[PRCo] Re: Electric Railway Accidents

[Fred Schneider]

Absolutely.

On Sep 29, 2005, at 8:21 AM, John Swindler wrote:

>
>
> 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
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>