Ringing the Locomotive Bell

[traisessive1]

As long as there is a Whistle Post, you just start ringing your bell there.

That still isn't true in all cases. As I said in my previous post ... on CN (in Canada anyways) and most likely CP, the bell DOES NOT have to be sounded at a crossing where you blow the horn. Most engineers disable the bell so it doesn't ring when the come to a crossing.

[coborn35]

As long as there is a Whistle Post, you just start ringing your bell there.

That still isn't true in all cases. As I said in my previous post ... on CN (in Canada anyways) and most likely CP, the bell DOES NOT have to be sounded at a crossing where you blow the horn. Most engineers disable the bell so it doesn't ring when the come to a crossing.

If you take the time to read the whole discussion, you would see I was reffering to the Whistle Ban Zones.

[traisessive1]

Ok, it just doesn't read like that to me.

[Lord Atmo]

"I thought they fixed that car?"
"They did."
"Well how come the wheels are still flat, the handbrake sucks, the angle cocks are broken and the brakes dont apply?"
"It only went in the shop because it needed a stencil touchup."

Maintenance Log:  Engine is missing.
Mechanic:  Engine found.

ah i remember when i read something like that on snakebites:

Problem: engine missing
Solution: engine found after brief search in engine compartment

[coborn35]

Bell is always used in conjuction with the horn. Bell is also used when approaching people, items fouling the tracks, men at work near the track, M.O.W, passing railroad equipment, and just  as a general warning.

The above about being rung with the horn is not true. Not every railroad, CN and I believe CP included do not have to ring the bell at a crossing where the horn is sounded. Canadian rules state that when the horn is sounded the bell need not be rung. So enginners use a penny or a breadclip or something to disable the bell so it doesnt ring when the horn is sounded.

Well if they follow USOR then it would apply to America as well.....Yet they ring the bell here. And CP uses GCOR.

[BentnoseWillie]

CP uses GCOR

One small correction - CP used GCOR. The GCOR was superseded by the CROR (Canadian Rail Operating Rules) in 1990. The CROR governs all common carrier railways in Canada.

As already noted, CROR Rule 13 exempts use of the bell where the horn is being used in accordance with Rule 14(l)...two longs, a short and a long.

[traisessive1]

CP would use the GCOR on their trackage in the States. The rail operating rules in Canda are different than in the US.

[BentnoseWillie]

Oh - US operations on CP. Somehow I missed that.

I think the GCOR did see use in Canada between the UCOR and the CROR - hence my confoozlation.

[zapp]

When I activate the horn for a crossing the bell automatically comes on. When I get through the crossing I have to turn the horn off separately.

I turn the bell on by itself when I'm pulling through yard tracks.  

[rjemery]

When I activate the horn for a crossing the bell automatically comes on. When I get through the crossing I have to turn the horn off separately.

I turn the bell on by itself when I'm pulling through yard tracks.  

Regardless of whatever rule book is covering, this bell with horn issue must be dependent upon the railroad and/or engine, perhaps even the engineer's discretion as a practical matter.  If it should not be that way, the rule is clearly not being enforced.

Even on Amtrak's Vermonter, the sounding of the bell and horn were separate.  Small grade crossing, horn yes, bell rarely.  Station area, horn and bell without exception.  People present, always the bell.  Enclosed area (like a tunnel), bell always.

I asked this question orignally because I saw different practices on SP, Amtrak (in NJ and VT), Conrail (still very active in NJ), and New England Central.

[traisessive1]

When I activate the horn for a crossing the bell automatically comes on. When I get through the crossing I have to turn the horn off separately.  

 

Thats why on those units engineers use a coin or a small piece of plastic to turn the bell off so it wont ring when the horn is sounded. :)

[peterde]

Great to see this thread. I have been wondering about the bell lately. I now take Metro North / NJ
Transit commuter railroad, and they seem to ring the bell approaching the stations and grade crossing, it seems that when the whistle is blown the bell rings also automatically. however when I rode the Long Island Railroad, another commuter railroad, they never rung the bell, (in fact the cars do not have them) Is this because the LIRR uses electric cars, while the MNRR and NJT uses diesels?

[Anonymous]

I work in a yard, and sometimes local & thru trains come into the yard while im switching  if im in the bowl I might not see a train coming as im crossing the tracks. the bell alerts me that the train is there  the train horn would be too much on our ears

[Anonymous]

i rmember as a kid traveling rom Jamica NY out to Huntington Sta on the LIRR that on early Sunday morning trains, the horn was never sounded at any of the numerous grade crossings, even the one a Mineola Station, which cut the station in half.  I doubt this was a "quiet zone" rule, maybe just a courtesy to the neighbors, and in those days, no need for the horn as there wasn't any traffic