Westbrook, Maine, Railroad Bridge Used To Warn Drivers of Low Clearance – What Happened?
I watch more YouTube videos than any other thing I have on my TV. I have the YouTube app for my Roku, and there are several channels that I watch regularly, including an expert Super Mario Bros. player, astrophysicist Neal deGrasse Tyson's podcast Star Talk, and a boatload of train videos past and present. My name is Jeff and I am a geek.
One of those videos I came across recently was shot on a VHS video camera in 1992 by a train fanatic who was recording a train traveling on what was left of the Mountain Division on its way to drop off cars at what was then S.D. Warren and today is what remains of Sappi Paper.
You may be familiar with the Mountain Division Trail that runs parallel to the formerly used tracks.
I noticed in the video that the train bridge that has been in place over Cumberland Street in Westbrook looked a lot different in 1992 than it does today. If you look at the 1992 video shot of the bridge, it has bright yellow and black stripes with a pair of flashing yellow lights to warn drivers of the height restrictions.
Here's a look at the video from 1992 cued up to the train crossing the bridge with the lights flashing.
With as many accidents that happen in Westbrook with drivers who thought they could clear the bridge, you would think the flashing lights would be a cheap way to help warn people of the low clearance that they are approaching. Instead, there's just a small sign today with the clearance listed on it.
The flashing lights and yellow and black paint seemed to do the trick over 30 years ago. Either that or drivers were smarter then. It could go either way.
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Gallery Credit: Lori Voornas