Tales from the Rails

Have Grade Crossings Always Been a Problem?

Does a 1944 message to Louisville & Nashville Railroad employees provide any insight?

Todd DeFeo's avatar
Todd DeFeo
Feb 17, 2025
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A CSX Transportation train blocks a railroad crossing in Kennesaw, Georgia, in January 2023. (Photo by Todd DeFeo/The DeFeo Groupe)

The Federal Railroad Administration recently announced more than $1.1 billion in grants to help eliminate railroad crossings.

Grade crossings are controversial for railroads and the communities where they are located. I’ve seen far too many people behave irresponsibly around grade crossings, and the more I research railroads, the more I realize it’s been a problem from the start.

Just ask the folks in Kennesaw, Georgia, where public concern about pedestrian behavior around a potentially dangerous crossing fell on city officials’ deaf ears. Trains have been known to block the crossing in the heart of town.

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