Move next to the tracks, complain about the noise

[Junctionfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wcfan4ever

More towns should go with the AHS. The Automated Horn System. I don't know how many of you are familiar with it. Basically is is a large box mounted on a pole with a speaker. When the crossing go on, the Automated Horn begins to sound.

The horn is not quite as loud as a regualar train horn however. This reason being that the speaker is facing traffic both ways. Try standing next to one when it goes of...LOUD!

Plus on top of four surrounding poles, there are cameras. So you attempt to go around the gate, most likely, you will be notified by the police. I have seen these AHS's in use in Ames, IA. I was there for two days watching trains at different locations in the city with crossing that have the AHS and not once did I see a vehicle go around the gates. I also never heard the train blow its horn either. Well, the only time he did was to greet me once in the early morning hours.

I have heard that Ames, IA is not the only city to have them. They were the first but other may have followed. I heard a suburb of Chicago to the north on the former WC now CN line had them, but they had too many malfunctions with them. I know Ames didn't seem to have any problems.

Maybe instead of the horn perhaps they should get a recording of Gilbert Gottfried yelling at everybody to stop. I imagine it would be so obnoxious, people would stop complaining about trains whistling as it would be a more humane form of torture.

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon



In fact ban the use of horns all together. And then place a sign at crossings that says proceed at on risk, RR takes no responsibilty for injury / death.

And add to the sign that the RRs will pursue criminal and civil action for any damages to RR equipment and personnel.

And then......make use of that legal dept and push for legislation that provides for manditory public service for anyone involved in a auto-train collision. The person will then be required to serve their hours in a school crossing guard vest with a stop sign and stand at a RR crossing stopping traffic everytime a train comes along.

[jeffhergert]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wcfan4ever

More towns should go with the AHS. The Automated Horn System. I don't know how many of you are familiar with it. Basically is is a large box mounted on a pole with a speaker. When the crossing go on, the Automated Horn begins to sound.

The horn is not quite as loud as a regualar train horn however. This reason being that the speaker is facing traffic both ways. Try standing next to one when it goes of...LOUD!

Plus on top of four surrounding poles, there are cameras. So you attempt to go around the gate, most likely, you will be notified by the police. I have seen these AHS's in use in Ames, IA. I was there for two days watching trains at different locations in the city with crossing that have the AHS and not once did I see a vehicle go around the gates. I also never heard the train blow its horn either. Well, the only time he did was to greet me once in the early morning hours.

I have heard that Ames, IA is not the only city to have them. They were the first but other may have followed. I heard a suburb of Chicago to the north on the former WC now CN line had them, but they had too many malfunctions with them. I know Ames didn't seem to have any problems.

The AHS at Ames have orange Xs for the train crews that flash when the system is working. If the X isn't flashing, the engineer is to blow for the crossing. Whether the system is working or not the bell is to be rung over the crossings like normal. The AHS is maintained by the City of Ames. When they don't work, the crews contact the dispatcher who calls the city.
Out of the six crossings equipped, all but one have a median dividing the lanes. It would be hard to go around the gates at the last minute.

[jeffhergert]

In Marshalltown, Iowa the city built a new aquatic center/YMCA complex next to the tracks. The vibration from the trains is causing problems. The city wants the railroad to pay for the repairs.
This fancy swimming pool is close to the west end of the yard. Last summer a Des Moines to Marshalltown turn was working the west end, when someone threw a switch under the train. They had been going back and forth over this switch working in other tracks so it definitly wasn't the crews fault. Derailed a few cars. Now all the yard switches are locked.

[StillGrande]

Maybe they should mount a small car or pickup truck to the front of the locomotive. People might get the hint. I remember reading about a VW Beetle that got hit was stuck on the front coupler. The driver got quite a ride while the train tried to stop.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon



In fact ban the use of horns all together. And then place a sign at crossings that says proceed at on risk, RR takes no responsibilty for injury / death.

And add to the sign that the RRs will pursue criminal and civil action for any damages to RR equipment and personnel.

And then......make use of that legal dept and push for legislation that provides for manditory public service for anyone involved in a auto-train collision. The person will then be required to serve their hours in a school crossing guard vest with a stop sign and stand at a RR crossing stopping traffic everytime a train comes along.

And who will monitor the public service? Our poor police dept is already short quite a few people and I can only guard one crossing and only on weekends. Good idea, but probably not very practical unless we chain them to the crossing signal, then the ACLU or UCLA or ACKY will come out yelling!

Moo

[dharmon]

I like the chaining idea....it has merit. [}:)]

[UPTRAIN]

This is how I blow MY HORN, ________ ________ * ________!!! for crossings. For railfans * * *** **** ** * * *** **** * *. For my family ____ ____ ____ ** ____. For trespassers ************** "MOVE DAMN IT!!!" To make someone mad ___________________________________________...![:D]

[AntonioFP45]

I live in eastern Hillsborough County Florida. I have ABSOLUTELY NO SYMPATHY FOR THESE IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would gladly say this to them, in a more decent manner. Several subdivisions have gone up in the past 10 years. Last I checked, that mainline, which was originally ATLANTIC COAST LINE, was there before World War One! Just 2 miles south is another CSX line running parallel that goes to Mulberry. This is was originally SEABOARD AIRLINE. There since the early 20th Century! Subdivisions have been built near it also. The contractor is the one that these people need to yell at! But then again, no one forced them to buy these fancy house buckets!

Many of these people are "supposedly educated" with bachelor's and masters degrees! Yet, when they decided to move into these $150,000-$250,000 homes they couldn't make and EDUCATED GUESS that those neatly dressed tracks that they can clearly see from their neighborhood has trains ripping by at 60 mph?! They need to shut up and sell their homes.

Horns are indeed louder today. Especially the K5 on CSX units that come down here. They need to be because we've had too many people play chicken with trains and lost.

I hope that our Hillsborough County commisioners use some commons sense. Sorry if I offend any of you but politically it's usually the "conservative" officials that show common sense and the "bleeding heart" liberal officials that will say something like : hmmmmm, maybe this is an issue that requires further study. We need to fund a committee to study this...there is an issue here. These people have rights......blah...blah...blah...!. The conservative officials are accused of pandering to big business (CSX) when they make decisions favoring safety! It really makes me stew!

I'm 2 miles from the tracks and have been awakened by engineers laying on the horn. That only tells me that some "yahoo" in a car raced his train at the crossing. I turn over and go back to sleep.

These homeowners need to be held accountable for their decisions.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if the people who build/buy homes next to railroad tracks are related to the people who build/buy homes up in the mountains. [%-)]
One group complains about train noise, and the other gripes about cougars and other assorted wildlife threatening their kids and pets. Come on people! [:(!] Who was there first?! Try doing a little research into the area you want to buy or build a house before signing on the dotted line. If you don't do your homework, be prepared for the consequences, and don't female dog about it to your congressman! [banghead]

[AntonioFP45]

UPTRAIN,

I like your "horn codes", ESPECIALLY THAT LAST ONE![swg][tup][(-D][tup][4:-)][tup][{(-_-)}]

[mudchicken]

Along with the knuckleheads paying $$$$$$ to build that house too close, don't forget the morons in the county "lack of Planning Departments" who issue the building permits....

[AntonioFP45]

Zardoz, thanks for the link!

I typed a letter to the Tampa Tribune Newspaper editorial column.

Take care!

[zardoz]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

I typed a letter to the Tampa Tribune Newspaper editorial column.

Good for you!! I would venture a guess that you went directly to the point in your letter. I would be interested in any reply you receive, should you be inclined to share it.

Z

[RudyRockvilleMD]

This reminds of what the late President Harry Truman said,"if you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen."

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Along with the knuckleheads paying $$$$$$ to build that house too close, don't forget the morons in the county "lack of Planning Departments" who issue the building permits....

One thing that constantly irritates me about MC is that he is impossible to tie down, like nailing jello to a wall, and he never ever has an opinion! You just never can figure out what he really thinks.[swg][(-D][(-D][(-D]

As usual, MC, completely right (I never have an opinion, either).

[AntonioFP45]

Zardoz,

Will do! I'm skeptical for now as newspaper/media tend to editoriallize and cut down replies. I'll wait and see what it looks like and provide a link to you all. I hope that the people in my community do see it! It seems like yesterday to me, but in the 1970s the "quiet zones" idea would have been laughed at here. Of course these were the Pre-Generation X "me-me-and only me" days!

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by zardoz

BRANDON, FL -

County officials plan to meet Wednesday night with a vocal grass-roots contingent of eastern Hillsborough County residents who say they are sick of the nightly blare of train horns disrupting their sleep.

The two sides will discuss an exemption to a new federal law requiring trains to sound their horns at every public railroad crossing. The new law goes into effect in December, but allows local governments to apply for ``quiet zones'' at railroad crossings with low accident rates and a string of high-tech safety devices.

Quiet zones are meant to reduce train-horn noise in residential communities without compromising safety. They can be expensive to implement. It is up to the government jurisdiction that maintains the road on which a crossing is located to apply for the quiet zones.

http://brandon.tbo.com/brandon/MGB94I3RNXD.html

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I know we've discussed this subject before; it just amazes me each time I hear about it.

In Fairness to all parties, Horns have gotten a lot louder these past several years.

I am now living in the same house I grew up in, and NS has a grade crossing about a half mile away.

I like trains, so the fact that a train horn is blowing, in itself does not annoy me by any means. But, back in the 60's and 70's, you could hear every train, sure, but you could carry out a normal conversation here, 1/2 mile away, and hear over the horns with no problem.

You can't do that anymore, you have to pause and wait for the blaring to stop.

In fact, just trying to quantify it, the next furthest grade crossing is about a mile away, and the horns at that crossing sound about as loud now as they used to at the nearer crossing. The horns are more piercing these days.

Perhaps a reduced intensity horn for nightime hours (when visual crossing llights are more effective than they are during the day) might be a good middle of the road compromise?

Or are we preparing to round a cultural corner here where the railroads will think it better to simply install plasma arc cutters at every grade crossing, to simply cut through whatever "civilian" debris stands in their way at grade crossings?[8D]

[dharmon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates
[brOr are we preparing to round a cultural corner here where the railroads will think it better to simply install plasma arc cutters at every grade crossing, to simply cut through whatever "civilian" debris stands in their way at grade crossings?[8D]

DUDE!!! Now we are talking................sign me up for the RRs NOW![}:)]

[RudyRockvilleMD]

There might be a mitigating circumstance for buying homes next to tracks, and having to put up with the train noise. At the time some people bought their houses the railroad might not have been in operation, or it might have only run one train a day each way. Some examples:

1. Homes were built next to an abandoned stretch of the Pacific Great Eastern, the predecessor to BC Rail, in West Vancouver. Nobody thought that line would ever reopen, but many years later that line was reopened much to the surprise of the nearby homeowners.

2. Closer to home. The Southern Railways's Harrisonburg Branch, now the Norfolk Southern's B Line, used to only run one local freight train a day each way. However, the Norfolk Southern had to upgrade that line in 1987 or 1988 to handle heavier traffic, and connect with Conrail in Hagerstown rather than Potomac Yard since Conrail could not run freight trains to the New York City area on the Northeast Corridor. So people who bought homes near the Nofolk Southern's B Line before it was upgraded were also surprised at the increased noise due to the increase in traffic.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drephpe

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

Along with the knuckleheads paying $$$$$$ to build that house too close, don't forget the morons in the county "lack of Planning Departments" who issue the building permits....

One thing that constantly irritates me about MC is that he is impossible to tie down, like nailing jello to a wall, and he never ever has an opinion! You just never can figure out what he really thinks.[swg][(-D][(-D][(-D]

As usual, MC, completely right (I never have an opinion, either).

Be glad to take him off your hands! [dinner]

You-know-who!

[Anonymous]

Hey feline--

How do I know he's not allergic to cats????

And on the other hand, Ed is apparently easy to nail down![#oops][:-,]

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by drephpe

Hey feline--

How do I know he's not allergic to cats????

And on the other hand, Ed is apparently easy to nail down![#oops][:-,]

People aren't allergic to cats! It's the kitty litter dust! [}:)]

Ed - Tee Hee! [:D]

[Anonymous]

Mookie--

People??? I thought he was a chicken!!!![}:)][swg]

[Anonymous]

Back to topic..........and all joking aside, as MC says, most of this problem is caused by builders and developers who are aided and abetted by municipal and county planning and zoning staffs, ALL OF WHOM SHOULD KNOW BETTER. But they do it consistently with RR lines, highways (think about all of the driveways they allow on what start out to be high speed thoroughfares), and airports--aah, Airports! Just what exactly do they think planes do when they take off and land?? And volume of traffic really shouldn't be a factor--those folks making the decisions are in the business of growth and they should understand that the economy doesn't move forward by shrinking.

And I wasn't kidding about floodplains a few posts ago. It's exactly the same ridiculous mindset. And it happens all the time, particularly with "scenic" creekbeds, rivers and flood control reservoirs. A good example (at one time I was involved in some academic research on this one): All you north-of-the-Red-River types need to understand that the desert land you see in westerns which purports to be TX is actually in CA. We have some of that, but a lot of the state is very fertile and green, because we get rain. Central TX gets about 36-42" a year and we are very efficient about it--it all comes down in about 45 minutes leaving sunshine for the rest of the year! The Colorado River (ours, not theirs)in central TX is thus a genuinely wild river at times and so LBJ, FDR etc. funded a series of big hydroelectric dams in the 30's, one of which at Lake Travis was the largest continuous pour concrete structure in the world until Hoover Dam came along, and the lake behind it was created for flood control purposes, with a lake behind it that's over 200' deep at normal water elevation. Its upper flood control pool (that's the part reserved to take the edge off a "weather incident") involves about 33' of vertical elevation and a gazillion acres. So what's happened?? They built big houses in the upper flood pool behind the dam and cities downstream and now they can't fill the lake up as it was designed in an emergency or open more than a couple of flood gates at a time (hardly enough in some 100-year + floods) without doing billions of dollars in damage! So what do they do? They try and mitigate the damage and cough up the money that these yokels demand as compensation for their stupidity. This is false economy and places an exceptional burden on taxpayers. And every locale has a similar story (people in LA who build mansions on hills, beach resorts and condos in the FL keys and the Outer Banks, etc.)

Apply the same logic to these folks that like to infringe on RRs, airports, highways, etc. Some of them (particularly the vocal ones) really honestly believe that "big rain" of traffic growth is never going to happen to them! And the cities let them get away with it.

There's no "closed-form" solution to this, and it's going to proliferate and worsen as long as we have an "entitlement" and "not my responsibility" mind set.

Whatever happened to common sense?

Some of the best advice I ever got from a fine gentleman mentor when I first started teaching at the University level was (1) don't be afraid to say "I don't know, but I'll find out" and (2) live on the edge--admit you're wrong when you are and take responsibility--it's a whole lot easier to clean up the damage and a whole lot more people win, including yourself. I have found that advice to be priceless.

If you buy a house by a RR line, it should be second nature that you ought to expect to have trains going by, and maybe more than went by today, come tomorrow.

Final case in point regarding the last few posts between me and the ferocious feline of NE. For those of you who don't know what that exchange was about, check a couple of strings up and you'll find out EdBlysard accidentally shot a nail through his shoe (lousy shot, by the way, he missed and hit nothing but shoe-no marksmanship medal for him!). And know what, if you read the string you'll find out it wasn't the nail gun' s fault, or his wife's or his daughters', or the dog's, or Mookie's (although that's a tempting target--let's talk, Ed). My kind of guy. We need more of that attitude. And, I'm glad he missed!

Life involves risks. Cope with it.

Off my soapbox[soapbox]

[Junctionfan]

HONKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK HONKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Yeah its annoying but would you rather hear that or a car get smushed and maybe even flug into your house. What if that was your family and they didn't know a train was coming because of bad glare off the crossing signals or the gates were not operating properly. During the day, a good whistle keeps you alive and a good whistle during the night is good too because it makes sure that people know they are coming as they may think it might be a gate malfunction so driving around the "broken" gate won't matter.

Me personally if I was in a car as a passenger, I would rather hear HONKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK than "clear....(zap) clear.......(zap) time of death....)

[AntonioFP45]

Hey Junction Fan,

I agree with ya! Now for some "wacko info".

Actually, trains don't "Honk" anymore (too bad![sigh]) Those were the WABCO E2 horns and the Leslie A200 horns. Today it's more of a FLAUUUUGGGGGGGHHHH!! from a K5, a MAWWWWWWW!! from a Leslie S5 and a BRILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!! from the Canadian K5H. [:p][:0][8D]

I like the old honkers. Only place we usually see them now is on E units, F units, and GG1s on old TV movies and shows from the 40s and 50s.

[Anonymous]

Now that's probably the most interesting description of a horn I've seen in a good while.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

QUOTE: Originally posted by TheAntiGates
[brOr are we preparing to round a cultural corner here where the railroads will think it better to simply install plasma arc cutters at every grade crossing, to simply cut through whatever "civilian" debris stands in their way at grade crossings?[8D]

DUDE!!! Now we are talking................sign me up for the RRs NOW![}:)]

You like that idea, Huh?....[:D] Maybe it would be more cost effective to simply put the plasma cutters on the front of each lead engine? Probably cut down on train on train collisions too, as long as you get the other guy before he gets you....[;)]

[Anonymous]

Does anybody have decible figures for the horn loudness on, say a current day box stock Dask 9 versus an SD 40 vintage engine? (when new)