Horns in the distance

Trains Magazine General Discussion
21

It sounds better than it was! First place, Vermont was pretty quiet in those days; second, I was pretty familiar with those engines; third, the GP-9s just don’t sound the same as the RS-11s and it had to be either one or the other (well… we did have the odd run through power from CN) (sometimes very odd – but that’s another story!) – and fourth and most important, a northbound on that stretch of track is working very hard indeed; it’s notch 8 all the way from Randolph to Roxbury!

I’m no sound engineer, but I would think that I-75 might well mask most of the sound; whether it’s enough to mask the horns, I couldn’t say. But you probably won’t hear the diesels (pity).

22

Well, with a speed of 20 mph and (usually) 3-5 cars, I doubt the diesels are at a notch 8 on the Seminole Gulf. But they usually run (when they run) at 10 a.m. or so and I-75 is pretty noisy then. However, I can’t hear I-75 then either and it’s 3 miles off.
The Seminole Gulf is a long way from the days of ACL’s crack Fort Myers-NYC trains.

23

I don’t think people measured distance very accuratly, since I did extensive measurment about distance and train horn. As where I live, Scarborough , Canada, the CP rail running across markham road will horn it’s 5 flute horn regularly, thus I did a measure, and came to a conclusion:
withink distance 2.7km, the train horn is very clear but not that loud, and at distance 4.2km, the horn is so faint, that one can’t hear it unless it’s super quiet( which I spent a night to listen at and only caught a very faint horn, almost inhearable), thus I doubt that people here claim that they can hear horn within 5 miles(which is 8km) will be accurate.

actually those of you who claimed about distance is very inaccurate, since I’ve asked my friends to look at my map or just estimate the distance from their home to some shop, all of them did an inaccurate measurment, mostly likely claiming 3km only for a 1km long distance, one person even claim the rail is about 3km away, but actually it turns out that it’s indeed only 900m. oops…

so people, I think you 'd better look at maps.google.com, take a scaler and measure it according to the map scalar where clearly stated the distance. Since I am very curious about how far you can hear the horns tooo… but my experiment shows that even during a quiet night, you can only be able to detect at 4.2km distance.

another experiment I did is about to measure a direct in-sight sound source, besides the ontario lake, the toronto island airport once has a f-15 fighter taking off in sight, the typical fighter jet taking off is about 110db (much higher than any train horns), but within sight(yes, I can clearly watch it taking off, since it’s all lake, and nothing else, sound could’ve gone thru very well ,without obstacles), I can’t ,can’t hear any thing about it,… then back home, drag out my map, I measured the distance which is only 6km,(around 3.75miles).

so measure it with maps, like maps.google.com, and tell me the real results, I am

24

For myself, I know the distances are accurate. However, I should add that the weather conditions had to be ‘just right’ for me to hear the horns and engines that far off, and ‘just right’ meant warm air over the high ground and mountains and cooler air in the valley (not that unusual in Vermont!). This quite literally bends the sound waves over the mountain or whatever. Also, the background noise had to be almost non-existent – but in that part of Vermont in those days (we’re talking 30 years ago here!) it was.

25

On days when things are just right, I’ve heard trains blowing for crossings across the St Lawrence River.

Here at work, we get the occasional visit from the local delivering coal and other stuff, which provides sporadic music. The power plant people shuffle full and empty hoppers around, also providing some music, and the power plant’s RC switcher usually provides two or three toots before advancing the next car through the unloader. Can’t hear it from my desk, but I sure enjoy it when I’m outside.

26

oh, mayber that’s true, since sound wave can bend over buildings in special circumstance, so in your case the sound climber up first, then when enters the hotter upper air, it refracted and then bounced back to ground again, like this sorta of way? and it must be went thru a valley or so, such that the rocks will also bounce back all the refraction waves ?
maybe vermont is very quiet 30 years ago? can you still hear it now? I live in Toronto, where…hmmm, the noise is pretty much high level comparing to vermont. It’s also noticed that train horn has difficulties to climb over highways like 401 or so…
maybe, the only reason for horn to be heard this far (in your case about 10km) will due to the constant reflection between any airlayer that acted likd a tunnel to allow horn wave to travel without refraction too much …

since by direct computing, a 100db sound will lose much energy and at distance 4km, only 35db level remains…

27

I hear horns and trains all day, everyday. I live about 500 yards north of CP LaGrange in LaGrange, IL, (BNSF) with the IHB right behind my building, the IHB is about 100 feet from the back of my building. In the past I have lived across the street from the BNSF, and up until I moved here, UP’s Proviso Yard was a mile to my north, and the CN’s Freeport Sub was about 3/4 mile south (ex-ICG Freeport sub)… you could hear the yard activity, and squealing brakes, horns, and everything on any given night, esp if the wind was from the north.

28

I live approx: four miles from the nearest freight mainline. Norfolk Southeren’s Harrisburg Division. This portion of the mainline goes through Fort Washington which is the same distance from my house. Sometimes I hear real late at night or eairly in the morning a nice long train horn in the distance. Which is interesting because, there isn’t a grade crossing for miles but, there is a railroad tressle that crosses over 309. But, I still don’t see why they would sound the horn. I also hear sounds comming from Septa’s mainlines the R7 and the R8 late at night or eairly in the morring. I really don’t understand why they would sound their horns either since there are no grade crossings what so ever. I think that maybe they sometimes do it to warn tresspassers or something. Other than this it is really plesent to hear a long train horn in the still wee hours of the morning or the late hours of the night.

29

My Grandmother owned a farm in Michigan, 10 miles as the crow flies south and southeast of the Grand Trunk Western mainline thru Belview. Only twice were the weather conditions just perfect as a train blew through town and I could distinctly hear it.
Had I lived there, instead of train-abundant northwest Indiana, I’m sure I would have heard them more often. I bellieve that having no auto traffic to speak of within miles contributed to being able to hear at such a distance.