Tim's point is well taken but needs at least a little qualification in an
era of welded rail, light-weight equipment, and all the other refinements
that make today's trains much quieter than their predecessors. I live near
San Francisco and sometimes take walks by the UP (ex-SP) mainline where
Amtrak trains follow San Pablo Bay. From my house (about a half-mile above
the line) I can hear passing trains every day. But when I'm walking along
the right of way, the sounds of lapping waves in the Bay (note: this is
gentle lapping, NOT the roar of the ocean) mask the noise of approaching
trains, and the bluffs behind the tracks also block sound or deflect it out
over the water. Often I can't hear a train until it suddenly appears from
behind one of these bluffs, rounding a curve, and is almost on top of me.
Fortunately, speeds on this part of the line are slow, but I have learned
to be very careful and look around frequently. My hunch is that in urban
areas, where there's a lot of ambient noise and where buildings along a
railroad line can trap or bounce sounds, there may be many spots where the
sound of even a rapidly approaching train could be covered.
In 1962 I was on a fan trip from Chicago to Oregon behind 5632. Our train
had stopped on the western side of the Rock River, and most of us on board
had spilled out onto the mainline to inspect the engine or just stretch our
legs. While we were milling around, I saw one of the engine crew (probably
the engineer) push his way through the crowd, shoving people aside, and
dash up into the cab. Immediately he let out a series of short
ear-splitting blasts on the whistle, signalling everyone to get off the
tracks. Since I was just 14 then and a neophyte railfan, I didn't get it at
first. But it didn't take more than a few seconds to see what was
happening. A long manifest freight headed by 3 or 4 graybacks had come into
view on the opposite side of the river and was already barreling onto the
east side of the bridge. I don't know its speed (I'd guess at least 50
mph), but it was closing on us REALLY FAST. Needless to say, everyone
scattered. There was one kid who was left on the track alone, frozen
temporarily, probably unsure about which way to run. He did get out of
danger in time, but only by a matter of seconds. The moral here is that
even though we were all supposedly railroad-savvy, none of us heard or saw
that train coming; had it not been for our engineer's urgency, we could
easily have seen a major tragedy.
Don't just trust your ears. The signs at RR crossings used to say Stop Look
and Listen. Maybe they still should.
Jonathan
----------------
>From: "Tim Fleck" <tf5077@p...>
>Mailing-List: list BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com; contact
>BRHSlist-owner@yahoogroups.com
>Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 19:46:51 -0500
>Reply-To: BRHSlist@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: Re: [BRHSlist] Amtrak Speed Limits
>
>People, The law of plain simple COMMON SENSE applies wherever and whenever
>you cross railroad tracks. It's not like you can't hear a train coming it's
>just as loud doing 90 mph as it is 35. I feel for the engineers who have got
>to cringe everytime they cross a public crossing.Just wondering if an idiot
>will try to race them. Sounds to me like this town needs to educate it's
>citizens on railroad safety or install a walk bridge over the tracks!! Go
>Amtrak!!
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