(Railroad/Railway) Crossing Gates in TV and Movies

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This is a subject about railroad (or railway) crossing gates (or barriers) seen on TV compared to the real ones we see, at least within the United States and Canada.

But you know the crossing gates we see getting crashed and ran over in TV and Movies such as Fast and the Furious, Super 8 (only clearly seen in the trailer video,) Power Rangers (2017,) Atomic Train, Lethal Weapon 4, and White Noise? And how those gates are smashed to smithereens?

I eventually realized those are not real crossing gates, those are fake gates, gates probably created by the TV and movie crew made to resemble the real ones!

Many people believe crossing gates are made out of wood. That is partly true, there actually have been gates made out of wood, especially in the olden days but were in the form of wishbone gates

Info on wishbone gates https://trains-and-locomotives.fandom.c ... ssing_Gate

There are however crossing gates made out of aluminum and or fiberglass and those are the kinds of gates we see today at real railroad crossings, though there may still be some wooden gates around. And I think sometimes those happen to be featured on TV and in movies but only if there's no intent to destroy them, sometimes they're not even shown in action (like in Born to Be Wild, in Carpool (Tom Arnold), and in Groundhog Day (Bill Murray/ a crossing is shown in action in that movie but it doesn't have gates.)).

So what are those gates we see getting ran over and broken through and shattered in those movies? As stated I believe they are fake and made by the movie crew and those are the ones made out of wood. And if used at real actual railroad crossings, and some real crossings were featured in movies including the one in Fast and the Furious (located on Terminal Way at Earle Street in San Pedro, California,) the real crossing gates are removed though the actual signal(s) remain in place and temporarily replaced with the fake gates, which I believe are definitely made out of wood and sometimes painted to match the real ones and sometimes gate lights are included like on real gates. And I think the movie crew gets the railroad's permission to use that crossing before using it and the railroad that owns the crossing comes and temporarily removes the gates so that those don't sustain damage and the ones meant to be crashed can go in their place and then after the fake gates are destroyed and the movie crew is finished, the railroad puts the real gate arms back on. And I think the railroad would be mad if you broke their gates even for filming purposes, unless maybe they were going to remove or replace those gates anyway! But real actual crossing gate arms cost over $1,000 USD!

And I think the real gates, which as mentioned are made of aluminum and or fiberglass, are stronger and while breakable and damageable don't break as easily as the gates seen run over on TV. When a real actual crossing gate is damaged even by a vehicle, it usually just gets bent or can be broken but not shattered like glass (which is what I thought gates were made out of, I thought I heard that tinkling sound that's made when glass is broken when a gate gets ran over!) Sometimes a whole gate can just get knocked right off the signal or post but still be fine and can be reattached and restored to service but only if it's fiberglass, aluminum, or both. Wooden gates can't be reattached and restored, they'd have to be replaced altogether with either a new wooden gate or a much less expensive and simpler gate made of aluminum or fiberglass, which I think railroads prefer! Besides wooden gates, especially the wishbone ones are more complicated to build and I believe are less environment-friendly and we need our trees to breathe!

These are real crossing gates that got damaged and not in any TV show or movie!

https://stock.adobe.com/images/broken-c ... /254098044


https://www.flickr.com/photos/saqibrailfan/2310861005


https://www.kswo.com/2018/11/27/lawton- ... ssing-arm/

A gate not even bent but still broken!

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news ... /840698098

Sometimes fake or old crossing signals can be added and perhaps at passive crossings or abandoned railroad lines.

This isn't a railroad crossing gate but it's a drawbridge gate used in the Sandra Bullock movie The Net https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/vide ... 1145288591

Crossing gates in cartoons and animation also get smashed to smithereens (like in Transformers Animated (2007,) The Simpsons, Susie the Little Blue Coup, and My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, so it's safe to assume those gates are made out of wood too but who knows what material the cartoon makers had in mind!

The Simpsons. Episode "Kill the Alligator and Run"


Transformers Animated. Episode "Nanosec"


Railroad Crossings shown in Cartoons and Animated Shows and Movies (some showing crashed gates) https://peridot0.fandom.com/wiki/Railro ... _Crossings


I do wonder what other movies and TV shows show crossing gates, especially with lights on them, getting ran over and broken. And while I've seen some cartoon crossing gates also get smashed, which is very rare, and seen some cartoon gates with lights on them, also rare, I'm yet to see a cartoon gate with lights on it get smashed and wonder if I ever will see that. If you know any shows or movies, live action or animated, with crossing gates hit by vehicles be it car chase or train racing or etc, please list them in the replies.

By the way this post does not encourage crashing of crossing gates, not for real! That is not only dangerous but it's illegal so please do not go crashing your cars into crossing gates or any other gates if it's not necessary to do so, you are not in a movie! The only time you should break a crossing gate is if you're on the tracks and a train is coming but you still have time to get off the track, like backing your vehicle or going forward into a gate that happens to be in front of you like at full-barrier crossings. But better to abandon your vehicle instead, especially if your vehicle can't move! Otherwise leave those crossing gates alone or you can get in legal trouble! https://www.google.com/search?q=what+ar ... s-wiz-serp

PLEASE NOTE: Information above may not be entirely accurate. This was all typed from my knowledge, personal speculation, and memory. Please feel free to add information below in your comments. Thank you.