My neighbors bitch about the train whistles... but they make me smile.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Every whistle I hear at 1am in the morning means 10-30 less semi-trucks chewing up our highways and spewing noxious fumes into the air. :bounce:

[roguevalley]

1. when I moved I couldn't sleep because the sound of trains was

gone. I miss them soooooo much. and I agree with you on the air. :)

[wanpete]

2. everything is all about perception isn't it?

[TomInTib]

3. Oh, them train sounds..

While I so much agree with your take (ie: trucks, etc.)

I just miss the freedom that those lonesome whistle wails used to promise me.

It was like, "You don't know where from where I am coming and you don't know where I am bound".

That hobo call induced me to do some crazy/wonderful s**t.

Tom

[ThoughtCriminal]

4. I know what you mean

For I while I lived in Flagstaff - 80 trains per day. Now the nearest tracks are a hundred miles away and I miss it. I can play a recording, but it's not the same - it's not a train going somewhere.

(but I would not want to live a block from the crossing)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. I'm 3 blocks away...

I can deal. :)

[Rapcw]

5. Did you know

on any given day BNSF, one of the largest rail companies in the U.S., is the single largest consumer of petroleum-based fuels in the world? The only larger consumer is the US Navy during a full force wartime deployment. Just something to ponder.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BNSF#BNSF_facts_and_figures

P.S. I still enjoy trains though.

[gkdmaths]

7. and with less than twice the consumption,

they deliver more than eigtheen times more cargo than triple-trailer trucks and in half the time?

edit to add: I didnt read the link, just rhetorical ribbing. :hi:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. Yes, I knew that...

Please see post #7.

BNSF needs to hire an environmental consultant...

As with trucks, an effective operational strategy to reduce locomotive emissions is to reduce idling. Locomotives may idle for as long as eight hours while cars are switched or while the train waits on a siding for other trains to pass. Idling may also be needed to keep the engine warm in cold weather and to keep accessories from freezing. However, locomotives are often kept idling even when there are no operational reasons to do so. EPA estimates that idling accounts for 60 percent of switch yard locomotive operating time and 12.5 percent of line-haul locomotive operating time.55

In order to reduce idling time, fuel consumption, and pollutant emissions, an APU can be used to provide power when a locomotive is idling. The CSX Corporation has developed an APU that automatically shuts down the main locomotive engine while maintaining all vital main engine systems, such as climate control and heating engine fluids in cold weather. The device is powered by a small diesel engine, and parallels all circulation systems on the locomotive. CSX and International Road and Rail, based in Canada, have formed a joint venture company called EcoTrans Technologies to manufacture and sell the system. EcoTrans estimates that the APU can eliminate 90 percent of switcher idling time. We estimate that retrofitting 50 percent of the switcher locomotives in the Baltimore and Houston regions with APUs, and reducing idling to the extent possible with these devices, would reduce annual NOx emissions by 231 tons and 277 tons respectively. These reductions represent 10 percent and 6 percent of the total annual freight railroad emissions in these regions, respectively.

Locomotives can also be installed with automatic shut-down devices. These devices monitor the locomotive temperature and restart it as necessary to maintain minimum temperatures. Newer locomotives are also equipped with a low idle setting that reduces fuel use and emissions during extended idle periods. Replacing older switch yard locomotives with these newer units can help to reduce the emissions associated with idling.56

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ENVIRONMENT/freightaq/chapter4.htm


The past is our future... with a few modifications. :)

[gkdmaths]

6. I can't sleep if I

Turn my computers off.

I live way out in the country and there arent many trains, but heres the ODD thing: I live a mile or so from Ft. Lewis firing range and after four years, I find the sound of semi-automatic submachine gunfire and mortar rounds at 1:00am unannoying. I certainly wouldnt call it soothing, though.

my neighbors bitch about my puppy.

[annabanana]

14. oh lolololol!

Your neighbors bitch about the puppy!

[Minnesota Libra]

10. And for every one of those train whistles that take............

...ten to 30 semi-trucks off the highways there is a down side. For every semi that is hauled by a train is one and possibly two Americans out of work.

Oops, I forgot, driving semi-truck is one of those jobs Americans won't do.:shrug:

:cry: So remember everyone something might help one person one way but hurt someone else in a different way.:cry:

[B Calm]

11. I drive an 18 wheeler and I'm all for more trains! Less outlaw

over the road truck drivers, more hourly paid local drivers!

[blueknight]

12. i was a railroad engineer

for 30 years. and i have to say,since i retired,i actually still miss the trains once in a while

[Skittles]

13. I like train whistles too, Viva

there's just something so....nostalgic about it, I suppose.......