This weekend's huge crowds at Spencer reminded me how challenging it is to get trains through jam-packed areas with lots of visitors who don't know the potentials dangers of a locomotive or coach just moving at 5-10 mph.

We've been assigning crossing guards to heavily traveled walkpaths and that works great.

Having seen it done at Railfair, I know that two people walking outside the gauge at either corner of a moving engine is an effective way of "parting the waters,'' but I was wondering how other folks do it who have big crowds. It's been just long enough that I cannot recall Strasburg's method and they have more riders in one year than most of us do over several years. Anybody using crossing gates for walkpaths now at their museum?

Jim

Wrinnbo@aol.com

When the Illinois Railway Museum featured Thomas the Tank Engine, we used massive amounts of orange plastic snow fencing. It lined the tracks in the busy areas and did an excellent job of "corralling" the visitors away from the tracks in non-crossing areas. I realize that snow fencing may not be all that easy to find in North Carolina, but something of this sort that is (relatively) easy to install and remove should do the trick. It did at IRM.

Frank@gats.com

> This weekend's huge crowds at Spencer
> reminded me how challenging it is to get
> trains through jam-packed areas with lots of
> visitors who don't know the potentials
> dangers of a locomotive or coach just moving
> at 5-10 mph.

> We've been assigning crossing guards to
> heavily traveled walkpaths and that works
> great.

> Having seen it done at Railfair, I know that
> two people walking outside the gauge at
> either corner of a moving engine is an
> effective way of "parting the waters,''
> but I was wondering how other folks do it
> who have big crowds. It's been just long
> enough that I cannot recall Strasburg's
> method and they have more riders in one year
> than most of us do over several years.
> Anybody using crossing gates for walkpaths
> now at their museum?

> Jim

Strasburg has an intertrack fence; the train loads on the side where the buildings are but the parking lot is across the tracks. Between the enginehouse building and the fence, the people are channeled but they generally look out for themselves.

At Steamtown, the people cross a walkway where the yard shuttle comes and goes; this leads to both the excursion/trolley platform and the ramp up to the Shopping Mall. At excursion train time they post guards and the shuttle crew walks ahead also. They also walk the station platform when the excursion train pulls in from Moscow.

At Albany, Amtrak can have 4 trains in the station when 48 wanders in. 48 has to switch out 448 for Boston and change engines as well. The current station ia all one level, so they have a uniformed usher herd the "guests."

The Electric City Trolley Museum Association

At Orange Empire we have been conducting "Rail Festivals" for a number of years. These only have from 1000 to 2000 paid people a day (not counting free children, etc.). But they provide experience for larger crowds.

For those of you who have not visited OERM, our entrance from the parking lot and the ticket booths immediately crosses the "mainline" track and is adjacent to the (former) main loading platform. This needs control when the trains move.

The crossing is set up with corner posts on which plastic safety chains are attached. These are spaced in a square so that the chains fit either across the track or across the roadway. When no train is approaching the chains are across the tracks. We usually staff two people as crossing guards at this location (one for either chain). When the chains are in place the people can serve to help direct the vistors, etc.

On our paved platform we have tubes set in the pavement with removeable covers. For events posts are set into the sleeves to support the barrier. In the past we used simple yellow nylon rope, in the past couple of years we have used the safety orange web fencing (the "snow fencing" mentioned elsewhere?).

Elsewhere on the property we do not provide anything special. The streetcars travel past the retail store and its tent annex on a paved platform with yellow safety stripping. The cars ring their gongs as the usual warning signal as needed. I expect that they will need a flagman when we host Thomas.

We have relocated the main loading platform south of the paved former loading platform. This location allows for the train to be south of the signals protecting the switch located next to the entrance crossing. This plaform will be extended during the comming year to allow for longer trains to be loaded.

Brian Norden

bnorden@gateway.net