posted
I rode the City Of New Orleans 59 last year in deluxe bedroom. The sleeper was up front and got to listen to the horn all night and day. Even with ear plugs at night I could still hear the horn. Are the sleepers always up front on 59?
I am taking the CZ to Chicago and then making my way back to Florida.
Thanks,
Ray
Posts: 70 | From: West Palm Beach, Fl. USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
How often does the "whistle or horn" blow? is it used at all crossings or only when the engineer sees something dangerous?
Posts: 116 | From: Auckland, New Zealand | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
Last August they were not turning the trainset in New Orleans, so what was behind the engines southbound became the back of the train northbound. I do like the horns, but not necessarily at 3am!
Geoff M.
Posts: 2426 | From: Apple Valley, CA | Registered: Sep 2000
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It is required by federal law that the horn be sounded for all at-grade road crossings (level crossings is the Britishism) for a specified time before the train will occupy the crossing. There are exceptions for "quiet zones" which require sufficient protection to make it difficult, read that nigh unto impossible, for someone to drive onto the track without breaking something.
Many formerly "quiet zone" areas will now have horns blown again becasue there is a significnt, actually a huge, difference in grade crossing accident rates related to use of locomotive horns.
How close together are the road crossings? The space between road crossings can vary from a few hundred feet to several miles. In general, for the route of train 58/59 the terrain is relatively flat so there are lots of road crossings. For much of both Illinois and Mississippi, since they are "Public Lands Survey" states where the land was basically divided into mile square grids, all rural and semi-reural area will have a road crossing every mile, terrain permitting, because the public land survey included provision for a road along each section (a section is a one mile square) boundary. This land layout is also true for many of the other states west of the Appalachians.
Horns will also be sounded for a warning in work areas, in case someone is on or heading toward the track in a way that would endanger themselves. There are also horn signals for use in communicating with the train crew, but I would suspect that most have fallen out of use due to radio. If in doubt, the engineer will sound the horn because in case of any accident that is always one of the first questions asked.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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I'm all the way with the originator, Mr. Ray S.
August 2003, I rode #59 CHI-MEM. The sleeper was "on the head' and, as a result, i think i know where every X-ing on the route is located.
Fortunately, riding #58 NOL-CHI this past February, the Sleeper was "where it belonged" on the rear. The only thing I woke up for was X-ing the Ohio River at Cairo. However, what else is new?, I can recall waking up for that even on the Panama Limited, circa 1965.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
It is not that I dislike the horn in general. It just made sleeping difficult. I am probably going to take the same train this fall on my way home to Florida and hope the sleepers are in the rear.
Ray
Posts: 70 | From: West Palm Beach, Fl. USA | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
I've never had trouble sleeping through the whistle, and I've been in sleepers as close to the front as possible, behind the transition sleeper. But everyone is different. Some sounds drive me nuts at night, so I understand.
But it may be that you just need to get used to it. Many years ago when we first moved back to Monterey we lived in line with the airport runway. A United 737 came in every morning at 7:00am. The first two or three mornings it scared me so much I jumped out of bed. After the first few days, it never woke me again, and we lived there 14 years!
BTW, and this is of no particular importance, the horn on the locomotive (#112) that took us north last February, was horribly out of tune. It didn't sound that nice chord it is supposed to.
posted
Having said all I did makes it sound as if the train is going down the track randomly blowing its whistle. That is not true. If the horn is tooting, there is a reason. When you see these wonderful hollywoodisms where the train is rolling along blowing his horn to the empty desert, not so. does not happen.
Posts: 2808 | From: Olive Branch MS | Registered: Nov 2002
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posted
If any of you have ever stayed in downtown Reno you will know that the trains pass right next to many of the major casino hotels and sound their horns at what seems to be every conceivable moment day and night. I think there are something like eight crossings in less than a mile - literally every block. After decades of complaints from the millions of tourists that have had their sleep disturbed they are finally doing something about it - they are digging a massive trench more than a mile long so that the trains will go underground westward from the site of the current Amtrak station. Work had just started when I was there a few weeks ago.
Posts: 395 | From: england | Registered: Sep 2002
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Yes Mr. Williams your right about Reno, I was on #5 on April 13th when we stopped there. We were the first train to use the new tracks ( detour ), we were met by TV crews and reporters. We were told it was so the trains would not block traffic though, nothing about the noise. I guess if they aren't passing intersections they won't have to blow so much. They also set up a temporary station until work is complete.
Posts: 26 | Registered: Nov 2003
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posted
A similar project was done in El Paso some 45 years ago.
Posts: 9975 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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