Freight trains in the North America are very different than the ones in my country and most of Europe. The main difference is, off course, the length. While the longest of trains in my country rarely exceed 45-50 cars, the typical train in the US often consists of about 100-200 cars and is hauled by many powerful engines, each one with power of about two european ones. Because of the following, when I went on my trip to the United States in August of 2016, it was a matter of honour for me, as a railfan, to catch at least one freight train, as I considered those freights as the most significant symbol of American Railroads. Luckily, two days before my scheduled flight to Poland (my home country), I managed to catch not one, but two freight trains (...). This video is most likely my favourite catch from my 2016 trip to the United States, and also the most unexpected one.
Two mixed freight trains perform an epic parallel run through one of the most dangerous railroad crossings in the state of Illinois - "The Long Crossing" on West Grand Avenue in Elmwood Park. The first train is, about 140 cars long, Canadian National mixed freight train, hauled by four General Electric ES44AC locomotives (CN #2913, #2889, #2859 and #2813). The train that comes next is also mixed freight, but this time it's 123 cars long, Norfolk Southern train, hauled by two General Electric Dash 9 (C40-9W) locomotives (NS #9557 and #9154). The trains run in parallel, side by side, for about four minutes.
The crossing on the West Grand Avenue in Elmwood Park is one of the most dangerous crossings in the state of Illinois. It's incredibly angled and car drivers stay on tracks for about 200 feet. For the trains the crossing is even longer - about 450 feet. Some car drivers don't understand that they mustn't stop their vehicles on tracks, so they don't wait till they have enough space on the other side of the crossing. Because of that, when the traffic jams in the rush hours, the cars are often being blocked on tracks. This situation led to many accidents in the past years and the most significant one was probably the one that happened on the 23rd November 2005. On that day Metra commuter train going with speed of 70mph smashed 16 cars that were blocked on the crossing. The material damage was really significant and it was an incredible luck that no one died. Because of the situation, the crossing has been equipped with some unique equipment to make drivers aware of the danger. There are two huge signs of the cantilevers telling drivers not to stop on tracks and some smaller sings, equipped with yellow warning lights, that deliver similar message. However, I don't think so that they've improved the safety very much.
Filmed on 28th August 2016.
Enjoy! :)