Massachusetts Railroad Crossing sign

[D-Dey65]

I found this on Google Street View while looking up info on a nearby railroad station.



What does that supplement sign beneath the Railroad Crossing Warning sign say?

[agentsteel53]

CAUTION/ACTIVE RAILROAD CROSSING.

in case someone thinks all those bells and whistles are for display purposes only.

[mightyace]

CAUTION/ACTIVE RAILROAD CROSSING.

in case someone thinks all those bells and whistles are for display purposes only.

I think it's usually used on a rail line that has been dormant for many years and is now active to warn people that may have gotten complacent.  "I've never seen a train here in ....." {crunch}

[agentsteel53]

"I've never seen a train here in ....." {crunch}

"that's an interesting new warning sign... hmm, caution, active train crossing... never seen one like it... wonder what they mean by that..." {crunch}

[rickmastfan67]

"Did I just hear a train whistle?  Nah, must be my imagination.  Wait a sec, are those lights flashing???...." {crunch}

[Anthony_JK]

Considering that the crossing itself seems to already have the full kaboodle of bells, lights, and gates, looks like a bit of overkill to me. Unless, there's a history of the the gates and lights malfunctioning.


Anthony

[Scott5114]

"A train here? Naah, there couldn't be. Back in forty two I used to walk this-a-ways, uphill in the snow without no train, to get myself some bread, and boy did Wonder make a good product. Only sold it for a nickel too. Back in them days, I tell ya, that's how a company used to conduct its business. You made the best product and sold it for a fair price. These days, you got all these plastic Made in China..." {crunch}

[2Co5_14]

This is a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority commuter rail line that started running in 1997 - there had been no active use of the rail line since 1959.  So I'm sure people had gotten used to driving through the crossing without stopping.

On a related note, here is a picture of another warning sign before a crossing:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Hingham,+MA&sll=34.052261,-84.613292&sspn=0.009654,0.021136&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Hingham,+Plymouth,+Massachusetts&ll=42.221232,-70.926468&spn=0.002157,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=42.221323,-70.926475&panoid=iQd7_oGviiuyAQ9WEy9HNg&cbp=12,192.18,,0,6.51

If you can't make out the sign, it reads "NO TRAIN HORN"
This particular commuter rail line started running in 2007 after a lot of controversy - part of the agreement to run the trains through some of the residential neighborhoods was that the trains would not sound their traditional warning horns at each level crossing.

[agentsteel53]

it looks like there are lights and a gate that lowers, so the horn isn't necessary, is it? 

I thought the horn was only needed for one of those crossings with just a stop sign (or, worse, just a yield!)

[Revive 755]

it looks like there are lights and a gate that lowers, so the horn isn't necessary, is it? 

I thought the horn was only needed for one of those crossings with just a stop sign (or, worse, just a yield!)

The horn is needed for any public crossing in the US unless otherwise specified.  Crossing lights and gates can malfunction and the engineer may not become aware of such a malfunction until he is really close to the crossing.