Local trains blowing horns more frequently

Could be. NBC "Nightly News" ran a story last night about the number of growing vehicle/pedestrian/RR related accidents across the nation.

We live in a no horn zone, the only times we hear the horn is when there is a ROW crew on the tracks or someone is too close.

Ultimately it is the engineers choice on when to use the horn beyond the legally  required times (crossings, presence of ROW workers) They are allowed to use it if they see a risk.

Nicer weather recently. More windows open?

I wouldn't be surprised if it some are blowing a little louder and longer due to recent events. We only have one "silent zone" in my county, right along side the Beltway. The neighbors complain about the train noise but the constant roar of the highway is still there and even more noticeable. Some things make you wonder!!!

 

I can hear the CSX trains from my home even about 6 miles away in the winter. Sound really travels. The local park railroad is about a mile up the road at the big (600 acre) county park. April - October bring the steam whistles and I nor any neighbors that I know of have any problems. I've always heard people enjoy hearing them. 

Or it could be a passive aggressive crew. I dealt with this and got it corrected with a phone call.

And how in the heck did you ever make that diagnosis??

Based on going to the site (unseen) where the switcher was blowing 8 -10 times at the crossing and while already in the crossing, this was at 2:30am with Nobody around.

After I made the call, the horn blowing resumed to the normal FRA mandated 4 times per crossing.

 

The UP had a engineer who was the brother in law of the next door neighbor. He used to love to blast through the crossing my our houses at 2 am and say "Hi"with the horn.

 

Good thing he would bring the good Tequila to the annual Christmas party

 

There is a small city nearby that has the ex NYC water level route going through it (now NS).  They are all either fairly wealthy (or have very large loans ).  Point is, mostly new, large homes.

They have been complaining constantly about the horns for the past 3 years or so, to which I say, "this mainline has been there for over 100 years, how old is your house?"  And the next thing I say is "so pay for the quiet zone, if it bothers you, or move." 

 

They say that the speed of the trains has increased, and that before the 1970s, that freight train speeds maxed out at 50 mph, due to the old 39ft. sectional rail.  More BS, as most of us here know. 

 

They also claim that since there are already gates (but only single lane, not ones that cover both lanes), that the horns are not necessary and don't do any good.  Any thoughts about this comment?

 

We have similar things going on around here in the next town north of us, tracks were out in the wilderness when first build probably at least 100 years ago. Now they have developed the area and the residents are complaining about train horns. I ran across this recently in a small localized paper (actually more like a news letter).

 

According to what I read, from the meetings the residents have had with the city, the railroads are complying with federal regulations with their horn blowing for the type of crossings in those locations. The crossings also comply with all federal regulations. It is not a quiet zone (remember it used to be out in the sticks). There was substantial cost involved (seems like around $300,000 or so per crossing) to upgrade the crossings to enable conversion to a quiet zone. The rail roads said they were in compliance with all regulations and were fine with that, they saw no need for any changes.

 

As it is now the railroads maintain the crossings as I guess they installed them originally. The city has the option to pay to have them converted to crossings allowing the area to be converted to a quiet zone. However, if the city does that, they pay for the conversion and once completed they become responsible for maintaining them as well. Needless to say the city was not interested in doing this. Not sure what will happen next?

I'm in a city area and down by the tracks it's a mixture of some residential and industrial. There are numerous streets that cross the tracks - some with gates and others without. 2 lines are slow freight coming out of the yard and 2 are main lines and the trains zip by quickly so it's a mix. At some times it's horns every 10 mins or so.

 

And yes - the trains were here first. It was the trains that allowed this to become a neighborhood. It only grew once they put in a station in the 1870s.

You know this is really rich!

First they complain and raise cain about safety were crossings are not being blown, now it is too much blowing!

Anyone have thoughts about their comments that since there are already gates (but only single lane, not ones that cover both lanes), that the horns are not necessary and don't do any good?  That is one of their big complaints.  I know it is an FRA rule, but they are saying that this rule is not relevant.

Where I live near the FEC main line, the trains blast thru at 50-60 mph most of the time. none of the 9 crossings are queit zones. The engineers follow the 4 whistle rule(with individual variations) all the time. The odd thing is that since the FEC got their new ES44C4's, there have been several complaints about the loudness of the horns! Nobody complained when the  SD/GP 40's went by---

You'll never win against the FRA and their "studies".  Four horns per crossing no matter what time it is ~ sounds like something that could only come from government

.

With welded rail and tighter emissions on locos trains have gotten quieter, However those horns seem to have gotten louder

They just might be louder.     One of the last engines I was  on  (20 + years ago)   had a button you pressed for the horn.  The horn was either on full blast  or off.( Desk top layout) No dipping the air.

Those rules have been around longer than you. Do you want some cheese with that whine?

What you don't know is that the horn is supposed to be blown until the crossing is occupied. So, if the engineer comes up a little short of the crossing, he gets to keep blowing, whether it bothers you or not.

I have to ask, why move in to a home that is close to the tracks if the horn blowing and such is going to bother you?

Just an observation, but I notice since the big GE engines have been around, they have a distinctive "chug" close by, and some really noticeable blower noise at a distance. That doesn't bother me, and neither do the horns; I guess people just love to hate the railroads.

(Except us)

Bring back the N&W hooter whistles I say................

Too Bad!

I didn't start the post, Did I?

If I was wrong for calling in on the switch crew, why did things change from that night on...

Actually, from what I can find - the FRA four horn blows per crossing began in either 1994 or 2005 - so it's not some old rule from the steam era.

I do not live near the tracks, but it's the same song and dance with foamers = They like trains, therefore a train can do no wrong.

Enjoy your cheesy whine

I was wondering the same thing the whole time I was reading about the horns bothering all the new residents in the city north of us. They have 89 trains per day there, per the article. It seems now days no one is responsible for their own actions, it's always someone else's fault.

 

We lived about 3-4 blocks from some pretty busy tracks (about 60 trains per day) for 35 years (just moved in 2013) and we kind of liked the train noise. There were two crossings within about 3 blocks of each other and both within 3-6 blocks from us. The trains would occasionally vibrate parts of our house, not severely, but you could tell a train was near.

 

You get used to it when you live there, after a while you don't even notice it. This was in a really old part of our town with our neighborhood being one of the newest ones, built in the mid '50s. Our house was poorly insulated (none in the walls) and not sealed very well as were the other homes in the neighborhood. Not much there to keep sound out, unlike newer homes today that are well insulated and much sealed much more tightly. I don't ever remember hearing any of the neighbors complain about the train noise the entire time we lived there?

SPSF..

 

You did not find out the truth about blowing at crossings. Has been 4 horn blows for as long as I can remember and I retired from the railroad after 37 years with them. 

 

Several reasons about blowing the horn numerous times. A bad heavily used crossing, a crossing with a reputation of people playing chicken to running gates, and/or lights. Another one is a crossing where kids are out and about. If an engineer feels it is unsafe, he will continue to blow his horn, and it does not matter what time of day or night it is. 

 

Louder horns, all the better. Cars are better sound proofed, drivers and occupants to occupied with phones and doing the things than paying attention to what they are suppose to be doing, driving. 

 

Having been involved with crossing accidents before, I can honestly say, there should be no quiet zones and horns should be as loud as the railroads need to help protect the public. The real losers in this are the train crews involved.

 

 

 

 

You need to learn to do your homework better.

Since you can't do it yourself, try this link referencing a 1943 rule book: 1943  Choose page two.

If that doesn't satisfy you, lets go back to 1925.

quote:

I do not live near the tracks, but it's the same song and dance with foamers = They like trains, therefore a train can do no wrong.

Please be careful with the way you throw your "foamer" words around, my friends may take offence.

Well good for you SPSF, you played the tattle-tale role and made a heart-warming difference in the harmony of your world.  Well done.

 

As for me, having had eight crossing accidents within the past 8 years, I blow the whistle the full 20 seconds allowed by the FRA regardless of daylight, night time, your beauty sleep time, or whatever the time it is.  You haven't lived until you've seen first-hand a car impaled on the nose of your locomotive, its tires spraying the gravel ballast in large fan-like spray patterns as you helplessly watch from the engineer's seat until the whole scene finally grinds to a stop, just so you can "get" to go down to the auto/truck/whatever and try to help those inside, if they can be helped.

 

Don't like living next to a railroad? Guess what, they're noisy. So, either suck it up princess and deal with it, or move. Simple.

 

 Quiet zones are one of the stupidest ideas yet foisted by, and supported, by morons.

 

 

Here's the complete horn rule if anyone cares to read it, it's 55 pages long. Before I retired, BNSF was putting teeth into their horn rule, and pulling people out of service for slight infractions. It's not just a railroad rule, it a federal rule.  The RR can fire you for a willful violation, but the feds can impose civil penalties. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t...HHjMNVbGDNiX1Q_kH8ug

When I was a kid, my grandparents had a summer cottage situated about 150 yards off the PRR Middle Division.  There were about 20 cottages on their gravel road and access was across a single railroad crossing.  Our A/C back then was open all the windows and catch the night breeze so, the sounds of trains passing and blowing for the crossing was something you eventually became used to.  I do recollect that during the wee hours however, there were engineers who only gave the crossing what I'd characterize as four short "Bops" on the horn.  Whether this was done out of deference to people sleeping or they simply didn't feel like laying into it, I have no idea. 

 

Oddly enough, the one sound of those trains passing overnight that has stuck in my memory for the last 50+ years is the "clickety clack" made by the cabin cars.  The sound they made passing over rail joints was somehow or another different from that made by the cars in the trains.  I've always assumed this had to do with their length and weight but, have never been certain.

 

Curt

It seems today our society is riddled with "complainers". They complain and organize about everything. Nothing better to do or work in a cubicle all day and want to vent. The big deal is to get your picture on the TV news. Hopefully not your car getting hit by a train. Of course, the politicians get nervous when the NIMBYs come out. There should e a campaign to ignore the complainers.

 

quote:

I am having a new house built and it is about 1/2 mile to the side of our county airport where a lot of cross country biz jets stop for fuel. When I bought the lot one of the documents I had to sign was about the nearness of the airport, that it may be noisy, and there will be low flying planes and possibly fumes. Too bad they don't make everybody who builds/buys a home near RR tracks to sign something similar.

 

Your seller must have a cautious lawyer.

Where would it stop? How about people who buy near a working farm? It can get pretty smelly. People have to watch out for themselves.

 

And remember, the real estate agent wants to make a sale, they don't always watch out for the buyers (or sellers) best interest.

When I lived in Queens, NY (part of NYC), there was a bus stop right outside my bedroom window. The busses ran 7 x 24, but didn't cause anybody any loss of sleep. When my family moved to Long Island (NYC suburban area) there were no more busses. Between the lack of bus sounds, and all those darn bugs making noise, it took me a while to be able to sleep well.

Many times the great outdoor adventure. Wolfs, Coyotes, and Elk are a few. Even some of the birds make noise at night. Teton Wilderness, Vermont, etc.  Most startling event was a humming bird.  It flew in and stared me in the face, apparently they are very territorial. They have a unique buzz.  You got to love sound(s).  A summer adventure in the Allegheny National forest re-acquainted me with the Whip-poor-will. I had not heard that sound for some time.  Cricket chirp(s) is another annoying, wonderful sound. Locust, Cicada another annoying wonderful sound.  Sleeping in a tent, even in pristine designated wilderness, is anything but quiet.  Older hearing appreciates just about any sound. IMO  Mike CT  Annoying, an elk bugle-ing all night.

A Run In With a Train

This fellow who had spent his whole life in the desert comes to visit a friend. He'd never seen a train or the tracks they run on. While standing in the middle of the RR tracks one day, he hears this whistle -- Whooee da Whoee! -- but doesn't know what it is.

This steam engine rolls around the corner and hits the man -- but only a glancing blow -- and he is thrown to the side of the tracks, suffering some minor internal injuries, a few broken bones, and some bruises.

After weeks in the hospital recovering, he's at his friend's house attending a party. While in the kitchen, he suddenly hears the tea kettle whistling. He grabs a baseball bat from the nearby closet and proceeds to batter and bash the tea kettle into an unrecognizable lump of metal. His friend, hearing the ruckus, rushes into the kitchen, sees what's happened and asks the desert man: "Why'd you ruin my good tea kettle?"

The desert man replies: "Man, you gotta kill these things when they're small."

Thanks everyone for all the responses. I think I'll post that 55 page DOT/FRA "Final Ruling" on the neighborhood "tattler" website so the busybodies have something to do.

 

For me, hearing the horns in the distance is sort of a comforting "all is right in the world" thing.

Heck, I'll see your 1925 and raise you 1900--the earliest reference in my collection to the four blast grade crossing signal. I'm sure it goes back farther than our friend SPSF cares to admit.

Don't rent/buy a house near the tracks.

SPSF, I seriously doubt your call changed a thing with the horn blowing. Could of been a new/different crew/engineer. When switching or at slow speeds, we can blow above and beyond the FRA required 4 blasts. Many engineers also blow all the way through the crossing, not just until its occupied. You won't win that battle of the horn, especially if it's NOT a quiet zone. You can make it worse those.

So I posted detailed information about horns and the rules to the neighborhood tattler website and folks actually got defensive. Like most whiners, when given facts and explanatory information, they recoil and discount what they have been presented and go on the offensive. Typical.

The whiners by me are claiming that the FRA rules are not needed, and say that the gates that are in place are more than enough.  They just keep saying the FRA is just more big government that is not needed. 

 

How would you respond to that?

Even with gates down, lights flashing, and bells ringing, idiots STILL drive around the downed crossing gates! 

I think with laming's earlier post with the image of twisted metal and spraying gravel for a start.  

According to the FRA website with the detailed information, in the U.S. a person is killed by a train every 180 minutes. Pretty obvious the gates and horn blowing are NOT enough to stop people from putting them selves directly in the path of oncoming trains. Maybe they should have MORE regulations instead of fewer? To protect the people that are incapable of protecting themselves. Maybe train safety and crossing railroad tracks should be taught in school, every year and in all grades?

 

Besides these needless deaths, another sad part is that many will sue the rail roads for the accident when there would have been NO accident or death in the first place, had they not bypassed all the safety systems that were already in place.

There are enough rules and regulations out there. Do not need any more. Just need to abide by the ones that are in place. 

 

 

Distracted drivers are worse and more deadly than drunk drivers.

 

Gene