unforum

[slinkydge]

well I've been doing some investigation on the mile post number and I figured that the railroad crossing would be a good start to finding the location...

I could do with some help though:

here is a link to run a query by railroad crossing number, i just ran it from 000000 - 999999 to get them all in: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/PublicSite/Crossing/Xingqryxing.aspx you can run other searches to on this website including location...

here is a link to my results (21k+), you can see each line gives a position, status, and ITS MILE POST NUMBER - so the mile post must be near the crossing as we can see both signs in the shot: http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/PublicSite/Crossing/XingRangeResults.aspx?Start=10001&n=Previous&xing=&from=000000&to=999999&MultiPart=Yes&xingtype=3&xingstatus=%25&xingpos=1&numrow=200

once we know the crossing number we can enter it here on this map of railroads to see it's axact location: http://fragis2.frasafety.net/GISFRASafety/default.aspx and also once we have the railroad crossing number we can also search for any accident reports related to it (from he same web site)...

here is a link to the clear picture of the numbers:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/4602630102_41ed20a864_o.jpg

here is some addition info on identifying the crossing number, and some mathamatical verification... so the number on the post may well be the mathamatical verification of the crossing number rather than the actual milepost number.. or something like that..
http://www.fra.dot.gov/download/safetyCrossingInventoryNumber4409.pdf
http://www.fra.dot.gov/Pages/801.shtml
http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/Documents/howtoac2.pdf


there are loads to go through, I don't know any quicker way to search - I hope you all can help!

DGE.

[ketos234]

http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Downloaddbf.aspx

and a DBF viewer should be a bit faster (also, the full set of crossings is 0000000-ZZZZZZZ, which is 363K)

[Mikeyj]

Slinkydge, please don't cross post the same info to two different threads. Judge which your information is most pertinant to and go with that.

This thread can be used for general speculation as to where the railway is (and I think it's the best one for your post).

Thanks

Mikey

[slinkydge]

[Mikeyj]

One of the things that causes that sort of confusion is cross-posting. Pick a thread that you feel is most relevant and go with it. If folks want to discuss it they will, if not they won't. Splitting the discussion, makes things worse.

[Headman]

Sorry about that MikeyJ, been out of this for a while. Thanks

I thinks I will start a separate thread on Wright Patterson for all the Alien/UFO conspiracy people.

[Caseys_Mom]

possible location clues??

[IncidentCloverfield]

Re: possible location clues??

[UnendingMadness]

The transcript from the CLOSE ENCOUNTERS train incident:

At the top of the news tonight, a rail disaster. At Devils Tower, Wyoming, a train loaded with a dangerous chemical gas went off the rails and has forced the widest area evacuations in the history of these controversial Army rail shipments. Fortunately, much of the surrounding area has been closed to the public for three weeks for renovation to the national park there...The Army and National Guard units are supervising the evacuation. It is estimated that from 35 to 50 thousand people are affected. The families that have been dislocated have been assured that the danger will be over within seventy-two hours. We've seen the Army here, the Corps of Engineers, and the Chemical Engineers...Once the toxic concentration is down to fifty parts per million, then the danger will be past. This means that the park's residents will be back in their own homes by the weekend. Of course, it's small consolation to the livestock in the area, although ranchers have been notified...This means, order your steak well-done, Walter. [The scene was originally to be shot with CBS's Walter Cronkite, but then switched to ABC's Howard K. Smith - therefore, the confusing reference.] Devils Tower, Wyoming was the first National Monument erected in this country by Theodore Roosevelt in 1915...

Jillian is listening to the same news broadcast several miles away: "Thousands of civilian refugees are fleeing the area, spurred on by rumors that the seven tanker cars that overturned...were filled to capacity with GM nerve gas...." In a living room decorated with watercolor paintings of the mountain, she is awakened by the familiar mound - she etches its outline with her finger on her TV screen. Roy has the same awakening when he focuses on the broadcast:

And fortunately during this mishap, there have been no fatalities...In a few minutes, it's going to be known as the hot zone depending on the prevailing winds. But as it is, this is as close to the disaster as we've been allowed to get...the Army's Chemical Engineers and the Wyoming National Guard are making every effort to contain the leaking toxins and evacuate an area of almost 200 square miles. Everyone is being warned - stay out of the area. Everyone please, stay out of the area.

[Mikeyj]

[ViVoRa]

To me looks like an arrow



May be to much caffeine today

[slinkydge]

[Melodyman]

Found this as an example of what normal railway markings look like.. Compared to the one in the trailer, one looks authentic, the other looks ..?

[Melodyman]

ooops. sorry.. Something went screwy with the attachment..

[ketos234]

Searched the US national database of rail crossings, using DBFView and the files from http://safetydata.fra.dot.gov/OfficeofSafety/publicsite/Downloaddbf.aspx (Contains crossing number, mileposts and lat/longs)

In their format there is *always* a dot after the first 4 characters, and are at most 6 characters

Checked for 0070(4/5/6)4, 0170(4/5/6)4, 2170(4/5/6)4, 0I70(4/5/6)4, 2I70(4/5/6)4.

Once you trim out the implausible ones for a trip from Nevada to Ohio, you're left with:

38.8540040, -91.3119130 (7044, 483576L)
38.7140660, -84.8254850 (7044, 345690H, pain to get a train through)
38.7140660, -84.8254850 (7054, Urban, 535414F)
40.6192120, -98.6481580 (17044, pain to get a train through, appears as both 073513A and 083190J)

None of them look great from the point of view of the track layout as seen in the trailer or the relation of the crossing to local towns.

It looks like a dead end, unless there are other numbers that ought to be checked.