About a year and a half ago, the UP reactivated for regular service its Harlingen (TX) subdivision. The sub is 18 miles long, and is used for directional running [northbound] for trains between Brownsville's new yard in Olmito and Harlingen, where trains then continue north towards Houston on the Brownsville Sub.
Los Fresnos [pop. 4512], which is 3 miles north of the UP yard, has multiple crossings, only one of which [Rt. 100] is automatically protected, and only with flashers.
All other crossings in the city have only crossbucks.
The speed limit thru Los Fresnos on the railroad is a rip-roaring 10 MPH, due to track conditions.
One engineer finds it necessary to sound the horn continuously--at whatever hour he passes-- while "speeding" at 10 MPH through the area: 16 times for each crossing, to be exact. I call this engineer "the tooter".
Here's my question: what would possibly be the reason for such prolific horn sounding?
Don't get me wrong: I'm not a NIMBY, and I like the sound of train horns.
Los Fresnos [pop. 4512], which is 3 miles north of the UP yard, has multiple crossings, only one of which [Rt. 100] is automatically protected, and only with flashers.
All other crossings in the city have only crossbucks.
The speed limit thru Los Fresnos on the railroad is a rip-roaring 10 MPH, due to track conditions.
One engineer finds it necessary to sound the horn continuously--at whatever hour he passes-- while "speeding" at 10 MPH through the area: 16 times for each crossing, to be exact. I call this engineer "the tooter".
Here's my question: what would possibly be the reason for such prolific horn sounding?
Don't get me wrong: I'm not a NIMBY, and I like the sound of train horns.
