The horns of Metra

There's an opposite school of thought taken by many of my fellow engineers... that the horn is our only defense, and whistle bans should be done away with, etc. etc. Me? I'll just do what the timetable says... either way, I'm all over that horn the second I see anyone come out in front of me, anyway. If some unfortunate soul should choose not to move out of the way - well suddenly the bosses will start asking - why weren't you blowing the whistle???

One time an engineer who worked on a line with a quiet zone told me that he prefers quiet zones because of the fact that since the horns aren't used that often and people aren't used to them, when the horns are used people take note VERY quickly and scamper off/don't cross the tracks or back away from the edge of the station platform, etc especially in the morning rush hour. He also agreed that if someone is that determined to cross infront of an oncoming train, no amount of whistling or barriers is going to stop them

hey if you want horn, railfan the rock island district

bones wrote:There is rumor that the SWS may become a quiet zone by years end. I can't wait! One less thing I have to do. Nobady pays attention to them anyway.

Orland Park is in the process of requesting a QZ for all 9 of the villages crossings. That and Oak Lawns QZ would only leave 6/7ish crossings between 179th-CUS that wouldn't be in a QZ. I have not heard of any QZ plans south of 179th.