Are there any restrictions on when trains can use their whistle?
I’m stuck in Vegas (ewwwww) on a job for several months, and we’ve been put in a hotel that was built – literally – adjacent to train tracks. Can you say, cheap bastards?
Anyway, I had always figured that trains woudn’t be allowed to use their whistles at, oh, 1am. 2am. 4am. etc.
Yet I seem to have been mistaken.
Are there regulations to protect us poor sleepers? Or is this something that train engineers can do at will?
Engineers are required to use the train horns at certain spots- before crossings, for example.
Yep. Long long short long.
The only regulations to protect against noise pollution that I’m aware of are those like my city enacted: To limit the amount of time a train can idle in one place. They’ve also put a limit on the amount of time a crossing can be blocked during certain hours.
I’ll also add that apart from the three or so years I lived away at college, I’ve lived a few blocks away from a switchyard and crossing. It would probably take longer than your stay, but you do eventually get used to it.
Sadly, the one word answer: no.
One who lives waaaaayyyyy to close to an at grade rail crossing …
Lucy
Those at the tracks at “1am. 2am. 4am.” deserve exactly as much safety and warning as they would at "pm. 2pm. 4pm."You don’t have a case, either legally or morally.
I’ve been meaning to ask a train spotter this question. Are the newer engines equiped with louder horns? I swear they raised the sound level over the years.
I don’t know about American trains, but there’s been an issue in Britain with new trains having louder horns. The trouble was, the old ones never came anywhere near the statutory requirements of how loud horns were supposed to be, and how wide an angle the sound was supposed to carry across. A new generation of trains have finally managed to meet these decades-old ‘rules’, and have caused problems in some residential areas which hadn’t had a problem with older ones.
Yes, but each engineer has his/her own style. I live in a town of about 5000 people and we have about a half dozen grade crossings. Some engineers sound the horn at each crossing. There is one, however, who sounds the horn at the first crossing (near my house) and simply lays on the horn through the entire town.
Nice.
I live in an industrial loft. Our front door is between 2 rail road arms, meaning the train is not even across the street from our door, but in the middle of the street. so im guessing 25feet. There is a way to blow the horn and make it pleasant. but like you said Drum God, there is one who sounds the horn 15mins before the train gets to crossing and just holds it down.
Yes and no. In some cases, the air horns have been mounted nearer the ground (as opposed to above the cab) and are very loud. I’m fairly sure the F59PH locomotives in California were delivered this way.
I think the real culprit, as far as loudness goes, is the change within the past 10 years or so from a valve to a button. Earlier diesels used a handle that the engineer pulled with his left hand. If he/she just barely pulled, only a little air would make it to the horn. Engineers could do some very pretty (and lonesome sounding) things with the valve, in addition to making night time crossing signals a bit quieter.
Today, the newer desktop control locomotives have an electronic button. Press it and the horn sounds at full volume. In some cases, there is a second button with the pre-programmed long long short long sequence. At any rate, since the engineer no longer controls the volume of air, the horns sound much louder.
Also, the prime movers are significantly quieter today, which would tend to make the horn seem louder.
Knowing a few engineers, may I say that the very worst thing you could do is complain about the noise.
In the 1970s, they built a new underground railway in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. One of the stations was to be built by the cut-and-cover method at Woollahra, which is one of Australia’s wealthiest suburbs. Along with a few other very rich people, the then state Premier lived near the site, and rumour has it that he/they vetoed the construction of the station, because they didn’t want the train bringing in riff raff from other parts of the city. The station had already been ecavated though, so now it is am open air section in between two tunnels. The train crew would sound the horn as they entered these tunnels. The rich folk complained about the noise, the train crew got a memo from the railway tellling them to no longer do it. You can imagine the rest. They blast the horn long now. They blast it short. They blast ‘Shave and a Haircut’. They blast ‘Jingle Bells’…
Like the old guy who lived in a second floor apartment next to the El. A train went by every moring at 1:30 for 30 years. One morning it didn’t go by, he woke up and said, “What was that?”
I’ve always wondered why that section of the line was open to the air. It seems so incongruous. Mystery solved!
I am trying to visualize this arrangement between two “rail arms” with youor front door twenty-five feet from the track. Are you meaning that the track is down the middle of the street in front of your house? While noisy, it must make for some great train watching. Don’t let the kids play in front of the house, though. :eek:
I have a house about 50 yards from railroad tracks…was hell for the first few weeks…then it just seemed like the trains stopped running late at night.
Nope, I just started sleeping through them.
This is an old cite but it does say that under certain circumstances, local governments can restrict the trains from blowing their horns. At the bare minimum, the crossing must have warning lights, bells and gates.
If you Google a few more citations, you’ll get the impression that both railroad and safety officials hate it, and would prefer more whistles, not fewer.
There’s actually your answer. In other words, there isn’t one answer. It comes down to a compromise, and will vary state by state, and country by country. In heavily populated Japan, for example, most crossings are made without the use of the horn (Japan has lots of grade crossings in densely populated areas). Here in Australia, in regional areas, the railways are a very marginal enterprise at the best of times (sparse population, and the railway runs at a loss), so they can’t afford lights and bells at some backwoods crossing used by five cars per day. Here, there is just a sign, and the train will start doing the ol’ lonesome whistle routine every time.
Even then, it is sometimes isn’t enough.
Thanks for the info, everyone.
I work as a part of a train crew and I guess your question’s been pretty much answered.
Local authorities can dictate where whistles can be used. We have a timetable for every section of railroad we use. On the station pages of the timetable it would tell you if there are any restrictions on whistles at a particular crossing. I don’t think local authorities do this much because it probably makes them liable in some way if something were to happen.They can also issue a bulletin order retricting us.
Otherwise we’re expected to be loud. Our trains have data recorders on them and if there’s ever an incident at a RR crossing (or anywhere) they can pull the tapes. If we do something wrong we can be held criminally liable.
Some engineers late at night might go easy on the whistle at a crossing but each time they do they’re putting the entire crew at risk if something were to occur.
Actually he does have a case as it is generally noisier during the day then night therefore the train is actually giving MORE warning at night then the day.