Articulated crossing gates?

[Approach_Medium]

Hi;
I have found some of the BNSF50 grade crossings to use articulated gates, which have a hinge that allows the gate to fold over when in the raised position, and snap into place to protect the entire roadway for wide roads when in the down position.

I thought, what a great idea, if it would work in real life, it would solve the issue with drivers going around the gates and being hit by trains.
But when I Googled "articulated crossing gate" I got nothing except one hit that was pretty much unrelated.

Do such gates actually exist?
I could imagine that a strong hinge with a spring that allows the gate to extend to its full length once the center of gravity changes as it is lowered.

FW

 

[brickbuilder711]

Yes they do, but they are uncommon. Some have been seen in lower clearance places.

 

[bnsf50]

Hi;
I have found some of the BNSF50 grade crossings to use articulated gates, which have a hinge that allows the gate to fold over when in the raised position, and snap into place to protect the entire roadway for wide roads when in the down position.

I thought, what a great idea, if it would work in real life, it would solve the issue with drivers going around the gates and being hit by trains.
But when I Googled "articulated crossing gate" I got nothing except one hit that was pretty much unrelated.

Do such gates actually exist?
I could imagine that a strong hinge with a spring that allows the gate to extend to its full length once the center of gravity changes as it is lowered.

FW

These type are used where there are overhead obstructions such as power lines, overpasses and the like. They really do exist.

 

[Bill69]

Hi bnsf50,

Yes they do exist but the one I have seen are not operated by a spring, they are operated by a lever system which pulls the folding part just over centre when extended. Something like the dual lever system on the windscreen wipers on busses and trucks which keep the wipers vertical.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[bnsf50]

Hi bnsf50,

Yes they do exist but the one I have seen are not operated by a spring, they are operated by a lever system which pulls the folding part just over centre when extended. Something like the dual lever system on the windscreen wipers on busses and trucks which keep the wipers vertical.

Cheers,
Bill69

The real one that I saw was operated by a cable that ran from the top of the mast down through a pulley on the arm and over to the lever that I have sticking up on the extension arm. Then as the arm raise the cable became longer lowering the extension arm thus folding it over..
As the gate was lowered the cable would become shorter raising the extension into the horizontal position. You cannot make the cable mechanism animate correctly in Trainz so I left it off.

 

[Bill69]

Hi again,

Yes I can see that a cable system would work too, as you say the anchor points for the outer cable would come closer together when the arm is raised thus allowing the inner cable to slacken and allow the end to fold. I can see too it would be very difficult if not imposible to animate in Trainz.

Don't get me wrong here, I am not trying to get you to do it, just giving some clarity to how they work.

Cheers,
Bill69

 

[bnsf50]

Yea I know we're just discussing not cussing:hehe: it here and teaching those that don't know how they work.:wave:
I have a blueprint of these someplace.

 

[Approach_Medium]

This is very interesting. I guess if I want to discuss the prototype model, I will have to post in the correct forum.
As for Trainz, the BNSF50 crossings are very prototypical. I haven't tried changing the bells yet, as I believe can be done for some of them.

FW