Originally Posted by
moondog
This topic is borderline OMNI, but since it is theoretically possible for us to jump on freight trains and I want everyone to get proper post credit, I'm placing it here.
I've always wondered where the freight trains I see every day go. My hunch is that their routes are relatively boring.
Secondly, about once every two weeks, I get held up at a particular intersection in SE Portland for ~20 minutes because an enormous train passes by at around 10:10a. Since the road in question is fairly busy, I always wonder why the train company doesn't reschedule it to run at a less inconvenient time, and who I could possibly complain to about its shear existence.
General comments about freight trains also much appreciated. i.e. what exactly are they carrying? aren't trucks more practical? does FedEx use them?
Laughably, the RR probably "owned" the right of way (tracks) before the streets and roads even existed. I'd suggest you would have far more luck (but still less than little) by "demanding" that your city or the state build and overpass or underpass at your pet intersection. Some cities do by ordinance limit the length of trains, but be thnkful that you don't drive near yards and junctions, where trains end up "parked" blocking intersections for extended periods. Watching a cop or highway patrolman write a citation for a stopped train is fun, but I don't rthink the RR loses alot of sleep over an occasional trip to traffic court. Feel fortunate you have flashing lights, crossing gates, or even "Look Out for Trains!" signs.
Freight trains? They carry everything, far more than trucks, at far lower costs, and without them your life and what you consume would be vastly limited. A couple of times a day, I hear "unit trains", 100+ cars long, moving fast through downtown, carrying coal from Wyoming all the way to Central and South Texas to light the lights and run the ACs for a large percentage of my fellow Texans, even here in oil and gas country.