Newbie Question: Horns & Crossings

[Anonymous]

First off, I would like to apologize to my fellow forum members if this question (or a variation thereof) has been previously posted as I do not wi***o be redundant. With so many topics listed it is hard to check them all.[sigh]

That being said, can anyone clarify the use of the train horn at crossings? Recently, while railfanning along a stretch of the CN in central Illinois, I noted that approaching trains did not sound their horn when they came up to the crossing that I was at (I refer to this crossing as Crossing #1), yet I could hear their horn way off down the track.
Upon inspection of the area I noted that there was a crossing farther south (Refer to this crossing as Crossing #2) about a mile away and it was at this point where the horn was being sounded.
Intrigued, I took greater note and found that non-CN manifests (BNSF Dash-9's and also NW GP 60's ) sounded their horn at both crossings while CN trains did it at only the one crossing (Crossing #1).
To further add to my confusion, a local pair of switch engines (GTW & IC pairing of dielsels) sounded their horn at crossing #1& #2.
Is there a reason for this? I was under the impression that trains had to sound their horns at every crossing regardless.

[Anonymous]

If you were observing the old Illinois Central main line in Central Illinois, now part of CN, were you in an agricultural area? Because sometimes engineers don't apply the universal standard of crossing (long, long, short long blasts on the horn, symbolized _ _ 0 _ ), at private crossings--such as those in which the road and crossing are not part of public roads but lead onto a farmer's private property.

Perhaps the CN crews, being on "native" road so to speak, knew they could apply the quieter standard in such a case as above; but the engineers from "foreign" roads, driving their own locomotives, might have chosen the more conservative standard either because they were away from their best-known trackage or because it is better to be overscrupulous than underscruplous.

This can get pretty complex (were the foreign engines under full trackage rights, as opposed to something more like haulage?), and I suspect you have not heard the last of this?

Perhaps best of all, an actual engineer can testify to his/her experience.

[BR60103]

Along our stretch of CN main approaching Toronto, CN has agreed with the municipalities that it will not blow for crossings. A few miles out there are crossings that it does blow for. However, engineers will blow the horn if something bothers them at the crossing.
The ex-CP line going the other way has a dozen crossings through town and blows for every one of them. I think they somethimes have to slow down so that they can get the whole signal out between roads.

[Anonymous]

Quiet Zones, and FRA's new whistling guidelines which is a joke to begin with......