Re: Boom gates for level crossing tragedy spot

["Rod [comtrain]" <freight_man@hotmail.com>]

Oh goodie!
Now the people of  NSW get to waste several hundred thousand dollars, so
that another 5 kids will get killed, slowing down to go around the booms!
Maybe their relatives will blame the booms for the accident!
This crossing is as safe as any crossing I have used!
The signs are very well placed, the road parallels the line does a 30 kph
left and 30 kph right hand bend after the crossing!
You have to slow down as their are ripple strips each side of the crossing
to wake you up even if you are day dreaming!
But what hope have you got several letters from youngsters in Wodonga like
this one today......
>From The Wodonga News paper today!
This letter was in response to supposedly faulty booms staying down for 8
minutes recently at Melrose Drive, Wodonga.
Several locals were pictured going around the booms, in fact about 50
vehicles did , and another hundred or so turned around and went back beyond
Kelly Street and used an underpass that was easily accessed.
>Crossing Figures Don't add up!
     Here I stand at the southern gate of the Melrose St. level Crossing.
The passenger train has just hurtled past and I wonder if  Mr.A. Savidge has
been here. [Savidge is an Retired Shed foreman from Junee who proclaims
himself as the local expert on everything from Railways, to broken Dam
walls]
     Some observable facts independent of spurious statistics: Time from
train being visible to entering the crossing; 18 seconds (much more from the
north side) 100% error on the nine seconds quoted.
      Distance train is visible going to Wodonga; all the way to the station
2 km away. 300% error on the 500 meters quoted. My unmodified HJ
six-cylinder , 3 speed ute can actually cover 60 meters using only half
throttle in the 10 secs claimed by A.Savidge to clear the 15 meter boom
gate, an error of 300 %.
M McIntosh joined the debate, [opinion Feb..6th] raising some points with
which I agree. "The many people who crossed (while the booms were down) had
no idea it was going to take 8 minutes"
That is right...as far as they knew it was going to take 80 minutes, or 8
hours, or, as I illustrated with the speed signs, eight or more days.
Equally I agree that "you would have to be an idiot  not to know the covered
up sign meant drive 50", just as you would have to be an idiot to not to
know that lowered boom gates without a  train meant they were
malfunctioning.
I really don't give a toss about the semantics of a failed boom gate, what I
do care about are people who bow to 'false Gods of Statistics' and flawed
authority, surrendering their ability to think in the process, then condemn
those who do not lower themselves to that standard.
Kelly Knott, Wodonga.<
[Kelly was apparently the first one to take off and round up the several
cars stopped in front of her, before zig zagging through the booms]

I can add a little to this story.  Melrose Drive is about 500 meters from
Wodonga SG crossing Loop.
NSW Train Controllers at Junee have total control of all trains in NSW and
their authority ends at Albury.
Adelaide then operates the SG in Victoria, all the way from Albury to
Serviceton and of course in South Australia.
NSW Controllers hate Adelaide with a vengeance, and do not answer calls from
Adelaide, and when forced to respond, generally supply flawed
information.[Wodonga signalmen used to talk to Albury Station Box and gain
information for Adelaide which might not be accurate]
This is the main problem with Wodonga Loop. It is only 800 meters long!, and
if Adelaide thinks that a train is less than 800 meters he will cross at
Wodonga, with a train coming from Chiltern. If the train ex Albury fails to
clear the fouling point on arriving at Wodonga, the safety system on the
Melrose Drive Booms, will run a timer, and if the train is still foul, the
booms will drop down to protect the crossing, perhaps from a runaway
detached vehicle, or a train passing the signal at stop at the loop.
Because of the stupidity of the men in Junee, and people like Kelly Knott,
we have a real problem here.
Kelly neglected to tell you that although he / she might get across, the
sheep that followed her stupid move would not be so lucky!
Rod Young

















David Bromage <dbromage@fang.omni.com.au> wrote in message
uNFh6.21$pi7.2727@news0.optus.net.au">news:uNFh6.21$pi7.2727@news0.optus.net.au...
> Boom gates are to be installed at the level crossing where five teenagers
> from Wagga Wagga died last month.
>
>
http://www.abc.net.au/news/regionals/riverina/monthly/regriv-12feb2001-4.htm