Why Trains Blow Their Horns So Much
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Have you ever thought why trains blow their horns so often and so loudly? The truth is that they have to. And the main reason for that is safety. Locomotive engineers are required to honk every now and then, which is written down in the regulations called the "Final Rule on the Use of Locomotive Horns."
So, as you can see from the name, all this honking business is pretty strict and obliges trains to make four blasts approximately 20 seconds before they reach a crossing. But that's not all! Trains whistles and horns are an effective method of communication! There is a whole system of locomotive horn signals, where different sound combinations mean totally different things!
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TIMESTAMPS:
A number of short whistles 1:10
One long whistle-like sound 1:26
Three short whistles 1:50
The signal you probably hear more often than others 2:20
Where train engineers aren't allowed to honk 3:38
Why trains can't just stop 4:07
Why trains have problems with going uphill 5:24
#trains #railroad #brightside
SUMMARY:
If you hear a number of short whistles, it means that the engineer is trying to attract attention to the moving train.
One long whistle-like sound can be heard when the train is coming to a halt, and the engineer applies the air brakes.
Two long honks mean that the train has released the brakes and is ready to continue its journey.
Three short whistles made by an unmoving train mean that the locomotive is about to move backward.
One long whistle followed by a short one means that the train is nearing some equipment or people working on or near the track.
The signal you probably hear more often than others is two long whistles followed by one short and another long whistle. Trains have to honk this way every time they approach a grade crossing, which is a place where a railroad track and a road or two railroad tracks cross at the same level.
Florida once tried to ban locomotive horns. However, peace and quiet didn't last long. After the number of accidents at grade crossings had almost doubled, the ban was lifted.
Any heavy object moving at high speed can actually stop pretty fast.
The friction between the two is twice lower than the friction between a car's rubber tires and a road covered with asphalt.
But besides being not very good at braking, trains also have big problems with going uphill!
We, humans, can deal with super-steep inclines of around 80 degrees! But for high-speed trains, the maximum incline they can climb is only 2.5 to 4 degrees, while freight trains can't make it if the incline is more than 1.5 degrees.
And still, some trains manage to climb not very steep hills with the help of several locomotives pulling them.
After helping the struggling train to travel up, helper locomotives return back to the bottom of the hill to wait for the next train that needs assistance.
On the other hand, any unfavorable conditions, such as rain, snow, or fallen leaves on the track, can prevent a train from going up a steep hill, even with the help of additional engines!
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Would you prefer to go on a trip by car or by train? 🚗 🚂
BRIGHT SIDE 🚊
A train 🚄🚄🚄🚄
How about you bright side
Look at my profile picture then guess
@@KCDash4400cw 🚆 🚆
In the UK, horns aren’t used for communication, with a couple of exceptions:
we have boards marked by a W near areas such as level crossings, where a horn must be sounded as a warning
When passing engineering works, a two or more tone horn must be sounded, to be different to a car horn
A horn may also be sounded as a warning if somebody is too close to the track
Same here in NL: I only hear train horns maybe once a week or so, usually from trains carrying loads of goods passing another.
Mennolt van Alten ah ok cool
Not too mention that in the UK a series of long, continuous blasts on the horn signals a train in distress.
Same in the US
oh really wut if u wanna say hello to another train
*Short Answer:*
*To warn people the train is coming so they don't end up hitting a human*
Bruh! The fact that the video was made to begin with
Yeah, but people still get killed despite the precautions, people just don't listen :/
True I know
Very vague answer, anyone who sees this, watch the whole video
or anything else
Are we the only ones who actually like the sounds of train horns?
🚂 🚞 🚞 🚞
Me
I like em
Me
Nope
I like trains
i live about 400 yards from a train crossing, i personal love to hear the horn of a locomotive, especially cause im a railroad enthusiast
Bright side: train horns can be annoying sometimes .
Rail fans: excuse me?
Agreed
Yeah lol
Lol
Mhm
Yes lol
If a train is blowing the horn in short rapid intervals it means "EMERGENCY", train goes into emergency braking meaning that there is some kind of danger or obstruction is on the rails.
Whistle: (plays a horn noise) Horn: (plays a steam train whistle) REE
CabCar82Productions totally get that. It can be so cringe to recognize as well .
@@TheTrainGuy1355 yeah
CabCar82Productions how to trigger a locomotive enthusiast
You so right
it wasn’t a steam tho it was a russian sapsan horn
I hear trains horns quite a lot, so they've become really nostalgic to me.
Ayyy!
Yep
same*
I grew up near a trying crossing and played on the tracks. Now as a grownup I understand I stressed out the people on the train. I was very careful but they didn't know that. When I was very little, short enough to stand by my dad, after dropping mom off if we were on time, he pull off the road and we would wait for the train to pass. I wanted to go, too.
Same bro
It's actually pleasantly surprising that this video was so accurate about the fine details of "horn blowing patterns" and other interesting horn related facts. Well done, Bright Side!
i was surprised to i thought they would leave out the quiet zone thing and didn't even know they would be talking about helpers
TIMESTAMPS:
A number of short whistles 1:10
One long whistle-like sound 1:26
Three short whistles 1:50
The signal you probably hear more often than others 2:20
Where train engineers aren't allowed to honk 3:38
Why trains can't just stop 4:07
Why trains have problems with going uphill 5:24
A locomotive in the back is called a “DPU” (Distributed Power Unit)
Hello fellow railfan
In the age of steam, especially in Britain. They were called Bankers. 0-10-0 banker locomotives were used on the Lickey Incline which is the steepest mainline incline in Britain at 2.65%
Don’t forget about Mid DPU lol
Only if it’s remotely equipped. As you probably know, DPUs are unoccupied by crews, while helper locomotives are.
Yep for the past 6 Years I was wondering was the meaning Of DPU is thanks for telling that
This is a pretty obvious question: so they can warn people. *I want my cookies!!!*
I work as train driver in Germany - there all what he say do not exist.
David Friedrich same for the Netherlands.
Conductor here in the usa, we do this(although he isnt technically right on a lot of it)
This is only the case in the USA, and in Canada I guess. Sadly the degenerates at brightside just hop on wikipedia and literally copy and paste everything onto their script.
not valid in India too.
Cops pulled me over
Cop: Papers
Me: SCISSORS!
*drives away*
Cop: ima drop you like a rock
Cops: I'm gonna drop you like a rock.
iFIispy I’m ur 14
Do the same
LOL ILL BE SURE TO COPY AND PASTE THIS
If I had a dollar for every time I've seen this joke, I couldve bought Hartford an NHL team by now
I've only seen it once you could probably buy a piece of bubble gum for how much you've seen it
Note: This is only in the USA. In the UK there are different protocols
28 Railway Videography some of them are also use in indian railways
Interesting, I did not know this😎
Btw, I just subscribed to your channel 😊. I’ve always loved trains 🚂❤️
We dont have to do the unnecessary 4 horns before a crossing
But the pictures were from other countries. Rules from America though so it was confusing.
Thet happens only in America.
It happens nearly everywhere though.
@@legass420 Not in the netherlands, I never heard a train horn at a grade crossing in the netherlands
@@neskranendonk5552 Well of course, I did say nearly everywhere. A lot of countries in Europe don't sound their horns at all. I guess it's because those countries have people who know to not cross a crossing when the lights are on ect., and thus honking isn't required.
@@legass420 That is rather Ironic. any sane person should know that.
But actually here in The Netherlands and other european countries they do use the horn. But not in normal situations. It's generally only to warn people that are on or too close to the track or in bad weather like fog etc. They can use them near crossings in fog.
But it's not common at all. I like trains but a constant use of horns like in the US would become rather annoying as I live close to a decent size station :)
SV Sportscars you get used to it. I hear about 30 horns an hour
Almost all of the examples on here were of trains in other countries but the rules for the most part of from America. Some of the passenger trains on here did not have the correct train horns
heeeey it's that sharp lookin jaw tooth
Well as a kid I always loved travelling in a train. This video actually helped me understand the details about train horns. Thank you Bright Side
True, this video brings lots of nostalgic days.
Bright Side brings videos which gives us so much of information. Hey, Fascinating Facts I just went through your channel and found out even you have some great videos which you have posted. Great going.
@@djneo Yeah, i just saw Fascinating Facts just started his channel and has got great new informative videos.
And yeah, I just check out your channel. Good job and great information. Keep them coming man. Subscribed to your channel already. Will be waiting for the next video mate.
I have lived near train tracks in several different places. The sound of the horns is comforting to me. If I wake up in time to hear one at night, I'll make up stories about where it's going. That usually relaxes me right back to sleep. Thanks for all the interesting information.
I guess it varies from country to country.
I'm in Australia and live near a train line. Trains sound once when approaching a crossing and a second time when reaching that crossing.
In Singapore, trains never sound their horn except in an emergency because there are no at grade crossings.
For the last part of the video... they used to split the train in two and make a double trip up the grade, or have a helper unit go up and down the grade... but now they used what is called a Distributive Power Unit, or DPU, these can be located anywhere in the train from the middle of the train to the rear end... just a little more info for viewers who aren’t as experienced with trains.
*who else likes hearing the train from a distance at night while in there house, laying down?*
InfGames • i heat it all the time and I love
I usually hear k5la,K5HLL
I grew up on it especially waking up at 2am randomly i love hearing the honks makes me never wanna move
Right here. I do. I love it
I WISH I could hear that
Same
Nobody:
Not a single soul:
Brightside: *Uses horn for whistle*
I was gonna do my homework, but I watched this video instead to let out some steam...
I should really get back on track...
I really have derailed...
Ok that’s enough puns, I’m running out of steam...
Sorry for the bad puns, I’m just trying to “express” my happiness 😅
Grew up near the train station. I liked the sound. It put me to sleep. I knew what time it was by the trains coming through as well. So if I had to take the train I knew when I had to be at the station. I respect and admire trains and the conductors.
This is really interesting.
You never thought about these questions in your mind about this kind of topic. Great Bright Side. Thumbs up for Bright Side!
Katherine xd
Come back to me
I've noticed a "No Train Horn" sign at some nearby tracks. Since living by them, I noticed a median was added on the road on both sides near the intersection of the tracks within the past few years to probably avoid any potential accidents.
I like the sound of a train. Its relaxing.
The loudest train horns of Japan are:
The Horn of the Series E5 Hayabusa Shinkansen
The Loud Horn of the Enoden Line 500 Series, that is only used when cars go out of curved areas near the railway, since the whole area is like a tramway, because trams run near city roads.
The Horn of the Toei Oedo Subway Line 12-000 Series, which echoes loudly even when the train is still far away.
In my city in Ohio, trains move pretty much every which way. Which makes getting from one side of town to another pretty annoying sometimes. You can get caught by a few trains within a couple minutes. No passenger trains, only fuel/cargo/coal, etc.
I'm pretty used to hearing and feeling trains by now. I live across the street from a train track. At least I don't live on the other side of the street.
YO I LOVE THIS CHANNEL!! Dude I watch these videos daily! Keep going!
I’d prefer train travel plus I also hear trains horn everyday in my town
The engine on the back is called a banker. Likley incline in Birmingham, UK, was a 1 in 37 and the Midland Railway built a massive 0-10-0 for banking. However, they also used Fowler's Class 3F Jinty Tank Engines. When it was taken over by the Western Region of British Railways, the used Hawksworth's 94XX Pannier Tank.
LOL i already know this because im a "railfan" They have to at every rr crossing 2 long 1 short 1 long unless its a "Quiet Zone" in which all crossings in that zone have to either have Quad Gates or a Median to prevent Gate runners
Railfan squad!
@@railsimsproductions yep!
Yep
Ayyy
I hear it every day here and it’s soothing to me
I’m a railfan, I live near the railroad, I get used to it. If you have any questions about trains, let me know. Great video. Also I have plenty of good train video.
To the 1% reading this:
I hope you have/had a great day😊🙏
thanks you too
Yes they do. They do for saftey, unless the city has a no horn zone. Trains don’t have schedules, because otherwise train hoppers would know when to go and hop a train. Trains also do: short short when they are stopping (for freight).
Railfan squad!
Also, steam trains have whistles! Only electric trains and diesel trains have horns!
What about gas powered trains?
Jaw Tooth Those have horns, too!
Jaw Tooth!!
I live right next to railroad tracks that carry both commuter traffic (rush hour only - i.e., M-F morning and evening only) into Washington DC. It also carries freight (and lots of coal) all day and night long. The commuter depot is probably less than a 10th of a mile from my apt. building (and our bedroom faces the train station). We have lived there for 13 years and we have become so used to it that we don't hear it at all during the night (unless we are already awake) and hardly during the day. We have to consciously listen for it. It is amazing how your brain can ignore repetitive, non-dangerous sounds. It is only if the horns sound different or an especially heavy train goes by (sound is slower and lower and shakes the building) than usual that we are woken up. Same with living close to a fire station. Your brain usually filters it out.
5:36 We, humans, can deal with 80 degrees inclines. Wait that's almost vertical, you mean with stairs?
maybe a ladder
He meant 80% which is 36 degrees
"There must be 1 more additional locomotive in the back to help"
Trains with passenger railcars and the cab conjoined together:
*"I am 4 parallel tracks ahead of you."*
Don't you mean railways?
@@alon8163 ???
U can hear a train horn in almost every one of Infinite Lists’ old videos
solarcupid Ikr
Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!
European perspective:
Have you ever been in Europe and experienced faster running trains, with electric power or silent charger diesels, not using their horns very much? And if so have you thought about how that is possible and how it is appreciated by most people living near railways?
2 Long + 1 Short + 1 Long - We learned as children this sound made at crossing stands for:
Stop! Look! and Listen! That used to be on the crossing signs (the "X" shaped ones) and still is in some areas. Do NOT risk getting hit by a train. Your car may weigh 3500 to 6000 pounds, but the locomotive can weigh over 150,000 pounds. Not easy to stop just the locomotive. Even harder with 15 cars behind it loaded with a total of almost a million pounds.
30° is definitely not no problem for a car. The steepest street in the world is 19.3°. I think you mean 30%, which is more realistic.
I agree he must mean percent gradient. Road gradient numbers have always confused me because it would be simpler if it were just in degrees which Almost everyone can relate to. I wonder why it is necessary to use an obtuse system for this.
I remember my late Grandp telling you can always tell how heavy a load is by the amount of engines you see. Had no idea about having to have an extra engine when going up and steep grade.
Where’s the RAILFAN squad at??
Hey
here
I've been a railfan since I first saw a Providence and Worcester local in Uxbridge when I was 3 or 4. I've spent YEARS at night listening to WODA going south at night. Usually I can hear a nice clear Leslie RS5T-RRO, a sign of a B40-8W, or sometimes a really fouled and quiet horn.
North American horn patterns for rail use vary by road. NJT sounds their horn before platforms, MN sounds for the access paths in New Haven, while the LIRR has some less-strict horn rules because they have their own rule book, and don't run under NORAC? I can really only speak for Northeastern roads though. And that's just pasenger roads; freight operations are different.
I could've told you all this in my sleep
Hi Bright side! When you were talking about why trains cant just stop for others, i would like to bring some physics into matter. Due to Sir Issac Newton's 2nd law of motion which talks about inertia, a train that weighs a couple hundred tons would simply take to long to stop. Some trains would need about half a mile just to stop so they don't hit anything. Also, due the diesel locomotives engine, it burns ALOT of fuel just to get going. There fore, it is simply better just to stay moving and hope people follow the railroad crossing safety. I hope you found this useful because my dad is a train driver who works for Union Pacific. Love the video!
It's totally different story in finland, trains use their horns only in danger.
That's because Finish people are smart and take the appropriate action when crossing a railway track whereas Americans !!!!!!
Train brakes (at least in America) never really derail cars. American couplers are designed to prevent rail car collision during braking. Back in the day, however, train coupling was used by rope, which caused collision on cars and sometimes made the cars jump the rails. Nowadays, couplers are made of steel and they don't collide or derail like it did back then.
We have steepest of the railways here in India. Search indian mountain railway
govind raj no
no
Most of these horn signals.. are only for passenger service. US Freight uses two shorts for going forward, 3 shorts for going backwards, 2 long 1 short 1 long for crossings, 1 long for a "going in between" (men working on equipment and brakes are set, reverser is centered to the motor does not move).
A lot of freight trains can do up to 3 percent hills, but that is called "mountain grade". Special rules apply. There is special cog trains that can go at higher degree hills.
I live near a set of rails and I would hear a train sound its horn once or twice a week. But thanks to the trees and the back road, now a bypass, behind my house the sound is muffled by 15%
How do you know it is 15 percent and not 20?
@@JawTooth Good point. I didn't even compensate I-84 and the many trees and houses past mine.
I live quite close to a railway line. You hear plenty of trains speeding up and down it making a great deal of noise, but in the UK, they don't honk their horns even a quarter as much as they do it stateside. I have occasionally heard muffled but short blasts at intervals overnighga possibly meaning a broken down engine, but the only really loud blast we hear is a two tone horn when animals or people are too close to the tracks or a whistle when a train approaches or leaves a station.
When i saw the tiltle i was like:
“Wait they have horns?(animal horns)”
Lily Hearts 🤣🤣 😈
Lily Hearts 🤣😆🤣🤣😆
In the UK at the side of railway lines you will see, every-so-often, fairly large signs bearing the letters "SW." This stands for "Sound Whistle" and tells the driver that they need to sound their horn due to approaching a junction, a crossing point, etc. "SW" dates back to the steam engine days when the driver would sound their steam powered whistle. Although steam trains are a rarity on mainline railways in the UK these days, they decided to stick with the "SW" sign and not change it.
Train horns are quite soothing to me i just heard one last night.
Tris Trance me too it also brings me good memories and vibes lol
@@ADORNEDBYCHERICE I see.
@JAIDEN BISHOP Nice 😉
Sugar Land, TX level crossings along a major highway (10+) are each outfitted with 2 electronic horns installed at gates. The horns are angled to minimize noise pollution for nearby homes.
It’s called a whistle, not a horn, if it’s a steam engine it’s a whistle, if it’s a diesel it’s a horn
Not really, while whistles can be specific to steam locomotives, air whistles are commonly used on most modern trains in some countries in Europe. They're sounded when the train is about to depart from a station, and also as a precautionary warning. That's not to say that they don't have horns though, horns are only used in emergency purposes. In fact they used an audio file of one at 1:27. It's sad that they just hop onto wikipedia and copy and paste everything onto their script.
True and even some steam locomotives back in the day had horns as well. Is it rare of course, but it doesn’t mean it’s can’t happen
Cool vid. If you ever do a vid about 18wheelers and have questions I’d be glad to answer some for ya
*Short Answer:*
*To warn people the train is coming so they don't end up hitting you*
There is a thing in railroad language that goes, "Don't Dump it till you Thump it" which means if there is a car on the tracks, you don't sump all the air in the system until you get a car, but if there is a tree log in the tracks, it will go, "Dump it before you Thump it"
U have got it all mixed up. A STEAM engine has a whistle. A deisel has a horn.
Actually, some steam locomotives are equipped with air horns, and some diesel and electric locomotives are equipped with air whistles. Or small steam whistles that don't take up a lot of air pressure. The more you know.
I live really close to train crossing and I find it actually soothing when hearing it.kind of works as an alarm clock because they are always on time
American trains.
Not everywhere else.
In Norfolk, VA Norfolk Southern coal trains have 100 or more cars that go through an old populated area. The streets perpendicular to the track alternate over under passes and grade crossings. If the gates com down people turn around and head to another crossing. Since the piers where they load the coal onto ships is so near the train alternates forward and backward to unhook cars. There isn't enough distance to unhook them all at once they have to go forward and backward, unhooking in sections.
BRIGHT SIDE: Uses horn for whistle
Me: Bruh
As a railfanner, I know some of these but I didn’t know all of em especially the four short horns thing.
hello my fellow railfanner
I’ve been looking for a railfan in this comment section. Good to see I found one.
*American trains.
Being a locomotive engineer and enthusiast, I love them blowing the horn
this is very american focused. in europe and other parts of the world these things dont apply
I love trains and a popular channel explaining why train horns are important means a lot to me.
Lol only if we were that interested in human beings.
Well we can all agree the Flying Scotsman needs a whistle. The amount of trespasses in 2019 resulted on a double headed run in Scotland with LNER Thompson B1 Antlehope 4-6-0 61306 Mayflower having a camera on the front and members of the British Transport Police on board
She has a whistle, though..
I hear train horn a lot but a like trains and I live by a kcs train line
I mean hear train horns a lot but I like trains and I live by a kcs line
As a railfan, i can confirm this info is all correct for US railroads. by the way, the locomotive in the middle or rear of the train is usually remotely controlled and known as a "Distributed Power Unit" or "DPU".
The only horn zones in Sherburne County are at the Former Great River Energy Powerplant and County Rd 15 in Big Lake, MN. Neither are enough to wake me up.
In Indian Railways, in some AC electric loco, their is a provision to honk once in every 10 minutes even when not required. This is because it is done so that loco drivers don't fall asleep or get careless, if he/she missed to honk, the pantograph is disconnected with main motors
Thanks for making these train vid because I love trains.
here in Indonesia, many people live just 20 m (about 50 feet) away from railway track. one time i asked if they ever disturbed by train horn and they answered "sudah biasa (we get used to it)"
Also the trains can go uphill, using sand which is in the front part of the locomotive, it is poured onto the tracks and helps the train move up hills.
The sand gives better traction
Thank you so much for uploading this video. I learned so much about train horn regulations
and operations. This is a valuable resource for a lifetime train fan like myself! 👍👍👍
I live in a rural area in northern Ontario, train horn from a distance mixed with crickets chirping at 2 am, best sound ever.
A train horn is a loud, powerful air horn that serves as an audible warning device on electric and diesel locomotives, electric or diesel power cars, and in electric and diesel multiple units. The horn's primary purpose is to alert persons and animals to an oncoming train, especially when approaching a level crossing. The horn is also used for acknowledging signals given by railroad employees, such as during switching operations.
I Could not have said it any better
Steel wheels and steel rails.
Makes trains crazy efficient once you get up to speed (hardly any rolling resistance).
But getting moving, climbing and descending hills and getting stopped is real tough.
say that to the 4-6% saluda grade in nc owned by norfolk southern locomotives till 2001 had to ram the back of some other trains and they have to have safety sidings at the bottom of the grade in case of a runaway they had to derail trains sometimes because the brakes went out on the grade
For those modelling the UK's railways and want to know more about the use of the locomotive whistle to pass messages to the signalmen, then may I suggest the "Limit of Shunt" website. It had Sectional Appendices, mainly for the north-east of England which lists all the whistle signals for specific locations.
Good movie !! Choo choo 🚂🚃🚋🚃🚋🚃🚋
The vast majority of those horn signals are no longer used.
What you'll hear the most would be the 4 horn sequence 20 seconds before the crossing, as well as the horn blasts to warn trespassers/people ignoring crossing devices.
there is also two short blasts while moving that acknowledges an instruction to stop given by an employee or someone waving the train down in an urgent or unexpected situation...
otherwise none of these are real anymore.
Only applies to the US as usual. Everywhere else on the planet locomotive drivers use the horn as and when required. No need to over-use it.
I liked this video haha, pretty good info for people who dont know much about trains
Also they have the problem of leaf oil slipperiness. That is when leaves fall on the tracks in the autumn months
Davin Peterson that's why NJ Transit runs their "aqua train" every fall to clean the tracks and spray off the leaves its actually running right now
And if you want to check out a great place for push-pull action with helping locomotive (s) go to the Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania
This is really useful information :)
Don't argue with the train horns. It's for your safety. Same thing for Emergency Vehicles using their Sirens. A lot of people argue about these subject, just caring about themselves but not the people who need the Emergency Vehicles to arrive as fast as possible and the train to safely cross a car/rail road without hitting somebody with earbuds. By the way I'm living at the side of a crossing so I hear a lot of train horns but mostly at night, I can't complain, it's beautiful.