[PRCo] Re: Electric Railway Accidents

[John Swindler]

Not off-hand, Fred.  Will have to check some non-electric railway 
references. <g>

But didn't "King George V" have a headlight while on tour in US???  And 
probably also 4472???

To bring this back on topic - PTM sells small wooden models of LNER 4472 in 
the gift shop.

John



>From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: [PRCo] Re: Electric Railway Accidents
>Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 19:36:52 -0400
>
>Different philosophy ... lives are worth saving versus crossing gates
>cost money.  Which do you prefer?  The railroad accountant naturally
>prefers the latter.
>
>It may have also been a philosophy that accounts for shorter times
>from work to home and a life style in which people want to relax with
>friends in a Gasthaus or pub contrasted with ours where you drive
>like hell to get home so you can vegetate in front of a wall sized
>digital television screen.    (You know, guys, I'm deliberately
>baiting you to see what kind of answers I get.)
>
>Regardless of the philosophy,  the village idiot always finds a way.
>I recall a manual (unattended, non-automatic) gate was of Canterbury,
>England.  You drove up, telephoned the dispatcher for permission,
>then raised the gate.  Do you think that stopped the stupid from
>ignoring the rules?  No, they killed people too.   But as a general
>rule, I agree with you Jerry that a six inch red and white pipe that
>crosses all lanes of the road and both sidewalks and has a lattice
>hanging from it has a far better chance of stopping ignoramuses than
>a breakaway wooden pole.   The European societies also have done a
>much better job than us (except perhaps the British) when it comes to
>convincing their citizens to accept a regimented lifestyle.   I'm
>pretty sure Boris is going to disagree, stating that a lot of the
>regimentation in the "East" disappeared with the end of communism and
>yes, Boris, I understand that.   I recall a lovely and intelligent
>tour guide in Bulgaria explaining that it had been common for working
>men to take a nap after lunch and that children were simply told to
>be quiet, and that after the fall of communism suddenly the kids made
>noise on the philosophy that it is my right to do so.   But still, I
>think Europeans are herded much more easily than we are and when
>gates come down they routinely stop where here the last three or four
>drivers push the gas pedals to the floor.
>
>You probably have also noticed from your trips that European
>locomotives never carried headlights because the grade crossings were
>so well guarded.   Afterall, you don't need a headlight to see what's
>ahead when you can't stop within 1/2 mile.   They simply installed
>small classification lamps.   But there were, years ago, two or three
>British steam locomotives (John Swindler would know) that did have
>headlights specifically for use on one line in Scotland that had an
>unguarded crossing.
>
>On Sep 28, 2005, at 4:16 PM, <mtoytrain at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
> > Jim
> >
> > I like the crossings in Europe, a different type of gate than what
> > we have there is not goring
> > around them.
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> >>
>