THE VISIBILITY AND AUDIBILITY OF TRAINS APPROACHING RAIL-HIGHWAY GRADE CROSSINGS. FINAL REPORT

THIS STUDY INVESTIGATES DEVICES AND COLOR SCHEMES, PROPOSED OR IN USE ON LOCOMOTIVES, WHICH SERVE TO MAKE THE TRAIN VISIBLE OR AUDIBLE TO MOTORISTS APPROACHING GRADE CROSSINGS. A COLOR SCHEME USING TWO CONTRASTING COLORS, EACH COLOR AT LEAST 3 1/2 BY 5 FEET IN AREA, IS RECOMMENDED FOR VISIBILITY AT 1,000 FEET. ONE COLOR SHOULD BE VERY BRIGHT, SUCH AS FLUORESCENT OR BRIGHT YELLOW. TWO HIGH-OUTPUT XENON STROBE LAMPS ARE RECOMMENDED, ONE ON EACH SIDE OF THE CAB ROOF, TO FLASH ALTERNATELY WHENEVER THE TRAIN IS MOVING. AT NIGHT, LIGHTED PANELS ARE RECOMMENDED AS SUPPLEMENTS TO THE STROBE LAMPS. THE SOUND LEVEL REQUIRED TO RELIABLY ALERT A MOTORIST WAS FOUND TO BE 105 DB JUST OUTSIDE THE VEHICLE. IN HIGH SPEED ENCOUNTERS, PRESENT HORNS CANNOT RELIABLY WARN MOTORISTS EARLY ENOUGH. A HORN WITH ENOUGH OUTPUT TO BE TOTALLY EFFECTIVE WOULD BE AN UNACCEPTABLE NUISANCE. A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND TABLES OF REQUIRED RANGES ARE INCLUDED.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract DOT-FR-00006 NO FRA-RP-71-2
• Corporate Authors:

  Systems Consultants, Incorporated

  1050 31st Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20007
• Authors:
  • Aurelius, J P
  • Korobow, N
• Publication Date: 1971-5

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Color; Flashing traffic signals; Light; Railroad grade crossings; Sound; Strobes; Traffic control devices; Visibility
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226777
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Literature
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 23 1974 12:00AM