By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The blast of a railroad engine’s horn may become a thing of the past, if improvements to four railroad crossings in Montgomery Township are approved by the state Department of Transportation.
Residents who live near the railroad crossings have commented for years about the train whistle, which the train engineer activates to alert motorists that the train is approaching the crossing.
About 22 to 26 freight trains pass through Montgomery Township daily on the way to Port Elizabeth, said Township Administrator Donato Nieman.
But the areas surrounding the railroad crossings on County Route 601 (The Great Road), Hollow Road, Spring Hill Road and Province Line Road may become a “quiet zone,” based on the improvements drawn up by a consultant hired by Montgomery Township.
Among the improvements are upgraded crossing gate to prevent motorists from driving around them and onto the railroad tracks when a train is approaching.
In addition to improved railroad crossing gates, new equipment will be installed so that the lowering of the gate is made in coordination with the speed of the approaching train. Motorists may try to drive around the crossing gates because they believe the gates have been lowered in error, resulting in a collision between the train and the vehicle.
That improvement also will eliminate the need for a train engineer to blow the whistle, because the gates will not have been lowered prematurely. There will be signage along the tracks that lets the engineer know that he does not need to blow the whistle.
At the same time, there will be a device that alerts the train engineer of an electrical power failure so he may blow the whistle to let motorists know the train is approaching the crossing.
Regardless of the improvements, the train engineer can still use his discretion to blow the whistle if he sees a car or a person standing on the railroad track, township officials said.
