2010 and trains still have to blow horns?

[Roadhawg]

Ya know.... I think they should turn them pesky lights off too... they hurt my eyes when I'm trying to cross the tracks.

[torea]

MDot, I am so touched by your concern for the lives of the few lunatics breaking the railroad crossing traffic laws (as shown in a heroic and spectacular way in Thunder’s YouTube clip). Your loud honking “operation lifesaver” certainly saves the life of a few of these proud, unpunished criminals!

Did you ever think about the older people needing to have a quiet night’s rest and now getting a reduced number of years to live by your (FRA’s) new 4 times honking rules?
Did you ever think about the number of truck and other drivers falling asleep during the day because they were forced to wake up 20 times by train honking during the night, and killing in these accidents numerous innocent men, woman and children? (for example: ten years after 9/11, I hear that the additional number of “indirect” victims is estimated at an additional 1,000 people killed in additional car accidents because many preferred to drive long distances since afraid to fly)
Please don’t tell me they all have to put wax in their ears or get deaf and learn sign language!

I wish you all good luck in your Teepee, smoking the peace-pipe and protecting these criminals lurking around “your” railroads.

I strongly disagree with eliminating them so add me to OKCisOK4me and Roadhawgs Teepee. I know some people get frusterated and annoyed to death by them but BNSF and Norfolk Southern, to name a few, are gonna be more concerned with lives then they are a few peoples feelings, hence the reason for Operation Lifesaver not Operation Quiet. And call me old fashioned or hard of hearing but I'm nowhere near the age to be considered either so neither is the case.

[MDot]

MDot, I am so touched by your concern for the lives of the few lunatics breaking the railroad crossing traffic laws (as shown in a heroic and spectacular way in Thunder’s YouTube clip). Your loud honking “operation lifesaver” certainly saves the life of a few of these proud, unpunished criminals!

Did you ever think about the older people needing to have a quiet night’s rest and now getting a reduced number of years to live by your (FRA’s) new 4 times honking rules?
Did you ever think about the number of truck and other drivers falling asleep during the day because they were forced to wake up 20 times by train honking during the night, and killing in these accidents numerous innocent men, woman and children? (for example: ten years after 9/11, I hear that the additional number of “indirect” victims is estimated at an additional 1,000 people killed in additional car accidents because many preferred to drive long distances since afraid to fly)
Please don’t tell me they all have to put wax in their ears or get deaf and learn sign language!

I wish you all good luck in your Teepee, smoking the peace-pipe and protecting these criminals lurking around “your” railroads.

Well thank you, human life is a very relevant concern for people such as myself. And I have considered the old people who need their rest but you'll be surprised how many old people are actually very hard sleepers and don't even flinch a muscle when they hear a train horn cause it's been around all their lives, and I do feel sorry for the few people that can't seem to catch on that there are houses far away from a railroad track. However, your uber conservative concern for something that comes as second nature to most people is very irrelevant and irritating to have to sit here and listen to. Moaners such as yourself who will bitch untill the sun explodes about something that isn't that big a deal to anyone except the select few who just need something to whine about to entertain their spare time, cause hopefully you understand how rediculous you sound moaping around over a damn train horn.

[MDot]

Ya know.... I think they should turn them pesky lights off too... they hurt my eyes when I'm trying to cross the tracks.

I have no clue where the FRA stands on this. Although I do agree to an extent cause I get migrains very easily and looking down a track and seeing a train with it's lights on can give me a headache, although I just turn my head away.

On second thought, I just gave torea a new train "concern", that being about their lights and the few people who decide to stare into them untill the train locomotive passes.

[torea]

Come on guys, don't make yourself ridiculous! Nobody discusses ad nothing has changed to the flashing lights.

But the FRA did change the frequency and the noise level of the train honking recently without taking into account the newly created noise pollution. And this bothers a large part of the US population (and does not exist in the rest of he world)
Just to protect the few idiots you can see on your YouTube movie risking their lives at railroad crossings?
Please stop this defending of a huge FRA mistake and lets work together to make our world better to live in by silencing trains ALSO in the USA!

Nobody answered my question yet: How would you like a new regulation of a government agency forcing all cars to honk 3 times before passing every green light at crossings? (day and night)?

I have no clue where the FRA stands on this. Although I do agree to an extent cause I get migrains very easily and looking down a track and seeing a train with it's lights on can give me a headache, although I just turn my head away.

On second thought, I just gave torea a new train "concern", that being about their lights and the few people who decide to stare into them untill the train locomotive passes.

[MustangGT]

torea how bout this, stop the horns and lights. When you cross the tracks and get smashed you and all your passengers have NO RIGHT to sue for damages since you accepted the risk and lost??? By the way many crossing accidents tend to be fatalaties, hmmm population control.

[torea]

MustangGT, You are perfectly suited to join the Teepee team and help them protect he "Iron Horse".
Just be carefull since population control has been executed already for the old Teepee tribes!

torea how bout this, stop the horns and lights. When you cross the tracks and get smashed you and all your passengers have NO RIGHT to sue for damages since you accepted the risk and lost??? By the way many crossing accidents tend to be fatalaties, hmmm population control.

[OKCisOK4me]

Hey, donkey...I mean Torea, do us all a favor and move nearby KCI Airport. Go whine about that for a bit. Your argument is plain stupid here... what is it you think we can do for you??! If its trying to get us to agree with you, obviously you've failed so go pedal your nonsense elsewhere. Try city-data.com. There's plenty of other cities there for you to bolster a crowd!

[MustangGT]

Hey, donkey...I mean Torea, do us all a favor and move nearby KCI Airport. Go whine about that for a bit. Your argument is plain stupid here... what is it you think we can do for you??! If its trying to get us to agree with you, obviously you've failed so go pedal your nonsense elsewhere. Try city-data.com. There's plenty of other cities there for you to bolster a crowd!

Thanks. torea is probably and under the bridge deviant troll.

[MDot]

Torea, I'll give you your "car" arguement, but your comparing a car to a train? That's a VERY bad comparison considering how powerful trains are and how long it takes them to stop, compared to a little car that will slide a few feet before coming to a complete stop. Trains are no normal vehicle that are given more safety regulations for a reason. They are beasts that will hit that huge 18-wheeler your driving by, and wrap it around the front of the locomotive like it was a noodle on a fork.

[MustangGT]

Excellent analogy MDot. If anybody want to know how fast a one mile long 10,000 ton train takes to stop. Drive down the street at any speed you choose. Shift into neutral and let your vehicle coast to a stop. The train will take at least 5 times farther to stop.

[RadicalModerate]

236 Posts. About Train Horns at Railroad Crossings.
I think this may be a record.

Make that 237.

[torea]

Thank you MDot, your answer is intelligent summary, technical and to the point. (contrary to others above who only can bark insults...)

What you said should be an additional reason NOT to deliver additional noise to a large part of the US population but rather make violators respect the uncontrollable power of an approaching train. (Every measure to make these law breaking idiots aware of this deadly risk is ok: jail time, pay for all expenses in case of accidents, no lawsuits, etc...

In my humble opinion this is what our FRA (paid by the taxpayers) Federal Railroad Administration should do and police.

Today the FRA finances a police force to punish train engineers (drivers) because they don't execute the recently declared and enforced 4 times loud honking rules at each and every railroad crossing - day and night. This is probably much easier than prosecuting the railroad crossing violators..

I do not agree with this introduction of additional noise pollution.
I want to make our country better to live in.

I will continue to express my opinion against this huge amount of additional noise pollution imposed by the FRA.
The only FRA goal seems to be to help and satisfy their Monopolistic Railroad company friends and "partners".
This is not the purpose of our taxpayer's money!

Torea, I'll give you your "car" arguement, but your comparing a car to a train? That's a VERY bad comparison considering how powerful trains are and how long it takes them to stop, compared to a little car that will slide a few feet before coming to a complete stop. Trains are no normal vehicle that are given more safety regulations for a reason. They are beasts that will hit that huge 18-wheeler your driving by, and wrap it around the front of the locomotive like it was a noodle on a fork.

[MustangGT]

Today the FRA finances a police force to punish train engineers (drivers) because they don't execute the recently declared and enforced 4 times loud honking rules at each and every railroad crossing - day and night. This is probably much easier than prosecuting the railroad crossing violators..

You are so FULL of POOPOO. I have two railroad detectives that work for the FRA that live in the house behind me. I asked them about this and they said the post is full of crap as this is not how it works. Prove your allegation of go pound sand. You have been caught in a LIE and I cam calling you out.

[torea]

Hey Mustang,

Instead of barking more insults, could you please inform us if your two friends - railroad detectives - have been hunting down the criminal guys shown on the YouTube movie?
They were having fun breaking the railroad traffic laws and risking many people's lives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNlm7...layer_embedded

Thanks for letting me know or else .... Good luck with your Teepee friends & Iron horse protection!

You are so FULL of POOPOO. I have two railroad detectives that work for the FRA that live in the house behind me. I asked them about this and they said the post is full of crap as this is not how it works. Prove your allegation of go pound sand. You have been caught in a LIE and I cam calling you out.

[MustangGT]

If you were half as smart as you hallucinate, which yo are not, you would know that the folks who jump the tracks in the video are the problem of the local LEO's. Glad to be able to educate your stupidity. Railroad Detectives could not care less about crossing hoppers. They are only concerned about crimes commited against or on RR property. Such as fools that break turnout locks and put trains on the wrong track, bums and hobos on freights. Your welcome for the impromptu education

[torea]

Hold your horses, MustanGT! You re starting to bark insults again...
Did someone (for example the FRA) ever consider to redefine the concerns of your famous detectives and change their roles? They could for example help to catch the crossing hoppers shown on the video.
This world is changing guys, your job changes and also the loud train honking (making you deaf) should disappear.
btw did you hear the repeating loud train honking in the video ... it didn't help to stop these hoppers ... they just like to risk their lives and the more noise the better for these guys.

If you were half as smart as you hallucinate, which yo are not, you would know that the folks who jump the tracks in the video are the problem of the local LEO's. Glad to be able to educate your stupidity. Railroad Detectives could not care less about crossing hoppers. They are only concerned about crimes commited against or on RR property. Such as fools that break turnout locks and put trains on the wrong track, bums and hobos on freights. Your welcome for the impromptu education

[RadicalModerate]

Picture a signed--but uncontrolled--railroad crossing on, say, NE 4th St. between Bryant and Sunnylane back in about '75. Imagine that the tracks cross the road at about a 45-degree angle, running SW to NE (or vice-versa). Also place a noisy asphalt plant on the north side of the road (a plant that the railroad tracks skirt on the east) and some old oil-field storage tanks and overgrown brush and trees to the south.

Now, picture an old oil-field type, noisy, diesel, winch-truck/tractor--perhaps an old conventional International Harvester, maybe a late '60s model--headed east on 4th pulling a float (flatbed trailer) loaded with paving equipment bound for a project somewhere down around Holdenville.

The driver of the truck hears a strange sound above the noise of the truck and the asphalt plant. It is a vaguely familiar sound, but he can't place it. He first wonders what the f=ck is going wrong with the truck (this time). . . Then he wonders what the h=ll is going wrong with some piece of equipment at the asphalt plant. As the truck has a headache rack for the winch behind the cab--rather than a sleeper--the driver glances back over his right shoulder, through the dirty rear window, to the southwest, and sees nothing but THE BLUE AND YELLOW FRONT OF A GIANT TRAIN!!! RIGHT THERE AT THE INTERSECTION!!!

Fortuntely, the driver is only going about 25 mph at this point, so he yanks down the trailer brake lever on the steering column and turns the wheel as hard and fast as he can putting the cab of the truck slightly into the ditch on the opposite side of the road parallel to the tracks (he hopes) . . . He closes his eyes and waits for the impact.

Nothing happens.

He opens his eyes and sees the train passing about six inches off the passenger side rear-view mirror. He also sees a member of the train crew hanging out of the locomotive to see what serious damage may have just occurred.

Probably, the train guy was nearly as relieved as I was.
And, today, I remain grateful that trains have to blow their horns as many times as necessary at railroad crossings.

(In fact, as I type, I hear a train horn blowing over there around Hefner and Western . . . It reminds me to count my blessings.=)

Edited to add:
"Hmmm . . . Kemo Sabe . . . Some settlers like snorting of Iron Horse even less than Indian like settlers." ~Tonto.

[skyrick]

Has anyone agreed with this Torea guy yet?

[MustangGT]

Has anyone agreed with this Torea guy yet?

Nope and I doubt it will ever happen. Torea, railroad detectives have NO AUTHORITY to issue traffic tickets for gate jumpers. I am curious how old you are and if you have ANY real word experience beyond a computer screen and keyboard???

Dang RM that is a TOO close call. I bet the naugahyde seat was pinched up tight...

[Roadhawg]

Has anyone agreed with this Torea guy yet?

I think everybody has agreed he is wrong and wonder why he's on this board if he lives in KC.

[RadicalModerate]

RoadHawg:
Yup: Lot's of "Okie-ExPatriots" in here.
Probably validates that slogan on those old, authentic, black and white license plates:
Oklahoma is OK.

I hope that those "outsiders" running the current developments (remotely, from "The Cloud") are still here at heart.

Mustang . . .
Yeah . . . That WAS a "close call".
One of many.
("I used t' have a Harley . . . In fact, I had several of them . . and.....
"I used to be into rock climbing, back in Colorado . . . And then one day . . . ouch. =)

Probably accounts, in part, for why I am a RadicalMODERATE instead of an extremist alternative.
It's difficult to be extreme and thankful/empathtic at the same time.

BTW: That particular company (Steelman Construction)--back then--chose not to spend money on Naugahide. I think it went to tulip bulbs. For landscaping purposes. However, I was able to glean realization of the errors of stereotyping regarding "black folks" and their "work ethics" (or "lack of same") while so employed.

Just another one of those "blessings" I suppose . . . =)

[Thunder]

[RadicalModerate]

And yet--despite my well-reasoned "fear" of trains =)--another blessing.

Good Stuff, T . . . (Except for maybe ending the video with a loud train horn just to piss some people off)

So . . . Where are you placing the ads (other than here)?
(Three minutes would be a little expensive . . . yet . . . with editing . . . =)

[Thunder]

When the big set is complete, I'm going to do another one and hopefully find some sound files of choo choo horns.