RailRoadFan.com

DLM said: I route all my container shipments from Detroit, Flint, and Port Huron over Chicago ramps. The DIFT planners are hoping that when/if the new container facility is built, you will then route all your shipments through Detroit. Will you? In many ways, I suppose, the DIFT is a gamble, just l...

Well, if there is a difference in wind velocity at the right altitude, which does sometimes occur, the sound waves will reflect away from the ground layer and the result could be a diminished sound level. But that wouldn't be likely in your case. The same conditions would also effect the area to the...

The function of a horn, or "bell" as it is called here, is not to impart a direction to the sound. The horn provides an impedance match between the transducer (the thing which vibrates) and the surrounding air mass. The impedance match allows the maximum transfer of energy -- and a train horn produc...

Could it be possible that the area just north of the depot is a quiet zone?

Some neighborhoods have ordinances that forbid passing trains to use loud horns. I have noticed very quiet horns being used at the residential crossings between Delray and the NS bridge in Detroit, for example.

A. Zimmer

I have not heard any news in quite a while about the status of two major proposed projects involving the railroads of southeast Michigan. One project is the construction of a large intermodal facility on the site of Livernois yard in Detroit. The other project is the so-called Jobs Tunnel that would...