David Stone/Special to the Telegram
Railroad crossing signals such as this one in downtown Temple are designed to keep people safe and save lives.
Railroad crossing gates, signals keep people safe
The red lights are flashing, the gate arm is coming down and you are in a hurry. It’s tempting to hammer down and beat the parade of rolling steel to the intersection. Don’t do it. About 7,800 Americans are hurt and more than 800 killed in an average year while crossing train tracks, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Justin Lambrecht of the National Railroad Museum said railroad crossing gates and signals are designed to keep you safe at a railroad crossing. “Gates and signals help, but you have to follow the proper safety rules and procedures,” he said. “Many people are negligent of their
surroundings when it comes to railroad crossings or feel that it is an inconvenience to wait for a train.” In addition to trying to beat a train to a junction of rail and road, some drivers are distracted by loud radios or cellphones, he said. “You have to be able to hear the dinging bells,” Lambrecht said. “Sometimes the lights don’t grab your attention or perhaps they are not properly functioning. Be aware of your surroundings. If you see a train and the signal is not working, by all means stop and let the train pass. If you can, call the railroad responsible for the crossing. The numbers and location are usually posted near the signal.”
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The duties of the Temple railroad guard would change, however, because a mechanical device soon arrived in the new but bustling city — the railroad crossing gate. According to Lambrecht, the first U.S. patent for a crossing gate dates back to 1867 in Boston, but the devices were slow to arrive in the expanding West. These gates were hand-operated, which meant they had to be cranked up and down. Crank stations were built next to junctions, and the gates were lowered or raised by chains running through underground piping from the crank station to each gate at the crossing. The cost of manning every railroad crossing was expensive, and by the early 1900s the use of “cross buck” signs — the common “X” warning sign still in use today — became very common. This design was improved in the 1920s as vehicles became equipped with lights and night driving was common. Sign makers began using reflectors called cataphones, or “cat eyes,” on cross bucks to make them more
visible, Lambrecht said. Cataphone reflectors were replaced with reflective buttons in the 1940s, and automatic railroad gates arrived at some Temple crossings in the 1950s. The automatic gates not only raised and lowered without a human cranker, they also were fitted with bells to provide an audio alert. As Temple traffic increased, a passing train meant long lines of waiting cars. To speed things up a bit, viaducts were built on major thoroughfares to bypass the tracks. In some cities, underpasses were built to take roads — and vehicles — under the tracks. Temple opted for overpasses on roads such as 31st Street, Adams Avenue, Third Street, Avenue H and Central Avenue. Overpasses can present a big but fairly rare problem during an extreme winter — icing. Raising the street means cold air totally surrounds the bridged roadway and quickly freezes any moisture on the surface. Sand is used to provide traction during icy weather.
David Stone/Telegram file
An old steam locomotive on display at the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum waits to be discovered by the curious. The locomotive is part of the museum’s collection of railroad cars and equipment on display on the museum grounds, next to an active railroad yard where trainspotters can observe daily operations and traffic of the BNSF and Amtrak. June 27, 2021
