Train noise troubles residents

The blaring sound of honking trains rips Donald Gunter from his sleep three to four times a night.

[Fred Durst]

Hey, weren't the tracks there when you moved in?

[Texas Rail Engineer]

Fred Durst wrote:

Hey, weren't the tracks there when you moved in?

Blame your realtor NOT the railroad!!!!!

[Tim]

I know scores of people who live by the tracks, and they sleep just fine. The trains don't bother them at all.

[George]

is it really necessary to honk at a guarded crossing.No other country in the world seems to do that especially at 4 in the morning.
I noticed that trains do not honk in the more affluent communities how come??

[ar engineer]

Hey ..how do you think we feel?..we hear those horns for 12 hours a day....

we are willing to put up with it to keep from running over you when you are not paying attention.(like you obviously were not paying attention when you moved that close to the railroad tracks)

[Charlie]

I have witnessed hundreds of times people driving around gates while doing the following: talking on cell phones, putting on make-up, eating donuts and drinking coffee, reading the paper, talking with other occupants of the vehicle etc etc etc. A locomotive horn is the only way a railway has to protect these idiots motorists and pedestrians from the almost certain death that results from a ten thousand ton train hitting a 2 ton auto, or 200 lb body.

[hillbilly louisiana]

Hey,, you just give it time and you will not hear the horns i live 100ft from the tracks , maybe you dont have enough train blood, I have lived by the tracks for 48 years keep on blowing. $$$

[chris]

who cares if the tracks were there in the first place or not. I happen to live by tracks myself and over the last couple months they blare their horn from one end of town to the other THATS NECESSARY?!?!?!? I dont think so. Especially at 4 5 in the morning. Since all the train experts are in here, WHY do they do it at 4 in the morning but not 4 in the afternoon. One answer might be visibility but who cares. If your stupid enough to not pay attention to the tracks and go around OR let your kids be around them Then do everyone a favor when u get hit by one..... DIE!! We have enough ignorant people in this world to miss one person. Its not like blowing through a stop sign or red light Theres big flashing lights and big long boards that come down. And if they aint payin attention to those, What the hells a horn gonna do. Maybe everyone should blow their horn when they go through an intersection for those that run through without looking. THINK PEOPLE THINK before you do stupid things .......SUCH as crossing the tracks when a big A@# train is coming and Quit HONKING the damn horns

[RAILBENDER]

Earplugs.... Earplugs and maybe a C-PAP machine. He could have "Sleep Apnea". That being said, there is nothing that will keep him awake like all that loud organ music at his friends funerals who died because they didn't hear the train coming.

[meg tooth]

i dont know how you do it....i would try to move because if it was once a night, you might be okay with it but 4 times a night? you will eventually get really sick from that mentally and physically....move now because even if they cut it down to twice, you will find yourself living around the noise...waiting for the blaring noise again, never really sleeping..always on edge. LIke barking whining dogs that people think they have the right to leave out all day while THEY are on a day work schedule . Wind chimes that are terrible big and loud are another pain in the butt. But trains,??? there is no escape....get out now. Cut your losses and move for your sanity.

[Dumbo dave]

I bet the first time a train fails to blow for the x-ing at 0230 for one of these morons and is hit, they'll sue the RR for not blowing the horn. We have no choice but to start blowing at the x-ing board located 2500 feet from the x-ing. Federal law. We violate it and get caught, we get fired

[NYB]

I understand why the horn is blown but please explain why the horn has to be so loud it can be heard 5 miles away? A bit over the top don't you think? Why not put on seriously stupid flashing lights coded for the RR industry during night operations? Or since they drive around the open ended gates, why not put double gates on each side so they can't drive around them...duh! The potential of preventing one potential death is a reason to sleep deprive countless thousands of others every night? Sure many don't mind but many others do. It's worth affecting their health? I can't wait for someone to get hit by a train because they fell asleep at the wheel and rolled on the tracks...and why was he so tired? Because the train kept him up.
I agree with the personal responsibility albeit not in the way it was presented. I know it's my responsibility to stop at lights, to look for trains etc and the comment about everyone honking their horns whenever they go through an intersection is pretty appropriate. You engineers comment on how many times you've seen this or seen that but for every one you see I see hundreds of stupid things done by drivers daily.
Perhaps people should get 2million candle-watt spotlights and spotlight the engineers when they pass by because you know, we care about you and just want to make sure you're awake and all. We're awake anyway so why not help you out in return.

[Hobo Joe]

Okay, I'll run to the MRO (manager of road ops) and let him know that homey in SAT wants us to stop blowing the horn! Take it up with your local city officials and the feds. We blow cause we have to. Think I enjoy having to push that damn horn button 4 times for every crossing then reset the bell after we cross through? Get the city officials to apply for a grant to establish quite zones and the quad gates. Then all you'll hear is sound of the motors running through town. Then I am sure you'll bitch and moan about that as well. Asleep at the wheel, errr, throttle...

[railroad kid]

i lived right by the wabash and the burlington and the sound of the train late and during the night became as comforting as hearing your mother's breathing and feeling her warm body. learn to adjust to it and you'll start to miss it when it's late or doesn't pass by some night.

[Sam I Am]

I'd love to see these people start to complain and moan and groan if the RR's went bye bye. The price of goods would go up, the thousands of trucks flooding the roadway(s) would bring the rush hour to s 24 hour period and the special needs to transport hazardous materials would just be staggering. These whiners. Just like people who move into an area where an airport has been around for 75 years and they complain about the noise.

[Jason]

I live in Ft.Worth and some croosings the engineer does not blow the horn.I believe that if the city will accept the law suits from people getting hit from trains instead of the railroads I'm all for it.If you live by the railroad and it's been there longer than you have,either deal with it or stop being a cry baby.No one forced you live around them.The railroads are doing their best.The people that doesn't want to hear the horn blow are the first ones to get hit by a train and say I din't hear it and sue the railroad.

[A disappointed visitor]

I am in San Antonio for 4 days, what a shame the whole visit from the UK has been ruined by what appears to me as completely ignorant train drivers. They get off on making that noise all night long??? get a life....How the residents of this fine city (or anywhere else) can accept such noise is beyond belief

[Charlie]

A disappointed visitor wrote:

I am in San Antonio for 4 days, what a shame the whole visit from the UK has been ruined by what appears to me as completely ignorant train drivers. They get off on making that noise all night long??? get a life....How the residents of this fine city (or anywhere else) can accept such noise is beyond belief

Sorry you didn't enjoy your visit, but don't blame the hoggers, they are required by Federal Law to sound their horns at all public grade crossings unless they are exempted under the "Quiet Zone" ruling handed down by the FRA.

[Railfan2006]

NYB wrote:

I understand why the horn is blown but please explain why the horn has to be so loud it can be heard 5 miles away? A bit over the top don't you think? Why not put on seriously stupid flashing lights coded for the RR industry during night operations? Or since they drive around the open ended gates, why not put double gates on each side so they can't drive around them...duh! The potential of preventing one potential death is a reason to sleep deprive countless thousands of others every night? Sure many don't mind but many others do. It's worth affecting their health? I can't wait for someone to get hit by a train because they fell asleep at the wheel and rolled on the tracks...and why was he so tired? Because the train kept him up.
I agree with the personal responsibility albeit not in the way it was presented. I know it's my responsibility to stop at lights, to look for trains etc and the comment about everyone honking their horns whenever they go through an intersection is pretty appropriate. You engineers comment on how many times you've seen this or seen that but for every one you see I see hundreds of stupid things done by drivers daily.
Perhaps people should get 2million candle-watt spotlights and spotlight the engineers when they pass by because you know, we care about you and just want to make sure you're awake and all. We're awake anyway so why not help you out in return.

Those locomotive horns HAVE to be that loud to overcome most sound-attenuating conditions(i.e. closed car/truck windows, stereo blasting, headphones too loud, etc). That was the decibel level set decades ago and isn't likely to change, until a better method of crossing protection/warning is devised. Personally, I would rather be able to hear the train, no matter what. It the same reason emergency vehicle's sirens are set at 120 decibels.

[BNSFHogger]

If we didn't sound the horn, we would be fired. If you want sleep, write your local government to establish quiet zones. We don't just blow the horn cause it makes us excited. People, you must remember, you have jobs that require you to to work at 7-8 am and get home at 4-5pm. We, that are engineers and conductor HAVE NO SCHEDULE. We work 11-17 hours EVERYDAY. Then 8-10 "rest" before we are back on duty. Sound like along time? Eight hours starts when we "tie up" or punch out (as you would call it). Don't forget about our drive home, time to eat, shower, spend time with your family, relax, get some things done around the house. Then get to bed. Hmmm... The average railroad engineer/conductor may live on less than 4 hours of sleep per day during their working time. We are on call 24/7. Live the life of a railroad employee,and then whine to me about a stupid horn that we are REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW to sound at ALL crossings, unless quiet zones are established by YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. We don't blow horns cause its "cool" or "funny" to wake you up, nor do we intentionally "block crossings" (as I have heard a million times). We are abused by our employers daily, we are operation tested daily, and wonder if we will be fired EVERYDAY.

Get a job here on a railroad. I guarantee you will NEVER say another thing about annoying trains.