No Train Horns... in Fulton

I had a chance to get away to Sonoma County this past weekend and among the many joys of the wine country and coast was this railway crossing in Fulton.  Fulton is just north of Santa Rosa and this is the SMART line crossing.  Caltrain and Union Pacific horns are a perpetual issue in B'game as noted here and earlier.  Among the many things to enjoy in Sonoma was the quiet train since they have a No Horns section of track.  Note also the absence of the "Quad gates" that Caltrain has used as an excuse in the past for not being able to accomodate the Peninsula.  Society seems to be able to survive quiet electric vehicles everywhere on the streets so isn't it time for a quieter train?

Comments

[Peter Garrison]

Joe-

Better not stay where you are- the Train Horn Illuminati are on their way to silence your discovery...

[J. Mir]

i think SMART is actually a light rail? i don't think its a real "train"?

[Joe]

I think you are technically correct, it appeared lighter than Caltrain but would kill you just the same if it ran over you.

[hollyroller]

Due to the location of my home, I do not hear "all" the Train Horns.
However, growing up in Farm Country, the Trains that had to come through town "late at night," were gentle with the horn, and created a warm/safe and sound sleep.

Shopping @ Burlingame/Broadway Ave:
-when the Trains come through
is literally "Shocking."
-lots of Airplane/Freeway noise does not bother most. That is "the sound" of Money.
There is NO REASON for "Runaway Trains", blasting through The City of Burlingame without INPUT from the City Elders.
Please respond City Elders
The above mentioned question

[Gregg Johnson]

Today the Train horns have been over powered by to unending blast of gunfire at Coyote Point. Are the pubic rules for gun caliber and ammunition followed by law inforcement? It sounds like automatic cannons firing nonstop for hours on end

[hollyroller]

I am sure that you have a viable POV.
Nevertheless, there is a way for Train Engineers/Conductors to finesse a "Horn" through Burlingame and San Mateo.

[Cathy Baylock]

I spoke to a tenant of the art studio that is next to the tracks in Fulton and he said that vigilance on the part of the residents was the key to obtaining a "quiet zone". We have been told by Caltrain that we would have to pay for quad gates (City of Burlingame) and take on the liability of the railroad Right of Way through our town in order to obtain a quiet zone. I don't believe the town of Fulton had to do either...

[Cassandra]

Trains crazy loud last night. Always wondered why the train engineer sound the horn only if they see something on the tracks other than that- what’s the point? Warning bells are sounding and gates are down at the intersection... It’s just showing off...

[Cassandra]

4 trains last night between 12 and 12:30. One blasted 29 times with a nice three-hoot trill included.

[Joe]

The electrification meeting this week yielded some views on the horns as well:

As for train horn noise, resident Marsha Kunz is not looking forward to Caltrain’s goal of running 12 trains per peak hour — which could mean a honking locomotive every five minutes — by 2022.

“Every five minutes is going to be really tough to live with,” she said.

Cocke said the horns on electric trains will be about as loud as the ones currently in use.

“Because they’re gong to be newer there’s some variability on horns with the conductor so I think there’s an opportunity to standardize the sound of each horn on each train just because they’ll be brand-new trains, but I don’t expect that it’ll be vastly different,” she said.

Some residents wondered out loud why a train out of San Diego called the Pacific Surfliner’s horn seems much quieter than Caltrain’s and there was talk of trying to pass a local ordinance to soften the noise somehow.

https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/caltrain-updates-burlingame-on-electrification/article_25d28bb2-8bdb-11e8-9306-4b24cef0dd97.html