Cross Here

A few years back, I used to ride the trains in France with some frequency. They were slow and most of them stopped at every small town. Every time the train came to a road crossing someone appeared to lower the crossing gate to prevent people for being hit by the train. I once saw a taxi driver go around the barrier only to be hit by a train coming from the opposite direction. I watched as his car was pushed down the tracks and he climbed into the back window to save himself.
Today, automatic railroad crossing gates assure the safe crossing of railroad tracks in France. They are fully automatic and for the most part are not guarded. Most of the dangerous crossings have been replaced by bridges or overpasses. Auto routes do not cross railroad tracks and the TGV does not cross any roads.

In the past, the crossings were not automatic, but manned by employees of the SNCF. Usually it was the wife of a railroad officer whose job it was to manually lower the gate or in some cases crank a large wood and metal fence along a metal track when a train was to pass. These were particularly difficult to manage when it froze or if it snowed. Records had to be kept and the gate keeper allowed no one to pass until the train/trains had cleared the crossing.
At each crossing was a small house, known as the railroad crossing house. It was provided rent free to the family of the crossing guard. One can still find many of them all across France, but the manual crossing gates have all been replaced by automatic ones. The crossing houses are identical. There is usually a number posted on the house along with a metal sign indicating the number of the crossing. The house consisted of two floors with the main floor being just one room with an integral kitchen, living area, wood stove or fireplace.

There was no running water but there was a pump just outside and usually not too far from the outdoor toilet. The second floor consisted of two bedrooms plus an attic. There was a dirt/rock cave (basement) where wine and veggies could be stored. In many rural areas, the trains only passed once or twice a day, but in the cities it was full time work.

Since the advent of automatic crossing gates many of these homes have been sold to private parties and remodeled, but recently the practice has stopped and many of these old houses now sit vacant and in poor condition. If you travel in France, look for them where the roads cross the tracks and you will be amazed at how many you see.