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  WSOR Stop Sign Program WSOR Pioneers Stop Sign Program at all Passive Railroad Grade Crossings By Tom Judge Reprinted from Railway Age, August 2000, with permission. Wisconsin & Southern Railroad is concerned about railroad grade crossing safety. Think about it. In Wisconsin, hundreds of cars and trucks travel across railroad crossings every day. How many of us really take the time to slow down and watch for a train before attempting to cross the tracks? Most of the time, people take it for granted that the tracks are clear, that a train is not coming. This is especially true out in the country at rural (passive) railroad crossings where there aren't any automatic gates, flashing lights or bells protecting the crossings. Until now, the only warning device at these rural crossings were a Cross Buck sign at the crossing itself, and an advance "Railroad Crossing" sign ahead of the crossing. Wisconsin & Southern's CEO Bill Gardner is attempting to do something about this situation. He wants to make his railroad operations as safe as possible for everyone. Part of this commitment is insuring all railroad grade crossings used by WSOR trains are reasonably protected. He has initiated a program that would enable local officals to put up Stop Signs at all passive grade crossings. "Today, out of every 10 passive crossings we have, seven are equipped with stop signs." Mr. Gardner says "We have yet to have a collision at a crossing with a stop sign. The crews have noticed a big reduction in near collisions. People now come down the road, stop at the crossing, then look both ways to see if a train is coming. Before, they would just buzz right through." He says they hope to have all of our passive crossings covered with stop signs within the next 12 months. Mr. Gardner started going around to counties and municipalities saying "Look, this is a good program. We are here to prevent collisions and save lives. If you people could get up in a locomotive and run down a railroad, you'd see that we really need this." Armed with photos to show potential dangers at crossings, Mr. Gardner tries to convince local officials that the stop signs will make a difference. "Most of the time, people have passed resolutions in their local areas to put up the signs. This requires them to put up an advance 'Stop Ahead' sign. Then the stop sign is placed either directly on the crossbuck or on a separate pole next to it" he said. "We've stated we'll pay for the materials and they only have to supply the labor to install the signs." WSOR has been urging other railroads to adopt a similar program. "It's a good program, but no one is really taking action to get anything done on the other railroads." Gardner says. |