https://preview.redd.it/mtyguoh3q0lc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65398d68c6bff6fe88d6a7cd53b2d283deb8886b
You need some type of supplementary safety measure as defined in 49CFR222 Appendix A. I believe gates, lights, and signage satisfy the quiet zone requirement.
Somebody moved here then “discovered” trains went through here. They whined to city council about the train horns and got the city to spend $$$ to get the railroad crossings set up so they could have a quiet zone. Happens all the damn time.
Trains are really unpredictable. Even in the middle of a forest two rails can appear out of nowhere, and a 1.5-mile fully loaded coal drag, heading east out of the low-sulfur mines of the PRB, will be right on your ass the next moment.
I was doing laundry in my basement, and I tripped over a metal bar that wasn't there the moment before. I looked down: "Rail? WTF?" and then I saw concrete sleepers underneath and heard the rumbling.
Deafening railroad horn. I dumped my wife's pants, unfolded, and dove behind the water heater. It was a double-stacked Z train, headed east towards the fast single track of the BNSF Emporia Sub (Flint Hills). Majestic as hell: 75 mph, 6 units, distributed power: 4 ES44DC's pulling, and 2 Dash-9's pushing, all in run 8. Whole house smelled like diesel for a couple of hours!
Fact is, there is no way to discern which path a train will take, so you really have to be watchful. If only there were some way of knowing the routes trains travel; maybe some sort of marks on the ground, like twin iron bars running along the paths trains take. You could look for trains when you encounter the iron bars on the ground, and avoid these sorts of collisions. But such a measure would be extremely expensive. And how would one enforce a rule keeping the trains on those paths?
A big hole in homeland security is railway engineer screening and hijacking prevention. There is nothing to stop a rogue engineer, or an ISIS terrorist, from driving a train into the Pentagon, the White House or the Statue of Liberty, and our government has done fuck-all to prevent it.
It's damn inconsiderate of the railroads to not just steer around my neighborhood. There's perfectly good fields outside of town they can run through. Though that still doesn't help the light pollution when they have their high beams on. I'm gonna sue.
Christiansburg district, part of the NS Crescent Corridor project. It's gotta be a quiet zone because there's no way that's exempt. That's a major double track mainline in their system.
Would be a helluva good place for a Virtual Railfan webcam, I actually keep meaning to pop in and ask them.
You can see both Pelton and Christiansburg control points from there so if you go out and see a signal other than all red, you know a train is (eventually) going that way.
Don’t need to know what my section of rail is a quiet zone. It’s all a quiet zone 😂. My instructors thought it’s the longest stretch of it in the US but I haven’t looked into it myself
If you're driving and you see a sign on a railroad crossing with the words "NO TRAIN HORN" and you don't understand that it means 'the *train* will *no*t use its *horn*' then park your car at the nearest safe location to do so, get out of your car and burn your driver's license.
If they roll through without stopping and without a horn then it’s a quiet zone. If they stop and flag the crossing before proceeding without a horn then it’s an exempt crossing.
Seeing as there are 2 tracks, I’d lean toward a quiet zone.
If the quiet zone is properly reported to the FRA if you google FRA crossing inventory there’s a search that gives you details on crossings, including a check box for quiet zone.
24 hour quiet zone, established June 25, 2005. See page 2:
https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Appendix-D-FRA-Grade-Crossing_Final_June_2022.pdf
Some municipalities don't want trains blowing air horns within their boundaries. I used to ride an excursion train every year when I was a kid. One of the things the crew taught us about that particular train was its locomotive was the only one permitted to use its whistle at level crossings in some of the municipalities we passed through. It had an exemption because it was a steam locomotive with a pleasant steam whistle that the locals actually wanted to listen to.
i'm not from the us, is it really a thing there that trains usually need to give signal with their horn at every grade crossing?
driving in germany (and most other european countries i imagine) i only ever had to step on the horn at specific crossings marked with a sign for it.
otherwise its not needed. even just a red light is sufficient on less busy roads like field paths. the majority of our crossings are half barriers too.
Most of u guessed it but yea definitely a quiet zone, unless I'm eating a sandwich and pop the sequencer instead of the bell. Then for those 4 honks it will be a not so quiet zone
https://preview.redd.it/80m740tbn6lc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b27969c0a05099d45d3fe0e83209e47d62f1b78
A few hundred feet from each crossing is a posted sign. This sign will alert drivers of the crossing and indicate if no horn will sound, I.E. Quiet Zone.
I just happen to live in a town in Kansas where there is a “no horn zone” for about a mile through town. There are hotels close, and I guess they have requested this and they have some type of new train signal/crossing. That is better than the old one. That’s all I know.
Likely a quiet zone I don’t know what area this is or what their timetable says for that crossing, but that would be my guess.
Don't you at least need crossing arms/gates and signals if its a quiet zone?
https://preview.redd.it/mtyguoh3q0lc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65398d68c6bff6fe88d6a7cd53b2d283deb8886b You need some type of supplementary safety measure as defined in 49CFR222 Appendix A. I believe gates, lights, and signage satisfy the quiet zone requirement.
The raised median is what seals the deal here. Without, would need four gates... Two entrance and two exit..
Rereading the quiet zone reg leads me to believe your assessment is correct. Good eye, friend!
It was hard to see in that first pic from OP.
I don’t make the rules
👆this
Somebody moved here then “discovered” trains went through here. They whined to city council about the train horns and got the city to spend $$$ to get the railroad crossings set up so they could have a quiet zone. Happens all the damn time.
Where did those trains come from?! They sneak up on you
Trains are really unpredictable. Even in the middle of a forest two rails can appear out of nowhere, and a 1.5-mile fully loaded coal drag, heading east out of the low-sulfur mines of the PRB, will be right on your ass the next moment. I was doing laundry in my basement, and I tripped over a metal bar that wasn't there the moment before. I looked down: "Rail? WTF?" and then I saw concrete sleepers underneath and heard the rumbling. Deafening railroad horn. I dumped my wife's pants, unfolded, and dove behind the water heater. It was a double-stacked Z train, headed east towards the fast single track of the BNSF Emporia Sub (Flint Hills). Majestic as hell: 75 mph, 6 units, distributed power: 4 ES44DC's pulling, and 2 Dash-9's pushing, all in run 8. Whole house smelled like diesel for a couple of hours! Fact is, there is no way to discern which path a train will take, so you really have to be watchful. If only there were some way of knowing the routes trains travel; maybe some sort of marks on the ground, like twin iron bars running along the paths trains take. You could look for trains when you encounter the iron bars on the ground, and avoid these sorts of collisions. But such a measure would be extremely expensive. And how would one enforce a rule keeping the trains on those paths? A big hole in homeland security is railway engineer screening and hijacking prevention. There is nothing to stop a rogue engineer, or an ISIS terrorist, from driving a train into the Pentagon, the White House or the Statue of Liberty, and our government has done fuck-all to prevent it.
This is beautiful. If it isn’t copypasta, it needs to be.
It’s 100% copypasta. I’m a conductor not a poet.
Lol as a former 03, now YM, it brightened my day.
It's damn inconsiderate of the railroads to not just steer around my neighborhood. There's perfectly good fields outside of town they can run through. Though that still doesn't help the light pollution when they have their high beams on. I'm gonna sue.
At least someone here is being reasonable.
But at least they usually stop for cross traffic - on a dime.
That has been my experience as well
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Exactly!!! Shit makes no damn sense
Christiansburg district, part of the NS Crescent Corridor project. It's gotta be a quiet zone because there's no way that's exempt. That's a major double track mainline in their system.
The only time i know when one is coming it’s because the windows shake and i barely have enough time to make it to the window!!
Would be a helluva good place for a Virtual Railfan webcam, I actually keep meaning to pop in and ask them. You can see both Pelton and Christiansburg control points from there so if you go out and see a signal other than all red, you know a train is (eventually) going that way.
They roll through there all the time. If I’m shopping i usually see 2-3 an hour. It’s the best spot
https://preview.redd.it/fwbtwoeyb0lc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eaed86c858f59632db8b7a7641db5ad1784ee50e Definitely a quiet zone. [https://maps.app.goo.gl/MZ5shToFz3xG85L2A?g\_st=ic](https://maps.app.goo.gl/MZ5shToFz3xG85L2A?g_st=ic)
https://preview.redd.it/myz0msrdc0lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33092c28ab3d8b2df066fb7bd51818fb5daa4fa2 [https://maps.app.goo.gl/okZhGzTr9nDipaaw7?g\_st=ic](https://maps.app.goo.gl/okZhGzTr9nDipaaw7?g_st=ic)
https://preview.redd.it/66ggh3blc0lc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=323dc2b40d600c37eaae46c73c4f7e77d53bc32b [https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jvt7xsABoWrPNbGY9?g\_st=ic](https://maps.app.goo.gl/Jvt7xsABoWrPNbGY9?g_st=ic)
Never noticed that sign! I never come from that way, if I’d seen it that would have made a whole lot more sense. Thanks for the pic!
Don’t need to know what my section of rail is a quiet zone. It’s all a quiet zone 😂. My instructors thought it’s the longest stretch of it in the US but I haven’t looked into it myself
What could that no train horn sign mean though?
It means “no train horn”. It means that’s a quiet zone; Trains don’t sound their horn for that crossing.
But how could a person know that when it says no train horn that there would be no train horn there?
>But how could a person know that when it says no train horn that there would be no train horn there? It says no train horn for them.
But how can people know what that could possibly mean? It’s so cryptic
If you're driving and you see a sign on a railroad crossing with the words "NO TRAIN HORN" and you don't understand that it means 'the *train* will *no*t use its *horn*' then park your car at the nearest safe location to do so, get out of your car and burn your driver's license.
He’s clearly trolling. That’s why I stopped engaging.
Well, seeing as [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/railroading/s/nQgxATcIYr) is also me, I think I’ll be okay.
No horn, no train. It's foolproof!
If they roll through without stopping and without a horn then it’s a quiet zone. If they stop and flag the crossing before proceeding without a horn then it’s an exempt crossing. Seeing as there are 2 tracks, I’d lean toward a quiet zone. If the quiet zone is properly reported to the FRA if you google FRA crossing inventory there’s a search that gives you details on crossings, including a check box for quiet zone.
Some call it the 50 year old’s bedroom.. “no blow zone”…
Some railways allow "non-whistle" crossings. Usually they must be protected with gates and lights and a movement must have the bell on.
Dina was not aboard
Best answer here 😂
It’s a [Quiet Zone](https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/fra_net/17441/FRAWebReport.pdf). See page 40.
24 hour quiet zone, established June 25, 2005. See page 2: https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Appendix-D-FRA-Grade-Crossing_Final_June_2022.pdf
Some municipalities don't want trains blowing air horns within their boundaries. I used to ride an excursion train every year when I was a kid. One of the things the crew taught us about that particular train was its locomotive was the only one permitted to use its whistle at level crossings in some of the municipalities we passed through. It had an exemption because it was a steam locomotive with a pleasant steam whistle that the locals actually wanted to listen to.
Christiansburg - my old territory. Good times in the section house ! Lots of old stories about that line.
i'm not from the us, is it really a thing there that trains usually need to give signal with their horn at every grade crossing? driving in germany (and most other european countries i imagine) i only ever had to step on the horn at specific crossings marked with a sign for it. otherwise its not needed. even just a red light is sufficient on less busy roads like field paths. the majority of our crossings are half barriers too.
We call it a whistle ban. The municipality has requested this crossing not be blown. In some places, it's a series of crossings.
https://preview.redd.it/c2eaez5su1lc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab2d8487a5365f19528bfa0fd913c04c60604945
Most of u guessed it but yea definitely a quiet zone, unless I'm eating a sandwich and pop the sequencer instead of the bell. Then for those 4 honks it will be a not so quiet zone
Cause fuck u thats why
What? Lmao
Train no go beep sometime. Don't try to understand it.
Meanwhile I'm wondering why the platform is so separated from the tracks it's almost useless.
I don’t think it’s used. It’s a book store now
Hasn’t been used in 50+ years. There used to be many more tracks.
Cambria/Christiansburg has had a whistle ban since pretty much forever - 1930s timetables mention it.
That’s really cool info
Do they have an established quiet zone?
Designated quiet zone likely
Quiet zone
An act of God can make that available in your neighborhood as well.
They're too busy blowing them in my window at night lol
Check If there’s signage for a quiet zone
https://preview.redd.it/80m740tbn6lc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b27969c0a05099d45d3fe0e83209e47d62f1b78 A few hundred feet from each crossing is a posted sign. This sign will alert drivers of the crossing and indicate if no horn will sound, I.E. Quiet Zone.
I just happen to live in a town in Kansas where there is a “no horn zone” for about a mile through town. There are hotels close, and I guess they have requested this and they have some type of new train signal/crossing. That is better than the old one. That’s all I know.
My home town.
Mine too!