to cut the crossing it might take them over an hour to walk back and tie sufficient hand brakes to hold the standing portion. It's almost always faster to call the dispatcher and tell them to get us moving off the crossing.

I worked three terminals and almost all engineers would memorize every single crossing, the length of train that could fit between crossing and what signal aspect was needed to advance without blocking crossings. We usually made cheat sheets for people learning the territory, but it can take a few years before a new engineer is an expert on the territory where they know when to hold back on signals to not block crossings or what crossings can be blocked because traffic can just turn around and user another crossing close by.

I know when I was new and made the mistake of going past a signal that sets me up to block a crossing I was always stressed out and bothering the dispatcher to get us moving and it appears ingrained that section in my mind so it wouldn't happen again.

Of course sometimes the dispatcher will tell a group of trains we will run as a pack to a certain point, so you go past signals you usually wouldn't knowing you aren't lined to stop, but the train ahead has a mechanical issue and now you are stuck over crossings.

So my three terminals we rarely blocked crossings because we tried not to. Maybe other locations they aren't allowed to hold back on any signals or there are so many crossings that there's really no choice. If the state has rules about blocked crossings you can try and get the crew ticketed but again, for them to cut the crossing will almost certainly delay that crossing for much longer then cause another delay when it gets put back together. It's time consuming to tie and untie hand brakes and some trains need a lot to safely hold.

 

Yeah it is truly annoying being blocked but trains are a necessary evil for sure.

 

Just think of all the extra megas blocking every highway without trains..a few years ago I remember the trains in bc were blocked by a avalanche for a week plus the roads were a chitshow all week long with the extra truck volume .

 

Yeah the US highway system would collapse within days if it was all run on the road!