Rail Road Crossings (with trains in them)
 

This isn't about slipping on wet tracks.

What do you do when you get delayed by a train? Do you roll to the front of the line? Hang back and wait? Take your place in line between cars?

Personally, I've found that it's a good time to take off the helmet, lean the bike against a tree or something and center myself. I take a big gulp of water, then sit down and meditate. I usually wait for traffic to pass before continuing. What do you do?

I sit back, relax and wait...I think trains are cool. I enjoy the sound they make.

I find a ramp and jump over it Evel Knievel style. :D

No trains around me that I have to deal with. But based on past experience sitting in a car, I think you've got the right idea. It's a good opportunity to take a 10 minute break. No point in sitting there on your bike in traffic doing nothing...

I move to the front of the line, pull over to the side and enjoy the show:D Wave at the engineer and be glad that the train is on the tracks and not trying to pass me on a narrow two lane road:p BTW most of the trains I get stopped by are usually slow moving freights, quite often on switching tracks. In one area I ride we do have a double mainline that carries high speed freight and passenger trains. If you are delayed 3 minutes there it was a loooong train.

Aaron:)

It was a game to beat them in Rutland because you could hear them and they
could jam you up at multiple places. Being an amatuer trainspotter, I enjoy watching
them. The one that lit up my ride down Rt. 3 in Vermont a few times a week was
a sight to behold/hear/feel at 500am ! I remember riding alongside one of them for about
2 miles at 22mph and it reminded me of that famous, old 'Somehwere West of Laramie'
advert :roflmao: But , I digress...I go to the front and wait, nobody seems to mind.

I never encounter trains and cars backups. The only location I regularly see trains is in North Denver \ Commerce City. They are generally short freight trains. So I sit and wait for a minute or two while trying to keep my hearing intact.

I would say there's no problem with filtering forward.

I think the main issue is holding people up more.
They are most likely not happy about stopping for the
train to begin with so after it passes they certainly dont
want to suffer the 'take the lane' stuff from a bicyclist
thereby holding them up more.

That's part of it. Plus, I'd rather just chill out and let all those cars pass me with anywhere from 6 feet (if I'm sitting on a concrete bridge like I was yesterday) to 20 feet (if I'm sitting under a tree like I was a week or so ago), rather than have 30 cars pass me with mere inches to spare, one after another after another. A few minutes of delay by train, what's another 60 seconds to wait for traffic to thin down a bit?

Hang on, hang on. You mean there are *professional* trainspotters?

A gig like that could pay for the loft I'm interested in. It overlooks the mainline and the switchyard.

If a wide shareable lane I will move forward as when the gate goes up, other vehicles can pass me with ease and there will be plenty of room to move forward.

If a narrow lane I wait in line as when the gate goes up there will be minimal ride time to get to the crossing and I won't have double 'delayed' the same drivers, plus there are limited option to move forward.

I only had a couple of each type ever in several years.

Al

I frequently encountered them while on my commute to my summer job. Generally they were slow, but short moving (SE Industrial area of Portland, for anyone who knows/cares). Whether I maintained my position on the shoulder/in the lane or just pulled off depended if I thought it was going to be a while. Sometimes I'd roll up just as the train was about to finish pulling by. I could usually see if the end was near by peering down the tracks.

Roll to the front (there are people who don't do this?) and impatiently await the end of the @#$%ing two-mile freight train.

Perfect time to have a smoke.

Dude, you have to learn to love the train - how many truck movements is that one train replacing?

Kindred spirits.
I just kick back and watch the train. Then I cross, check the signals to see if there is a line up for another train, .....and wait to watch the locomotives before I head off again.

I'm always a bit scared when I'm staying by the train lines that go through the bike path here since the time 5 friggin wagons derailed right in front of me. They didn't fall but just hang there by the locking stuff, thank god!

If there's a sidewalk or some place off the road, I set the bike down and sip water and watch the train. I don't mind trains on the bike. When I'm in my car, I'm so impatient with them. Funny how that works.