SE WA grade crossing to get pedestrian fence

[CHamilton]

Fence to divide railroad from Palouse Falls park

A fence will go up this spring to separate the railroad right of way from Palouse Falls State Park.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved a Grade Crossing Protective Fund grant of $23,000 to pay for the work to protect visitors at Palouse Falls.

The grant was requested by Union Pacific Railroad, which reported near-misses when visitors strayed from the park onto the tracks.

This fund appears to be administered by the state of Washington, but I don't know where the money comes from. A quick search finds that many other states have similar programs.

 

[oregon pioneer]

I see it's fairly close to US-395. Is that the track the Builder takes?

 

[JayPea]

The EB uses the BNSF tracks, several miles further to the west. Palouse Falls is about 65 miles from where I live, and in order to stray onto the UP tracks there, one has to work hard to get there. The entrance road to the park passes over the UP tracks, some 20 feet or so below, and the tracks themselves are in a narrow canyon. It is a bit of a climb down the rocks (and watch for rattlesnakes!). Still the idea of a fence is a good one. Once you get onto the tracks, and find yourself on them with a train coming, all you can do is scramble back up the rocks and hope you hang on. The canyon walls are pretty much sheer vertical in nature. I'd post pictures but I'm at my mom's with no access to my online photos. You'll have to take my word for it.

 

[SarahZ]

Still the idea of a fence is a good one. Once you get onto the tracks, and find yourself on them with a train coming, all you can do is scramble back up the rocks and hope you hang on. The canyon walls are pretty much sheer vertical in nature.

Agreed. Considering the tumble a child could take down those "vertical" canyon walls, a fence is probably a good idea regardless.

 

[JayPea]

Here are photos of the area in question:

 

[SarahZ]

That's beautiful. Dangerous, but beautiful.

 

[JayPea]

Meant to make a couple of explanations here: the open area at the right center of the photo is not a grade crossing as such but rather an open area used as an "escape hatch" for UP maintenance of way vehicles. I'm using a telephoto lens, and the open area is about half a mile north of where I'm taking this photo, from the bridge over the tracks at the park's entrance. The signal is about a mile away. And you can see a man on the tracks here too. Sarah, this area is basically desert. It is almost never this green. At the time I took this picture, in June 2011, we were in the midst of one of the wettest springs in history. Usually it's all dull, dead grass here.

 

[JayPea]

Here's a photo at the same location, looking south at an oncoming UP train:

 

[CHamilton]

Perhaps not unrelated.

Governor makes Palouse Falls official state waterfall

Tuesday marked the end of six months of work for 29 Washtucna School District students when Gov. Jay Inslee declared Palouse Falls Washington's official state waterfall.
"They put so much of their heart and soul into it, and actually getting to a moment where they can see it put into a law is just great," said Amy Whipple, third- and fourth-grade teacher at Washtucna.

The lobbying by the Washtucna kids gave Palouse Falls the edge over the state's other waterfalls, Inslee said.