Modern railroading

[SteamGene]

My wife and I took the Auto-train to Florida back in January.  An interesting experience, to say the least.  It's amazing the difference in track quality along one mainline.  The strangest thing was the use of the horn, or lack of it.  Is there some new rule about sounding a warning for a grade crossing?  I know some cities that, out of foolishness, make sounding the horn illegal, but out in the country? 
Gene

[PRRThomas11]

http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1318
Heres some FRA info about that.
How was the Auto Train. I was planning on taking it to florida this spring but opted to take the Silver Meteor seeing that I wont need my car once I'm there. I've heard mixed reactions about the Auto Train. I know that it is the only train where you can smoke. Did that bother you?

[SteamGene]

Smoking is allowed only in the bottom section of the lounge car, so that didn't bother me at all.  Our price was $25 more than going from Richmond, VA to Tampa, FL by regular Amtrak.  With that price came dinner - rather good - a wine and cheese reception from 4 to 5, a movie in the lounge, wine with dinner, a fairly decent continental breakfast.  The roomettes were SMALL.  There is a central aisle and roomettes on either side of the aisle.  The top bunk has no window.  The rooms are larger.  Coach passengers don't get as many amenities as sleeper passengers.  AFAIK there were two diners, two lounges, one each for coach and sleeper. 
As I said, the quality of the track varied greatly.  The DC to south of Richmond track is once more double tracked.  There is only one stop in South Carolina and that is for crew change, refueling, and getting water. 
Gene

[Atlantic Central]

Gene,

How did they treat your car and how long was the boarding process?

I've always been a little leary of that whole idea.

Sheldon

[SteamGene]

Sheldon,
The car was treated fine, as far as I could tell.  The train departs at 4 pm.  The drop dead time for a car is 3pm, but they prefer 2.  Arrival is early morning and unloading time is up to an hour and a quarter, hour and a half unless there is some problem.  The Florida terminus is in Sandford, a bit inland of the east coast and a bit north and east of Orlando.  Mickie and I were able to have lunch at the BX at the air force base in Tampa.  We were not the first to get our car, but not the last, either. 
Gene

[PRRThomas11]

That sounds very nice. I'm riding in a roomette to Florida and I'm doing so because it is the closest thing to a Pullman section which is what I'd really like to ride.
I didn't know they show movies. That's cool!
How were the Superliner cars? I'm a NY Penn Station-goer and I've always wanted to ride in one.

Sounds cool!
-PRR

[SteamGene]

Well, the cars are two decked, as you know.  The entrance into the car is on the lower level in the middle with roomettes on one side with a family bedroom at the end.  The other side has bathrooms/showers and dressing rooms and a handicap bedroom.  The upper deck has bedrooms on one side with an aisle.  Passage through the cars is on the upper deck.  The bedrooms have some bath facilities. 

What about the warnings sounded/not sounded?
Gene

[PRRThomas11]

Thats sounds cool. what were you asking about warnings?

-PRR

[SteamGene]

The old rule was the whistle was to be sounded beginning at the whistle post and lasting until the engine entered the restricted area - always grade crossings, and then, by railroad, such things as bridges, tunnels, cuts, fills, etc.  The signal was/is two longs, a short, and a long, repeated as necessary.  But I heard the warning only some times.  We would go through a guarded crossing with the horn on and an unguarded with the horn off. 
So what's the current deal? 
Gene

[RAM]

Some cities have quiet zones.  In that case they do not blow the horn.  Some crossing are
equipped with a horn so the locomotive does not blow the horn. 

[SteamGene]

So would a passenger hear the horn blown by the crossing?  Sounds like a foolish use of technology to me.
Gene

[PRRThomas11]

A little fun fact:
Two shorts, a long, and a short, or dot dot dash dot, in Morse code is the letter Q. Back when steam ships went through port in England, the queen's ship always had right of way and they would blow the letter Q in Morse code on the horn to warn ships to move out of the way of the queen.
They still do that with trains. They have right of way so they use the same signal to warn the they are coming through.
I learned that while riding t Black Hills Central railroad in South Dakota. Right by M.t Rushmore.

-PRR

[Woody Elmore]

Out here on Long Island people are complaining about how loud the horns are. Yet the horns meet FRA requirements. Personally I love the sound but they sure are loud! Of course a commuter train doing 50 is definitely something people need to be warned about.

By the way, isn't the grade crossing warning two longs, a short and a long? You see this on whistle markers all the time. For the uninitiated, railroads often put markers by the side of the tracks telling an engineer when to whistle. Sometimes it was the letter "W" on a metal plaque. Some railroads used what looked like a 6x6 painted white. It would have two black stripes. Under the stripes would be a dot or smaller stripe, then another black stripe. This was a clear indication to the engineer when and how to sound the whistle or horn for a grade crossing.

[Yampa Bob]

From the UP site;
http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/funfacts/signals.shtml

Regarding quiet zones:
http://www.uprr.com/newsinfo/horn.shtml

[SteamGene]

Thanks, Bob.  Problem is, I don't think either engineer read this!
Gene