So I was downtown in Green Bay today, walking around after an appointment. I was about two blocks from the river, and I heard a train blow a short note with its horn. Then, I listen a little bit more and I could hear the crossing bells at one of the crossings across the river. This had to have been around 3/4 of a mile minimum, with a stiff breeze blowing in the opposite direction of the sound, and even over the sounds of the city, I could still hear the crossing bells. When I used to live with my grandma, she lived about eh, a mile from the branch line to Denmark, and I noticed one night that on very quiet nights, if the train went through, I could actually hear the locomotive's engine. I call it "railfan ears" that I can hear a train almost a mile away, does anyone else notice they can hear trains pretty far off, am I overthinking this, or am I just crazy? I mean I'm not good enough to tell the difference between different train horns yet, but that's partly due to my not paying attention to train horns for long, and the only nearby crossings both being in a quiet zone.
No. It's not at all crazy. The same happens all the time, all around the world. Doppler effects, and what I am told is called "accoustic shadow". (I don't know a technical term for the latter situation.) When I was a boy, the local NP branch was a couple of miles away. When conditions were correct, especially at night, it sounded like those diesels were pounding down the road right by our farm. Just like I was sitting in the school house by that same line, less than 100 feet away!
I live roughly 2 1/2 miles from both the UP Sunset Route and the BNSF Galveston Sub. At various times I can hear both of them. A crisp cool night is best. When my daughter was younger she wanted to know why the horns sounded different on some locomotives. Some were more "musical" than others. I explained that some had more notes or chimes than others. Typically Amtrak, KCS and NS locomotives have 5 chime horns while UP and BNSF mostly use 3 chimes. Sometimes there are those with defective horns where only one or two chimes are working. After she went off to college in San Antonio, I was riding Amtrak west from Houston to Los Angeles. I talked to her a few days later and she knew what time I came through town (later than usual) because she could hear the distinctive Amtrak horn in the middle of the night.
Not crazy at all. Both my girlfriend and I can clearly hear the NS on the old Wabash line 8 miles east of us when the conditions are right. Angela has become better than me at hearing trains when she comes with me to railfaning adventures.
I agree with "Railfan Ears". I think we foamers program our brains to respond to train sounds and reject others. I live in a tightly constructed well-insulated new house and hear KCS horns over a mile away, but don't hear, or automatically reject my neighbor's noisy cars and mowers. My wife accuses me of "rejecting" her sounds also...LOL
Thanks for the replies. I was out and about today with my boyfriend, we were heading over the bridge, and I don't know if I was paying too much attention to him or what, but I completely missed a nice long freight haul on the CN mainline today, had I had my railfan ears on, I would have been able to get some more shots of the consist. Missed all but the last engine, IC1017. Ironically, the other day I saw IC1018 heading north. Total newbie question, but what is a "foamer"? I think the Y chromosome has a gene to enable selective male deafness. LOL
Occasionally exhibiting temporary, though extensive foaming about the mouth. :wideeyes: Substantial anecdotal evidence supports Y chromosome theory.
I thought a low cloud cover would make the sound more distinct. I can hear the old Mopac to the east and the MKT to the west. Espee is south of here and a little further away so I don't think I hear them so much. I do hear all the bugle calls at Ft Sam Houston.
My Pavlovian reaction to railroads: On my vacation 2 weeks ago, much of my driving route paralleled the ex-SP-Sunset Route now owned by UP. I took a break near Gage, New Mexico at an Interstate rest stop that turned into more of a “break.” I tripped and fell on my chest and face on hard ground, apparently cracked a rib, tore up and bloodied my face and hands. Bystanders asked if I needed an ambulance (but was there an emergency room within 100 miles?) My loving retired-nurse wife had me sit sideways in the driver’s seat of my car while she wiped the blood and dirt particles from my face with an alcohol pad. But I heard the roar of diesels and I instinctively grabbed my digital camera from the “pocket” in the driver’s door, stood up ignoring the medical procedure underway on my face, and turned to shoot eastbound and westbound UP double-stack trains meeting at speed.
Same here. I used to lay in bed on summer nights and hear coal trains going up and down the river on the B&O Cowen Sub. Of course we lived a good 3-4 miles from one crossing and 5 from the other. I could clearly hear the "Big Tag" K5LA's with Chessie SD40's and 50's mounted underneath, rumbling along. Some very clear nights, you could hear it so well you'd think the train was coming right up our road. Sent from my LG-P930 using Tapatalk 2
I'd do that, lol. My boyfriend, first time going across the bridge in his manual wheelchair. I realize the train is going by, so I speed up. He was not happy with me. I don't know, I wasn't listening. Doesn't matter, got pics!
