Railroads Are Blowing Smoke

The July 1 article on train horn blowing was again a rehash of the same cliched rhetoric on the part of railroad governing officialdom.

“You can’t mess around with safety,” says chairwoman Sarah L. Catz of the MetroLink board of directors.

Railroad tracks have been there for over 100 years--far longer than the homes, say railroad officials.

These types of emotional or juvenile responses are typical of the deflective language by railroad officialdom as they attempt to direct attention from their primary concern: Accidents disrupt train schedules, causing major inconvenience and time loss until the collision investigation is completed and the damage and possible carnage is removed from the track right of way.

Unlike air traffic patterns and auto traffic, which can be routed around an accident, trains are limited to traveling on a set of rails. An accident is a barricade to further train movement until the collision is evaluated and the debris removed.

Therefore railroad officialdom uses any fanciful argument the public and their elected officials will gullibly swallow in order to make sure their trains will run on time.

I wonder how the state of Oregon was able to pass their law permitting whistle bans by local authorities, then have an appeals court uphold the state law when the Southern Pacific railroad challenged this legislation.

Perhaps Oregon legislators and judges heard and considered something besides the blatant train blasts throughout the state--they heard the cries of the outraged citizenry living within hearing distance of the horns.

CUYLER W. WENBERG

Santa Ana

* I can well understand how the increasing number of trains on local trackage is impacting the Villa Grande [in Santa Ana]. Though I live more than a half-mile from the tracks, in Tustin, the loud sound of the train’s horn is still bothersome, especially in the quiet of the morning.

Occasionally, we use property in Oceanside that is a short distance from the tracks. The noise of the train whistle all hours of the day and night is very bothersome and definitely affects the quality of our vacation. I thought of the many fine vacation homes, hotels and resorts along the coast that are affected in a similar manner. I noted as did the article that some engineers are more gentle with the horn than others and what a difference that can make!

Perhaps we should approach some cities and see if we can’t get them to pass resolutions requesting a reduction in the noise level. It is encouraging to hear that some actions have been taken, but I am certain more can be done to minimize this as a distraction.

MARVIN SELLERS

Tustin