Wayside horns tested at BNSF tracks in Fort Collins, Colo.
(The following story by Douglas Crowl appeared on the Loveland Connection website on April 29, 2009.)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. They handed out earplugs, but it didnt seem necessary Tuesday in Loveland as a Texas engineering firm demonstrated how a simulated horn could replace a real train blaring at crossings.
The Campbell Technology Corporation set up the wayside horn demonstration at the BNSF Railways crossing on 10th Street, just east of Garfield Avenue, at the city of Lovelands request.
A handful of Loveland residents fed up with train horns rattling their homes turned out to listen, as well as city officials attempting to solve the problem.
The wayside horn system has become one possible solution. Its installed at crossings and broadcasts a horn sound directly at oncoming traffic.
Most people Tuesday agreed that it sounded quieter than a real horn, even though it still reached a 92-decibel requirement at the crossing.
I dont think that would be so bad at our house, said Kim Witt, who lives near the BNSF Railway's crossing at 29th Street.
Witt said her family can hardly stand the train horns.
This is much better than the horns we have now, she said.
Thats because a real trains horn must sound much louder to hit the decibel requirement as it approaches the crossing from a greater distance, said Kurt Anderson, vice president and general manager at Campbell Technology Corporation.
His father, Merrill Anderson, invented the wayside horn system in 1992, which today uses a WAV file to broadcast the horn sound.
There are 100 systems in place across the country and 12 currently being installed in Springfield, Ohio, Kurt Anderson said.
They are trying to create quiet zones and they are looking for alternatives, he said of the Springfield project.
Quiet zones are the ultimate solution, because they stop the horn noise altogether. It involves building concrete barriers at the crossings that block traffic from crossing the tracks when the gates are down.
But a city-funded study released recently showed it would cost $5.3 millions to do quiet zones at all Loveland BNSF Railways crossings and the railroad company doesnt chip in on the bill.
Wayside horns are less expensive per crossing, the study showed.
I think the sound is an improvement, said Cleo Hansen, who helped organize a community group that brought the issue to the Loveland City Councils attention last year.
But Hansen still has questions about the system. It was set on the lowest volume Tuesday and she wondered if installed if it would actually be louder.
So far, only a handful of crossings in Loveland are recommended for the wayside horns and none in the core of Loveland, though the City Council has directed staff to look into the matter more, city engineer Frank Hempen said.
Hempen had worried that the wayside horn wouldnt solve the problem for people living right next to the crossings.
I wasnt as bad as I anticipated, Hempen said of hearing the horn Tuesday. I didnt think it was as intrusive as I had thought.
But he added that the most important thing now for people to do is log onto to the city Web site and complete a survey regarding the train horn issue.
Along with wayside horns, the city is studying if some type of tax could pay for work at the crossings, which the survey covers.
The Loveland City Council will eventually decide how to move forward with the issue.
