Here’s an exchange that occurred in the San Diego Union Tribune several years ago regarding noise from Marine helicopters…I couldn’t find the links but he’s the verbage.
(San Diego Union Newspaper)
"4 Feb 1999
Letter to the Editor
Dear Sir,
Is harassment of residents the role of the military? My quiet neighborhood of Del Mar Terrance near Torrey Pines Reserve is a haven for families, retirees, single people, young couples and a variety of citizens who share appreciation for nature and peaceful, quiet living. On Jan. 27, there was an invasion of our beach and coastal area.
More that 100 flights to and from the ocean, and up and down the coast, took place on this day alone. There were easily 50 helicopters in the air; the noise was deafening. It was a strange, almost science fiction war scene enacted by Marines in the sky.
This area is our home. Its a residential corridor, not a battle zone. We are not ar war. Is the invading enemy the very military force that has protected and served out nation over the years? What is the role of the military in our country?
Certainly not the harassment of our residential neighborhoods and disturbance of our scenic view corridors. Helicopters have no right to take over the skies of residential North County. Is this Apocalypse Now, San Diego?
Maura Harvey
Del Mar
Response to the above letter:
San Diego Union Tribune
8 Feb 1999
Re: “is harassment of resident the role of the military?”
Responding to Maura Harvey’s letter wondering if Marine helicopter training flights that passed above her Del Mar home were simply to harass residents, I can say that, yes, our mission is to harass residents, specifically Mrs. Harvey.
We do not train 24 hours a day, seven days a week to provide freedom and security to all residents of the United States. We exist only to annoy the very people we are sworn to protect, against all enemies, foreign and domes
OK,Gentlemen,Who is dumber ?Or more stupid then that lady? No not me. There is a city named Glendale,California.I just read about a 12 story building to be built along with a 75 unit condo building… Right across the street from the main line here in Glendale.On San Fernando Road.How can I donate one of the loud horns to the Engineer for Christmas?They must have something up their sleeve in order to build right there.Just thought I would let you know how some people are trying to ruin our enviorment. Dave Br
Well boys and girls there is a new rule in the GCOR about when to blow the whistle. Instead of starting at the whistle board there is a delay of 16 seconds at 25 m.p.h. and so on all the way up to 45 m.p.h. were there is no delay.
CSX worked with various suburbs and the City of Chicago in establishing a quiet zone on its line north out of Blue Island which roughly parallels Western Avenue. The additional safety devices are an eye-opener. The advance warning grade crossing signs on the streets have an additional sign which states “NO TRAIN HORN”. Some crossings (such as 115th Street) are equipped with four crossing gates, others (such as 119th Street) have dividers on the centerline of the street which extend about 100+ feet from the tracks. Hopefully, this will work and there won’t be a real problem with grade crossing accidents on this line. If the railroad and municipality are willing to work together instead of fighting each other, workable solutions such as this one can be devised.
Unfortunately, neither the city nor the railroad has been able to come up with a method of dealing with the egomaniacs who will figure out a way to run the crossing even when the gates have gone down so they can save a little time while risking their lives.
Mundelein, IL did the same thing, in 2000-01 they installed electronic horns at about a dozen crossings in town as a pilot project. At night it looks interesting to say the least, all the crossings have orange 'X’s flashing. One engineer claimed it looked like a pinball game.
Those horns do get peoples attention at crossings, after they were installed, there were several rear-enders and near rear-enders for a few months as people got accustomed to the horns. I sat at one of these crossings one night, and the stationary horns are louder, due to them being pointed at traffic. First time I heard them, I nearly had to knock the dent out of my roof caused by my jumping and hitting my head on the headliner in the cab.
As a side note, all the crossings have gates, some have median strips, and all have the new LED lights.
I just love the sound of Train Horns,Oh yes I do![:P] Come to think of it,The Pushers that just shoved a Westbound over the Hill this moning at Blair had an NS 9838 as the 3rd Motor WITH Flashing Ditch lights on her. It was sooo cool. I was flipping out. I tell you,The Horn on her was awsome. I just had to get a Photo too. Oh by the way. It was a C40-9W.
Yes, repeatedly and several times a day, every day !!!..And they should have to wear a bright orange hat so we could easily identify them at a distance.
And if they come out with a button on locomotives that causes a hand to come out of the front end and slap people then I definatly want one for my car too.
Any one from the Kansas City are read Monday’s KC Star?? The July 18th front page had a story w/picture of a couple who were complaining about the train noise near their home. Seems as though Santa Fe built a mainline track in their back yard while they were away from home one day.
I lived in Plymouth, MI for 57 of my 60 years and trains were and are a major factor in the life of the town. Plymouth is a crossing for CSX’s major north-south and east-west routes. One of my oldest memories is listening to the trains crossing the diamond late at night. All of the train sounds are soothing, especially at night when sleep is hard to come by (which was always fairly often for me). In fact, I would often have more trouble getting to sleep when the trains weren’t running!
Plymouth has what is left of a fair-sized yard including a remnant of a roundhouse. You always hear bells and whistle signals because much of the town is within the yard limits. I have always liked the sound of the whistles/horns. I can remember knowing by the sound of its whistle when the C&O Sportsman was coming into town.
I now live in southeast Florida where the nearest railroad is 10 miles away. It is very quiet and peaceful here at night, but…something seems to be missing.
People today don’t understand the significance of trains the way we did 60 years ago. Today they are just an annoyance, something to be tolerated if necessary and banished if possible. These same people also build houses a hundred feet from expressways and then demand noise walls.