So is this where I post an introduction?

[P7PSP]

Near where I used to live there used to be tracks with a notch on them - pressing a coin onto it used to make the boom gates go down and stop the traffic. I did that a few times. I wonder how confused the people in the cars were. Boom gates down, lights flashing, no train coming.

:lol: That sounds fun.

[normal_impaired]

Near where I used to live there used to be tracks with a notch on them - pressing a coin onto it used to make the boom gates go down and stop the traffic. I did that a few times. I wonder how confused the people in the cars were. Boom gates down, lights flashing, no train coming.

In the US, the crossing signals are controlled by an electric circuit in one rail which is closed to the other rail by the metal train axles.  At pretty much any railroad crossing in North America the crossing circuit is seperated from the rest of the track by insulated joints (usually painted in a bright color so crews can find them.  By placing a metal object on the tracks so that it touches both rails, the gates will come down as long as you're within the crossing circuit area.  If you do it outside the crossing circuit area, the train signals will indicate to other trains that there is a train where you are and will thus go red, sometimes for many miles.

That being said, tampering with railroad equipment is a felony offense, and has been for over 150 years.

[Callaway]

Near where I used to live there used to be tracks with a notch on them - pressing a coin onto it used to make the boom gates go down and stop the traffic. I did that a few times. I wonder how confused the people in the cars were. Boom gates down, lights flashing, no train coming.

In the US, the crossing signals are controlled by an electric circuit in one rail which is closed to the other rail by the metal train axles.  At pretty much any railroad crossing in North America the crossing circuit is seperated from the rest of the track by insulated joints (usually painted in a bright color so crews can find them.  By placing a metal object on the tracks so that it touches both rails, the gates will come down as long as you're within the crossing circuit area.  If you do it outside the crossing circuit area, the train signals will indicate to other trains that there is a train where you are and will thus go red, sometimes for many miles.

That being said, tampering with railroad equipment is a felony offense, and has been for over 150 years.

So just putting a penny there wouldn't work in North America, right?

[renaeden]

Near where I used to live there used to be tracks with a notch on them - pressing a coin onto it used to make the boom gates go down and stop the traffic. I did that a few times. I wonder how confused the people in the cars were. Boom gates down, lights flashing, no train coming.

In the US, the crossing signals are controlled by an electric circuit in one rail which is closed to the other rail by the metal train axles.  At pretty much any railroad crossing in North America the crossing circuit is seperated from the rest of the track by insulated joints (usually painted in a bright color so crews can find them.  By placing a metal object on the tracks so that it touches both rails, the gates will come down as long as you're within the crossing circuit area.  If you do it outside the crossing circuit area, the train signals will indicate to other trains that there is a train where you are and will thus go red, sometimes for many miles.

That being said, tampering with railroad equipment is a felony offense, and has been for over 150 years.

I have no idea how it works in Australia, only that it had an effect when I did it. It was over 15 years ago.

[SleepyDragon]

We never lived anywhere near tracks growing up. I could never understand how playing on them was dangerous, just get off when you hear a train coming. Perhaps you can get stuck just like that kid did in Fried Green Tomatoes and he lost his arm.

It's dangerous because it's not always possible to hear the train approaching. Atmospheric conditions, doppler effect, some shit like that. There was a safety movie about it where I worked about 25 years ago. Maybe if you had your ear pressed against the rail, but even that wouldn't tell you what direction it was coming from.

Oh, and welcome, normal_impaired.

[Scrapheap]

We never lived anywhere near tracks growing up. I could never understand how playing on them was dangerous, just get off when you hear a train coming. Perhaps you can get stuck just like that kid did in Fried Green Tomatoes and he lost his arm.

It's dangerous because it's not always possible to hear the train approaching. Atmospheric conditions, doppler effect, some shit like that. There was a safety movie about it where I worked about 25 years ago. Maybe if you had your ear pressed against the rail, but even that wouldn't tell you what direction it was coming from.

Oh, and welcome, normal_impaired.

You don't even have to put your ears to the rails. They start "singing" when the train is 1/4 mile away or so.

[Yuri Bezmenov]

normal_impaired needs to come back.   

[Jack]

Indeed.