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- 09-26-2005, 04:48 PM #1Robert PayneGuest
I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
At first I was surprised that nobody complained, but after about a
week or so, I got used to the noise, and I kind of enjoy it now!
I asked a neighbor just yesterday, “If there was a 24-hour period
that NO trains would come through do you think you would
notice?” She replied “Yes” but does anyone really know?
Does anyone else live in a town, near the tracks? Any interesting
train and/or noise related comments or stories? I am only asking
because I have never lived anywhere near trains prior to this move.
Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
Bob Payne
› See More: Can you use cell phones on trains?
- 09-26-2005, 05:26 PM #2Earl F. ParrishGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
"Robert Payne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
> through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
> commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
> the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
>
> At first I was surprised that nobody complained, but after about a
> week or so, I got used to the noise, and I kind of enjoy it now!
>
> I asked a neighbor just yesterday, "If there was a 24-hour period
> that NO trains would come through do you think you would
> notice?" She replied "Yes" but does anyone really know?
>
> Does anyone else live in a town, near the tracks? Any interesting
> train and/or noise related comments or stories? I am only asking
> because I have never lived anywhere near trains prior to this
> move.
>
> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
> fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
>
> Bob Payne
If the wireless carriers have towers near the tracks, it is like
being outdoors. Amtrak has an in-house system but others should
work under the preceding conditions. Here is a link:
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...54513&ssid=350
--
Earl F. Parrish
- 09-26-2005, 05:38 PM #3QuickGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
Earl F. Parrish wrote:
>>
>> I asked a neighbor just yesterday, "If there was a
>> 24-hour period that NO trains would come through do you
>> think you would
>> notice?" She replied "Yes" but does anyone really know?
>>
>> Does anyone else live in a town, near the tracks? Any
>> interesting train and/or noise related comments or
>> stories? I am only asking because I have never lived
>> anywhere near trains prior to this move.
>>
>> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the
>> train fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
>>
>> Bob Payne
>
> If the wireless carriers have towers near the tracks, it
> is like being outdoors. Amtrak has an in-house system
> but others should work under the preceding conditions.
> Here is a link:
>
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...2Copy/Title_Im
age_Copy_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1080080554513&ssid=350
and yes, you will notice if the trains stop. You will
feel like something is very much missing until you
put your finger on it.
- 09-26-2005, 06:11 PM #4DanGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
"Robert Payne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
> through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
> commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
> the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
>
> At first I was surprised that nobody complained, but after about a
> week or so, I got used to the noise, and I kind of enjoy it now!
>
> I asked a neighbor just yesterday, "If there was a 24-hour period
> that NO trains would come through do you think you would
> notice?" She replied "Yes" but does anyone really know?
>
> Does anyone else live in a town, near the tracks? Any interesting
> train and/or noise related comments or stories? I am only asking
> because I have never lived anywhere near trains prior to this move.
>
> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
> fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
>
> Bob Payne
Hello, I use my phone on the train all the time. Out my way, we have Metra
Commuter trains. (Chicagoland thing) For the most part, we have signal in
most if not all areas served by metra by our local carriers. (some minor
dead spots occasionally.) Just have to be nice about it though. You don't
start screaming into the phone. They even have signs inside the train
telling you about how to be nice about using your phone.
Ioccasionally use Amtrak to go from Chicago to either Milwaukee or
Galesburg. To Milwaukee, i have no problem making calls. Ive actually made a
call from milwaukee and end the call half way there. I usually browse the
web the entire time.
Galesburg is another story. T-Mobile and cingular end about 50 minutes
before galesburg and resume about 15 minutes before you get there. Little
gap in coverage. No gsm coverage. An occasional drift of Iowa Wireless and
that's about it. I can't speak for Verizon W/U.S. Cellular/sprint or nextel
though. Ive never had them.
- 09-26-2005, 08:02 PM #5Jeffrey KaplanGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
It is alleged that Robert Payne claimed:
> I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
> through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
> commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
> the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
I live about 50 feet from the tracks and 200 feet from a crossing.
Additionally, Ford Motor Cars, Inc, has their regional distribution
center about a thousand feet or so down the line (vehicles are brought
in by train and then put onto the road-going car carriers). It's a
pair of tracks, one is the regional commuter train line and the other
is an active freight line used by everybody.
The crossing is posted as "no horn" for the overnight, but there are
two other crossings within a half-mile in either direction and at night
those horns carry. And I do complain to the police dispatcher, as per
the proper procedures, when the train jockeys ignore the "no horn"
edict for this crossing.
The noise is worse in the warmer months when I leave windows open.
> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
> fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
Service availability dependant, why wouldn't you? It would be roughly
equivalent to using a cellphone as a passenger in a car.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
"We finally broke the language barrier and introduced ourselves. And I
was invited aboard their ship. It was incredible. I'd never seen so
much space on a starship, and the T'Kar themselves. So unlike any other
species we'd encountered." (Capt. Sheridan, B5 "A Spider In The Web")
- 09-27-2005, 05:22 AM #6Donald NewcombGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
"Robert Payne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
> through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
> commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
> the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
Some years back we rented a house with a densely wooded back yard. At two AM
we were just about rolled out of bed when the freight train rolled through
blowing it's horn. Turned out that the CSX main line was about 150 feet back
through the woods. Oddly enough we got used to it but at the end of they
year's lease we moved farther from the tracks.
>
> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
> fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
Of course you can. Just go to Europe and see. In Japan they make you go to
the end of the car to talk on the phone. It just depends on if the carrier
has towers within range of the tracks. Tunnels are a bit of a bother. I once
saw an article about how much RF energy can be reflected around the 90% of
the train car walls that don't transmit radio waves (they only pass in &
out the windows) and the possible health effects of many people talking on
their cell phones in a train.
--
Donald Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net
- 09-27-2005, 06:28 AM #7Craven MoreheadGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
For a short, but complete tutorial on living near train tracks, rent the
classic movie "The Blues Brothers". Listen to what Elwood proclaims.
"Robert Payne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
> through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
> commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
> the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
>
> At first I was surprised that nobody complained, but after about a
> week or so, I got used to the noise, and I kind of enjoy it now!
>
> I asked a neighbor just yesterday, "If there was a 24-hour period
> that NO trains would come through do you think you would
> notice?" She replied "Yes" but does anyone really know?
>
> Does anyone else live in a town, near the tracks? Any interesting
> train and/or noise related comments or stories? I am only asking
> because I have never lived anywhere near trains prior to this move.
>
> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
> fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
>
> Bob Payne
- 09-27-2005, 07:23 AM #8GeorgeGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
Jeffrey Kaplan wrote:
> It is alleged that Robert Payne claimed:
>
>
>>I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
>>through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
>>commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
>>the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
>
>
> I live about 50 feet from the tracks and 200 feet from a crossing.
> Additionally, Ford Motor Cars, Inc, has their regional distribution
> center about a thousand feet or so down the line (vehicles are brought
> in by train and then put onto the road-going car carriers). It's a
> pair of tracks, one is the regional commuter train line and the other
> is an active freight line used by everybody.
>
> The crossing is posted as "no horn" for the overnight, but there are
> two other crossings within a half-mile in either direction and at night
> those horns carry. And I do complain to the police dispatcher, as per
> the proper procedures, when the train jockeys ignore the "no horn"
> edict for this crossing.
Unfortunately sounding the horn is a federal requirement that cannot be
superceded by local regulations. We are about 1/2 mile from 2 grade
crossings on a line that was inactive for at least 25 years that all of
a sudden became a new freight mainline. Sometimes there are a dozen
trains at night. Some of the towns tried to pass ordinances but were
informed they were trumped because of ICC. You would think that in the
year 2005 they could deploy a scanning system to determine if anybody or
anything were in the "box" surrounding the crossing and then inform the
train operator of the need to blow the 130 db horn.
>
> The noise is worse in the warmer months when I leave windows open.
>
>
>>Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
>>fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
>
>
> Service availability dependant, why wouldn't you? It would be roughly
> equivalent to using a cellphone as a passenger in a car.
>
- 09-27-2005, 07:38 AM #9RickGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
"Robert Payne" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I recently moved into a town that has two train tracks that run
> through it. At various times in the day and night you can hear
> commuter and freight trains come by (I live about 1,500 feet from
> the tracks.) and the engineers always blows the horn!
>
> At first I was surprised that nobody complained, but after about a
> week or so, I got used to the noise, and I kind of enjoy it now!
>
> I asked a neighbor just yesterday, "If there was a 24-hour period
> that NO trains would come through do you think you would
> notice?" She replied "Yes" but does anyone really know?
>
> Does anyone else live in a town, near the tracks? Any interesting
> train and/or noise related comments or stories? I am only asking
> because I have never lived anywhere near trains prior to this move.
>
> Now with the cost of gasoline I might look into what the train
> fares are! Can you use cell phones on a train?
>
> Bob Payne
I grew up near train tracks and the sound of the trains becomes such a part
of your routine that you won't think twice about it. It's like the whirring
of your refrigerator. Once it stops, you immediately notice the quiet and
you realize there's something wrong.
- 09-27-2005, 11:19 AM #10Jeffrey KaplanGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
It is alleged that George claimed:
> > The crossing is posted as "no horn" for the overnight, but there are
> > two other crossings within a half-mile in either direction and at night
> > those horns carry. And I do complain to the police dispatcher, as per
> > the proper procedures, when the train jockeys ignore the "no horn"
> > edict for this crossing.
>
> Unfortunately sounding the horn is a federal requirement that cannot be
> superceded by local regulations. We are about 1/2 mile from 2 grade
My town isn't the only community in Massachusetts that has a "no horn"
rule for the overnight. Last I heard, there is one town that has the
"no horn rule" in effect for the entire town, not just one or two
specific crossings.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
"He mentioned something about evening the score... I wasn't able to
find out what he was planning cause he stopped talking to me after
that, at your urging." (Mr. Morden, B5 "Interludes and Examinations")
- 09-27-2005, 11:20 AM #11Jeffrey KaplanGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
It is alleged that Craven Morehead claimed:
> For a short, but complete tutorial on living near train tracks, rent the
> classic movie "The Blues Brothers". Listen to what Elwood proclaims.
I own a copy of the that movie.
--
Jeffrey Kaplan www.gordol.org
The from userid is killfiled Send personal mail to gordol
"He mentioned something about evening the score... I wasn't able to
find out what he was planning cause he stopped talking to me after
that, at your urging." (Mr. Morden, B5 "Interludes and Examinations")
- 09-27-2005, 01:57 PM #12GeorgeGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
Jeffrey Kaplan wrote:
> It is alleged that George claimed:
>
>
>>>The crossing is posted as "no horn" for the overnight, but there are
>>>two other crossings within a half-mile in either direction and at night
>>>those horns carry. And I do complain to the police dispatcher, as per
>>>the proper procedures, when the train jockeys ignore the "no horn"
>>>edict for this crossing.
>>
>>Unfortunately sounding the horn is a federal requirement that cannot be
>>superceded by local regulations. We are about 1/2 mile from 2 grade
>
>
> My town isn't the only community in Massachusetts that has a "no horn"
> rule for the overnight. Last I heard, there is one town that has the
> "no horn rule" in effect for the entire town, not just one or two
> specific crossings.
>
To followup on my own comment I just did a litle Googling and found that
even though the FRA was mandated by Congress in 1994 to produce a plan
concerning "quiet zones" they didn't finalize it until June 24, 2005.
This now allows towns to designate "quiet zones" but the town has to pay
for the extra gates, medians etc before they can designate the zone(s).
- 09-27-2005, 02:23 PM #13Isaiah BeardGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
George wrote:
> You would think that in the
> year 2005 they could deploy a scanning system to determine if anybody or
> anything were in the "box" surrounding the crossing and then inform the
> train operator of the need to blow the 130 db horn.
Not every railroad crossing in the US has so much as a lighted warning
system. If the railroad companies can't manage that much, why would you
expect anything more high tech?
--
E-mail fudged to thwart spammers.
Transpose the c's and a's in my e-mail address to reply.
- 09-28-2005, 03:56 AM #14Flatulant DingoGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
On Mon, 26 Sep 2005, at 18:48:51 [GMT -0400] (08:48:51 Tuesday, 27 September
2005 where I live) "Robert Payne" wrote:
> Can you use cell phones on a train?
On the Hong Kong underground, sometimes you don't hear the train for all the
noise coming from people speaking on their mobile phones, or the phones
ringing.
- 09-28-2005, 09:08 AM #15Mij AdyawGuest
Re: Can you use cell phones on trains?
No. The phone disintegrates as soon as you enter the train, however, if you
happen to have a Maxwell Smart Shoe Phone, it may work.
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