# Hey, Seattle Mariner fans..what's with the train whistle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321 "2005-08-30T20:18:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/1 "2005-08-30T20:18:45Z")
Watching the Yankee / Mariner game last night, and heard that train whistle about a half a dozen times. Is there a dangerous crossing along side Safeco field? At one point, it almost drowned out the play by play guys. (Not that that isn’t a good, thing). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/2 "2005-08-30T20:20:46Z")
Yup… Tracks next door. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/3 "2005-08-30T20:32:29Z")
I’m a Yankee fan but: They purposely blow the Whistle with each passing train. It adds atmosphere to the Park. BTW [http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm](http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm) is a great sight on Ballparks ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/4 "2005-08-30T20:41:23Z")
They blow the whistle because the tracks cross the street/sidewalk right next to the stadium. I remember reading something about the stadium management wanting the trains to not blow the whistles during game times, but obviously their wish was not granted. ---
**Author:** ![Skipper\_Too](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Skipper\_Too](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skipper_Too)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/5 "2005-08-30T20:47:11Z")
Not only are the tracks adjacent to the stadium, The stadium has a retractable roof, and in the “open” mode the roof rolls on supports directly over the tracks, I think that adds to the noise by creating a surface for the train whistle to echo off of. At some of the games there I have been to they have included the “train sounds” with graphics on the score board for home runs and the like. ---
**Author:** ![zoltar7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b38774/32.png) [@zoltar7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoltar7)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/6 "2005-08-30T22:35:58Z")
[aerial view](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/safeco/images/aerial/288x350aerialwest.jpg) (check out that Kingdome!) [other picture](http://www.well.com/~wolfy/Mariners-1999/page36.html) [and another](http://www.teresco.org/pics/xc-19990722-0810/nathan/sea-safeco3-big.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/7 "2005-08-31T02:26:43Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > I’m a Yankee fan but: > They purposely blow the Whistle with each passing train. It adds atmosphere to the Park. > BTW [http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm](http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/index.htm) is a great sight on Ballparks wrong (about the whistle, not the website) ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-seattle-mariner-fans-whats-with-the-train-whistle/319321/8 "2005-08-31T14:55:42Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > wrong (about the whistle, not the website) Well, obviously they blow it purposely. I guess you’re disputing that they blow it for atmosphere rather than for safety purposes. I can’t read the mind of the engineers, but I have been in several (maybe a dozen) of the new major and minor league ballparks with adjacent railroad tracks. They _all_ blow the whistle when passing the ballpark, even those that don’t have crossings nearby. Many of the neo-classic designs which have dominated the last ten or fifteen years purposely integrated the railroad to help create a sense of nostalgia. While I’m sure that they don’t have a formal relationship with the railroads, I know that in many cases a) there’s no real reason to be blowing the whistle, and b) the fans (especially kids) seem to love it. Off the top of my head, other new parks with adjacent railroad lines are in Houston, San Francisco, San Diego, Rochester, Syracuse, Sacramento, Somerset MA, Reading, PA, and Montgomery, AL. Among the older parks with trains passing by are both NYC stadiums, both Chicago stadiums, and Angel Stadium in Anaheim. In the major league cities, these tend to be subways or commuter trains, while in the minor league towns they are usually freight trains.