Blowing at Crossings

[Anonymous]

Many of these local statutes contain an exemption that the engineer may sound the horn when he feels it is necessary in the interests of safety. Also, in some cases operating personnel are unofficially told to sound the horn when they feel it is needed and the company will pay the fine.

Personally, I don't feel that local communities should be able to make laws affecting railroads any more than they can make laws regarding freeways. It would be even better if federal law was preemptive.

[Anonymous]

This has been a hot topic in the Chicago suburbs ever since that school bus accident on the U.P.and the Amtrak/truck wreck a few years ago(Chicago required the railroads to be elevated years ago). I believe either the state passed a law or the FRA issued a rule requiring trains to blow 24/7 but a number of suburbs objected. If I remember right, a compromise was reached where towns could prohibit blowing at night, but had to install fully protected crossings(4-way gates or roadway barriers) by a certain year. Of course cost and who pays are issues.

[DSchmitt]

A whie back I looked up info on some grade crossing on the FRA web site. One of the the things they note in their statistics is whether or not there is a noise ordinance.

[Rick Gates]

The timetables contain special intructions on locations where local ordinances are ineffect regarding the whisle signals at certain crossings at certain times. They are effective and the Railroad must apply the special instruction if a new ordinance is passed.

[MP57313]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Theblockhouse
Right now in my town there is a big debate about trains blowing at crossings.

Placentia, CA, on the BNSF (ATSF) mainline is also fighting this battle. There is a large banner in the median of Kraemer Blvd near the rail crossing, stating the city's intention to silence the horns. In years past there was a "No Whistling Ordinance" in place in Placentia, but this was later eliminated in the interest of safety (not by choice in Placentia).

[Anonymous]

It's not possible to blow them too much or too often.

[oskar]

I think they should blow them unless they have a hotel near by like cumberland,MD



kevin

[UPTRAIN]

I think they should blow them, because people are never going to see just the signals. There needs to be an audiable part of the crossing.

[Anonymous]

What is the name of this town?

[Overmod]

Some places have noise ordinances about horns at night. I have also noticed that, in some communities at some times, the engine crews will use very short and quiet 'toots' on the horn, which might be by mutual agreement with the municipalities involved.

As far as I know, a municipality can enact a noise ordinance that covers horn blowing which would cover railroads (even though Federally, not state, regulated) -- I believe Chicago already has something like that (it was very recently mentioned in a thread on this forum). However -- any such ordinance would have to recognize that liability for grade-crossing accidents would then rest with the municipality in question, and perhaps with the drafters of the ordinance joint and singularly if they haven't wangled full statutory immunity.

I would be interested to see the exact politics that supersedes rulebook-mandated operating rules such as crossing whistle signals.

The 'flip side' of this involves municipalities that have crossings that are 'riskier' than usual, or at which there have been accidents costly to railroads. This may lead to very loud or raucous horns (cf. some KCS engines in south Shreveport, Lousiana, which are quite distinctive at a distance of over two miles) which are used to blow continuous, long repetitions of the crossing signal while passing through some such areas.

[The Block House]

Right now in my town there is a big debate about trains blowing at crossings. We have a situation were two railroads have parallel tracks and the traffic at times can be quite heavy. What are the rules concerning blowing at a crossing and can a comunity adopt an ordanance that requires the trains to not blow at certain times of the day. The railroads have been in my comunity over 100 years and the crossings in questions have been around at least 50+ years.