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You'd think a big railroad like Norfolk Southern would standardize their horns. Not so! Here in Columbus, Georgia, I live a scant two miles from their yard, so I get to hear them blow for crossings and moves all the time. (I must be the only person living here that wishes the horns were louder, not quieter.) The variety ranges from what sounds like "chime" horns to more "normal" sounds. I've also noticed some really outstanding whistle handling on the part of some engineers- I guess they don't have push buttons with programmed whistle signals built in. I guess that the difference in horns and whistles is because of the strange mix of locomotives that go through town here. Last week I saw a UP locomotive with horns, an NS SD40-2 with a whistle (mounted on top of the cab, or just forward of it) that appeared to be a Conrail refugee, an ex BN leased locomotive (green and white paint but no BN on the side and a weird engine number with letters and number) that had horns, and a CN diesel headed west towards Birmingham, Alabama. They all sounded different. Speaking of laws, I had to dig out my Alabama pocket book of ticket writing laws to see what they said about horns. (It's an invaluable reference carried by all cops down here.) Here's what they say about horns and warning devices: 32-5-213 Horns and Warning Devices (a) Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order capable of emitting a sound audible under normal conditions for a distance of not less than 200 feet. It shall be unlawful for any vehicle to be equipped with or for any person to use upon a vehicle any siren or for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning orto make any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device. I don't, as a rule, write traffic tickets- there are plenty of local cops (I am a county deputy) who do that and I have better things to do- but it seems that if someone sounded a locomotive horn behind me while I was on patrol, I'd probably end up writing a ticket on them for scaring me to death. It sounds (pun intended) like the law leaves a lot up to an officer's discretion; what may be "unnessecarily loud or harsh" in one person's mind might be music to the ears of another. The law I cited above, by the way, is a misdemeanor offense. Erik
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