Joe Flanders of Gallatin, an employee with Union Pacific, repaired the crossing gate on Unity Avenue early Friday morning, Oct. 24. A passing train had reported the damaged gate before 6 a.m. Mr. Flanders arrived to find the gate arm had been hit, either by someone trying to drive around it after it had lowered, or maybe by a piece of large equipment. The bolts were sheered and the arm twisted around over the tracks, then a train hit it and knocked the lights off.
Mr. Flanders said he would have the bolts and the lights replaced and the gate patched up and working again the same day.
Mr. Flanders has lived in Gallatin for the past 16 years; his family moved here before him. He has been at his job with the railroad for six years and said he enjoyed the changes of scenery. His area is from the Grand River Bridge, just north of where he was working that morning, to Mosby.
Joe Flanders checks his work.
He said Unity Avenue was a busy road for being gravel. The gate was placed at the crossing for public safety about seven years ago. Trains, which are typically southbound on this track, generally blow their whistle about a quarter of a mile before a crossing. Because of the damaged gate, trains were forced to slow to a crawl as they approached the crossing.
“We want folks to realize that going around a crossing gate is both dangerous and illegal,” Mr. Flanders said. “A damaged gate puts everyone at risk. A train can’t just stop or slow down fast enough.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration has adopted Rail Security Regulations to address the vulnerabilities presented by America’s open infrastructure rail system.
“With the way things are today, tampering with any part of America’s transportation system is a big deal and people take it very seriously,” Mr. Flanders said.
He added that the Unity crossing is usually quiet and the most trouble he sees are people shooting out the signal lights.
“If I could get people to stop shooting out the lights the world would be a good place and I could stay home at night,” he said.
