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Operation Lifesaver Riverside CA May 2004 Page 2

Operation Lifesaver "Officer-on-a-train" Page 2

Downtown Riverside, California May 24, 2004

By Richard Elgenson, RailNews Network

Part of what makes this area of concern for railroad officials and the surrounding community is a triple track railroad, lots of rail traffic, and blind curves where some streets meet the track.  One particular track curve for north/east bound trains does not see the street until less than 500 feet away.  This must cause anxious moments for motorists and train crews alike.  Center Street  is detailed lower below and Chicago Avenue on the following page.

A landscaping crew member boldly walked onto the tracks and placed an item on a rail within view of the O.L. train.  The bridge is California Highway 60, the Pomona Freeway.

   

What came next was a BNSF freight train.  Sometimes the Operation Lifesaver train stops and an officer disembarks to talk to people who do things such as trespass or put items on the rails.

   

   

One BNSF engineer commented that motorists impatient about waiting at Highgrove, parallel the track on a side street to cross, if they can, at Main Street ahead of the train.  We saw one small pick-up truck do just that.  The following sequence of photographs around Highgrove are from various moves in both directions.

   

   

   

   

The following illustrates the difficulty of judging how fast an object coming towards you.  There is a Metrolink train coming towards the O.L. train.

   



Page 3 Riverside Officer-On-A-Train

Email me: Richard@TrainWeb.com