Hello!
I am Ryan the Railfan. I am sort-of new to Trains Magazine.
I had a question for everyone. I'll give you some background first.
One day in 2016, I was track-side along the Union Pacific Railroad's Geneva Subdivision. At one point during my railfanning, a westbound manifest freight train came through. This manifest freight train's front locomotive was the Union Pacific Railroad's locomotive number 5302. According to a website called RR Picture Archives, 5302 is a GE AC45CCTE, but was reportedly built as an ES44AC.
Anyway,to continue with the story, the crossing gates went down as expected, and 5302 and it's train came though. From what I can recall, there was nothing about this engine or train that was amazingly/remarkably different from any other train.... This lack of notice of anything strange remained the case- until one day, I played back the video of 5302 and it's train.
It was on the playback that the weird "ocurrence" happened. As the train was approaching the grade crossing, the camera* michrophone picked up a semi-faint (and a little eerie) sound known to me as the Unidentified Railroad Sound, or the URS. The URS that I am referring to sounded like a bell**. But, this so-called "bell" only went off once, and almost seemed to decline a little in the pitch of sound - sort of like the doppler effect, only the engine hadn't even reached the spot where I was filming, let alone passed me.
I had heard this sound before (or similar enough sounds), but I still didn't (and sort- of don't) know what it was/is. Someone told me it was a piston, but here's the thing: I feel as though I have heard it coming from actual train cars. If this indeed is the case, is the URS really just an engine thing?
Have you heard it? I can't say I heard it with my ear alone. At the time, theonly way I can really recall hearing it was from my camera's* michrophone.
Anyway, can you explain what it is? Please also share your story/experience of the URS if you have one.
And maybe, it didn't even come from the train (or either of the two engines, respecitively).... Or maybe it came from the engine that was trailing behind 5302.
- Ryan the Railfan
* My camera, even still today, is a mobile device.
** the "bell" (the URS) didn't sound like the "onboard locomotive bell" that is used when a front/lead engine approaches and occupies a railroad grade crossing.
Perhaps a shot of vented air from the brake system? I've heard that make a sound similar to what is described, including the falling tone at the end.
It would NOT likely be either function or malfunction of the various 'spitter' traps that near-continuously blow condensate out of various parts of the air system on the locomotives.
It could be a blow down valve.
Not all engines are equipped with a spitter like mentioned above. Most will be on a timer or cycle of some sort and blow out the wet air in a psssshhhttt. That blowing often starts strong and fades out.
10000 feet and no dynamics? Today is going to be a good day ...
Who knows if we can't hear the audio of what you heard!
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BigJimWho knows if we can't hear the audio of what you heard!
Yes, or see the video with the equipment involved. Both of which he explicitly has, so a simple matter of posting a clip on YouTube and providing the link to it here...
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