Re: signals?

A class-one railroad would charge too much money to maintain a short line's crossings to make it worth-while......best bet would be to hire a retired signal maintainer who would need relay testing and cable resistance equipment which costs up to $1000 or more.......maintainer would have to be bonded or be an employee and would be, along with the railroad, subject to penalties by the FRA if found in violation of regulations......which are tough.....(if the railroads had given sufficiant attention to crossing protection in the easy years, they wouldn't have been subjected to the FRA crackdown back in the mid-'90's which suggested that if you don't take care of maintainance of your crossings "big Brother FRA" will make the rules and enforce them for you......using standards of high-speed railroading.....the results were that many lines unable to afford to "play the FRA game" had to retire the automatic crossing protection in favor of manual protection.....with all of the dangers involved with it.....one protected crossing, one idiot driver, one accident means the FRA comes to visit and your crossing reports had BETTER be up to snuff or you will be paying some serious fines plus what the courts will be assessing you for claims against you for damages by the "hapless" motorist.....no win......no answers.......