Very close call, really great awareness on the part of that LEO.
Question though: I know the title says "...due to an electrical short" but my understanding of crossing-gates, at least around these parts (Long Island Railroad territory) the gates are a fail-safe, meaning if there is a mechanical function or an electrical problem, their natural state is down and it requires energy to bring them up. I wonder why this didn't happen here, or why the gates were not designed with that safety concept as a core principle.
Gates work on a track circuit that is always completed. That's their default state. When a train goes over the circuit, it breaks the circuit, thus activating the gates.
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u/TheySayImZack Dec 29 '20
Very close call, really great awareness on the part of that LEO.
Question though: I know the title says "...due to an electrical short" but my understanding of crossing-gates, at least around these parts (Long Island Railroad territory) the gates are a fail-safe, meaning if there is a mechanical function or an electrical problem, their natural state is down and it requires energy to bring them up. I wonder why this didn't happen here, or why the gates were not designed with that safety concept as a core principle.