The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
i only dread the day crossings will have those horns built onto them around here as they do nothing but annoy people
Maybe we are onto something here. Could it be that people are just annoyed at the sound of a locomotive's horn blowing and thus, pay no attention to it and just keep driving right into the path of an oncoming train?
I haven't heard of these horns on the crossing thing before. An interesting idea though. Place the horns on the crossings. That way they blow directly at the oncoming traffic and I wouldn't have to listen to it. Alas, it wouldn't work as people would just get annoyed at the sound!
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Ya, but I mean just put that design on a normal cast iron bell and there ya go.
Alec
wctransfer wrote:Ya, but I mean just put that design on a normal cast iron bell and there ya go.Alec
That won't work. No matter how much you shroud the bell - it will still get gunked and frozen up. Plus you will cut down on sound if you add more metal around it. Both EMD and GE are putting electronic bells on their engines. Sorry, but the good ol' days of the mechanical bell are fading.
Ya, I see what you mean about the more metal the less the sound. No need to be sorry Zug, just had a few ideas.
I'm sure there's plenty of regionals and shortlines with electronic crossing bells. Does anyone even make the mechanial bells anymore? If they still do - I wouldn't count on it being made much longer.
As far as locomotives - many shortlines don't abuse their power like class-1s. Therefore, the bells are not as big as a problem.
well sure some will have E-bells. but i think they'll take longer to replace the mechanical bells because those smaller roads dont have so much money to fork out. so i bet they'll keep the mech bells up till they break. then they should replace them
and you're right. as far as i know. all mechanical bells are discontinued. but then again, so are GP7s etc and you still see them work on the smaller roads. so dont count the mechanical bells out just yet on shortlines
Of course. Besides, I know most shortline owners would go nuts before they put an e-dinger on some old alco.
ah yes. i forgot some shortlines use ALCOs or other older power. when i think "shortline", i think "Wisconsin Northern" cuz they're around here and they only have 2 GP15-1s and an SW1500 in PGR paint
i should find a shortline that runs ALCOs
UK2007 wrote:Sorry if this is railroad basics but why do your railroads use bells on their locomotives?
Unlike the UK, in North America railroad rights-of-way are not fenced in, grade (level) crossings are quite common and station platforms are usually at ground level. The bell provides an additional warning device.
Electronic or not -- a bell is an important warning device.
I fire a steam engine and thus operate the bell. We have very specific rules about when the bell must be rang. Of all the places - the most important is when we are backing the engine into the engine house. A slow moving steam engine is virtually silent and when backing, rear visibility is blocked by the tender. With other normal (noisy) in the engine house (we aren't issue ear plug for nothing) that quiet engine could interrupt someone's day.
Electronic or not - the engine bell beats the sound of the back-up buzzer on the front-end loader we use for fueling.
dd
Lord Atmo wrote: i dont mind the electronic locomotive bells. they dont sound too different to me.now those electronic CROSSING bells are another story. especially those damn western cullen hayes bells.and let's not forget the crossings with virtual horns. those sound HORRIBLE. ugh
i dont mind the electronic locomotive bells. they dont sound too different to me.
now those electronic CROSSING bells are another story. especially those damn western cullen hayes bells.
and let's not forget the crossings with virtual horns. those sound HORRIBLE. ugh
They do sound the same...I dont see what the big deal is...A bell is a bell
I know one short line that has replaced the bells on all their locomotives with the electronic ones, the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island(former E&N Railway). Parent company Southern Railway of BC is also replacing mechanical bells with the electronic ones. As zug said, the electronic bells are not nearly as prone to failure as the mechanical ones, so you'd better get used to 'em.
BTW, why is it railfans hate anything new?
Here bells are used when just starting to move (serves as warning to nearby people), when going across crossings, through stations, through tunnels, and when passing other trains or equipment (again, as a warning to those working nearby).
I was just in De Kalb the other day, and most of the crossings there have electronic bells, LED lights, AND wayside horns! Doesn't get much more annoying then that!
No they don't! I bet you can't turn a real bell off in half a ding!
I like both electronic and mechanical bells. There's nothing wrong with the electronic bells, I have noticed they are much louder than the mechanical ones, which is good I think. The sound is different, but it's not a very annoying sound IMO.
People who like the mechanical bells, we have to remember that they aren't completely obsolete on any Class I yet. All of the Amtrak Genesis engines have mechanical bells, and most of the Dash 9's and SD70M/AC's do to. Heck, I think even Acela has a mechanical bell. They'll be around for a while yet.
But we also have to realize that electronic bells are the future, and it's coming whether we like it or not. People who don't like them now will have to learn to.
Fortunately, I like them both, so I don't have a problem at all.
"Lionel trains are the standard of the world" - Jousha Lionel Cowen
the electronic bells suck
grow up. They are here to stay.
minipimp wrote: the electronic bells suck
this lad's posts make me sound smarter.
i can get used to electronic crossing bells even. but i do NOT want to start seeing those stupid wayside horns on the crossings around here. they sound rancid and lack the doppler effect.
I was going to ask the question, "why are new locomotives equipped with fake bells?", then found this thread.
I myself feel the fake bells are too quiet, both on locomotives AND at crossings. They just don't have the "punch" of the real thing. Too wimpy. These days, with all the distractions in cars and iPods, you need to make some noise to catch people's attention. Real bells seem to pack that needed "punch".
What I'd like to know is WHY were these things even invented? I'm not being snide, I just want to know. Was it to make anything easier for the crew?
JD
www.newenglanddepot.net
had never heard an electronic bell until got to Portland, Or and heard Milwaulkee's bells. They could be heard much farther than SP's mechanical bells.
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