I was watching this video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QenN5DVuLtw&mode=related&search=
and couldn’t help but wonder:
Did the snow they were plowing cause the horn to sound ‘funny’ or is that a different kind of a horn? It sounds like nothing I’ve heard before.
The snow will definitely make a difference in the sound. When running through drifts of snow, in order to keep the horn from getting plugged by snow, it is advisable to keep the horn going until out of the snow.
During a heavy snowfall, the horns can get plugged just from snow falling that accumulates inside the horn itself. The only way to make it work again is to crawl up on the cab roof and hold a fusee to the back of the horn diaphram so as to melt the snow inside. (For a while, the WC used some type of cover on the horns to keep out the snow [and bugs]).
This is likely not so much a problem these days, as horns are now mounted above the cooling fans, thereby keeping the horn in relatively warm air. Back in the “good old” days on the CNW, the horns were mounted right above the cab, and thus became frequently clogged with snow, leading to rooftop excursions.
[:O] Not sure about the horns but that was a pretty cool video. I remember sitting next to a BN grade crossing one morning after a pretty good snow fall and waiting for a commuter with an E9 to go by back in the late 1970’s and had my window open to listen to it pass…forgetting about the big pile of snow left by the road plows across the tracks…you can guess what happened next…my car interior was covered with snow, and so was I [censored]
One of the more ‘entertaining’ parts of running in the countryside was blasting through the piles of snow left on the tracks by the highway plows. The look on the faces of the drivers that just had to pull up to within 6" of the gates to wait for my train, as our train launched the entire snowdrift towards their car was, as they say, priceless.
Perks of the job as it was, eh? I watched a WSOR train doing that once and it was pretty neat. I’d love to see one of these or a Jordan throwing snow.
Snow will plug up the horns. Most of our horns are on the cab roof.
During that run, I would lay on the horn though the crossing, until I could see again.[:-^]
On the WSOR, just south of Ripon it drifts over pretty good. Good place to go to see a train bucking snow.
In six months I’ll come and watch you bust the banks!