[scoreboard]

Back in the Villages for the 3rd year.
Of course have noticed the freight trains running pretty much day and night here in the Calumet Grove area.
Seems like traffic is down from previous years, hard to tell-seems to go in streaks..you won't hear one for quite a while and then four in a row.
Curious if anyone knows what sort of freight they would be hauling this time of year, fruit? Produce?...and does that affect number of runs and time of day?

[skip0358]

Saw the freight train yesterdat. about 20 cars marked Tropicana, I hope it was oranges.

[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by skip0358

Saw the freight train yesterdat. about 20 cars marked Tropicana, I hope it was oranges.

... So, she's all JUICED up and high balln' huh?

[chuckster]

Trains.........What trains?? Where??

[skip0358]

They run thru Wildwood. If you live on the southside you can hear the whistle.

[scoreboard]

You can hear it pretty well on the northern side too around county road 42.
I thought they only needed to sound horns on un-gated crossings. Looks like the crossing at 42 and 301 is gated....course I could be hearing it from further down the line.
Just curious if this is a seasonal thing due to fruit crop.

[LI SNOWBIRD]

Originally Posted by chuckster

Trains.........What trains?? Where??

We live in Tall Trees and can hear the trains. They are faint and I kinda like 'em.

[bonnyej]

I would trade my traffic noise for the train noise any day. We live in Lazamora (very beautiful village) right on 466. Ever since 466 was widened, we can no longer enjoy our patio or yard. The noise is really loud. Now there is to be new commercial developement across 466, which means construction noise for at least a year. We have an enclosed lanai but it does not limit the noise. Is there any such thing as soundproofing windows?

[Talk Host]

Trains are required by law to sound their horn at every crossing, gated or ungated, 24 hours a day. In some cities around the country, there are "quiet zones." No horns during the night hours, but the city, town or district has agreed to shoulder the liability.

This is a brief description of a very complicated law.

[skyguy79]

Originally Posted by bonnyej

I would trade my traffic noise for the train noise any day.

We live 2/10ths of a mile from rail road tracks and about 10 yards from the main north/south highway route through our village here in NY and I find neither to be a problem when it comes from traffic noise. Unless it's a poorly tuned truck or car, or a hot dog driver, I hardly even notice the sound of the passing vehicles.

I can also barely hear the sound of the train whistles as the freight trains go by and sometimes wish it was louder. But that's me! In TV I will be just about as far from the tracks near 301 as I can be and will probably miss the sounds of the whistles as the trains pass through.

Now, if anyone that can hear the sounds of the trains and want's to say "Hey, you like the sounds of the train so much, why don't you switch houses with us?" my answer would be... "If your house is worth at least double of what ours is worth, then I'm game for it!"

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by bonnyej

I would trade my traffic noise for the train noise any day. We live in Lazamora (very beautiful village) right on 466. Ever since 466 was widened, we can no longer enjoy our patio or yard. The noise is really loud. Now there is to be new commercial developement across 466, which means construction noise for at least a year. We have an enclosed lanai but it does not limit the noise. Is there any such thing as soundproofing windows?

Did they do an environmental impact study on the road widening before it was authorized for construction? Maybe a sound wall would help your issue?



.

[ricthemic]

Originally Posted by Talk Host

Trains are required by law to sound their horn at every crossing, gated or ungated, 24 hours a day. In some cities around the country, there are "quiet zones." No horns during the night hours, but the city, town or district has agreed to shoulder the liability.
This is a brief description of a very complicated law.

You are right. This is a federal law and it is complicated but there are ways to stop mandated train whistles. About ten years ago the six am to midnight commuter trains in our north of boston suburb were forced to inact the existing horn laws due to a fatal accident on another suburb's commuter train. Someone weaved around the barriers on a bike while listening I pod headphones.... The FTC (I think this is the fed agency) surveyed every train crossing up here and listed all the ones that would require the very loud horn. (three long and three short, I think)((which depending on the train engineer long and short were a relative term)).
Anyway all homeowners within a couple of miles of these crossings were, to say the least, extreamely annoyed resulting constant complaints to our local, state and federal ELECTED officials. At first we were all told "sorry it is the law".
Guess what. after about six months of whistles and tens of thousands VOTERS complaining... It turns out they do not have to blow their horns at every crossing if the crossing meets their approval. Our town submitted engineered plans and specifications to upgrade the FTC identified crossings. Once the FTC plans were approved all HORNS stopped even though it took atleast two years to complete all the renovations. (obviously at the train's engineer's discreation he could and would sound the horn). My understanding was The FTC granted a temporary hold on the whistles but if the renovations were not completed on schedule the horns would resume. THe upgrades did not seem to be that extensive. In most cases the crossing arms were extended left and right on both sides and also raised curbed islands were installed on both sides in the middle to stop vehicles from weaving.
My house in TV is about two miles from 301 and we can hear the whistles especially around 4:00 AM. It is no big deal cause we are far enough away but around amberwood, belmont and others wow the whistles not the actual train noise would drive me crazy and that is in the daytime. I can't imagine how bad it is at 4:00 AM.

Sorry for this long post but wanted to let TV know there are solutions. The VOTERS got it done up here.

[Talk Host]

Unfortunately, there are many many ungated crossings along 301 near The Villages west boundary. Additionally, part of it is in Marion County and part is in Sumter County.

I am fairly certain that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) is not the governing agency. I believe its the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration).

Again, the owners of the railroad will not just stop sounding horns until a local government agency or body agrees to shoulder the liability for accidents or death.

It's just like if The Villages said to you, "you don't need homeowners insurance." You would say, "okay, then who is gonna pay if my house burns down."

I feel for the engineers. They are mothers and fathers just like us. They don't want to kill anybody at a crossing. Can you imagine piloting a locomotive through a crossing in the middle of the night without being allowed to warn people that you are coming. Can you imagine the horror if they slammed into a car or truck in the crossing because they had not been permitted to sounded their horn.

634 people were killed last year at rail crossings.

[scoreboard]

Good point, hadn't thought about it in that light.
Seems to me there was some previous discussion about the horns being more directional, so the sound was more focused on the crossing rather than "sprayed" out over a wide area.

[batman911]

If distant train whistles awake you from your sleep, you may be getting too much sleep. Those of us who have lived in large cities put up with much more noise than that. Try sleeping less and you will sleep better. I only get 6 hrs per night and I do not wake up at all. I'm sure I could sleep next to the tracks and never wake up from the noise. Also, no naps during the day and no late night snacks. That is a sure way to keep you tossing and turning all night.