I live a couple blocks from train tracks that are used for freight, they pass every 2 hours most of the time, and run 24/7. They shake my building when they pass, and I can hear them blast their horn for road crossings with the windows closed. All this to say trains themselves are nothing special to me as a thing that exists.
I got to ride a subway (in Boston) for the first time back on like 2018-2019 or so, as a very much mid 30s woman, and even I got super excited for it. Like visibly, kid-seeing-train-for-first-time excited. My partner took a pic and titled it excitement. Dick.
Then last year I took a train to Chicago and wouldn’t you know, exactly as excited the entire time. Only half of that was because I didn’t have to drive in a big city.
I want trains!!! I want them to be fast and plentiful. I want to see trains all over the place, stopping in every single town. And I want them to do more than freight! Freight is good, don’t get me wrong, but we could do so much more, we used to do so much more!! The freight lines still have all the old passenger stops along them, most of them are still in decent shape but have been converted to storage or businesses, but that could be fixed pretty damn easily.
I’m sad that we used to have trains but now I have to drive everywhere because rich people fucking suck.
As someone who lives near trains, this just gave me an idea. Why don’t we have speakers located at each stop? Then, the conductor can trigger those directional speakers as needed. If those aren’t working, then they can hit the “wake up the whole neighborhood” horns.
Humans are idiots, and the whole point is to keep them alive anyway. They can’t claim they didn’t hear a blast from the train horn.
A few years back they were trying to improve train safety after idiots in Florida kept ignoring the gates and getting run over, so they started using horns again in my town
But the interesting part was the compromise. They decided a better safety option was to build medians at every grade crossing, so idiots can’t drive around the gates. No more horns again permanent infrastructure, nothing active or clever needed
They sort of already do that with the rail crossing dingy bells and lights, but both usually happen if the crossing apparatus is present. I think its required here?
On a side note, I had to take a weird back way home the other day, due to highway closure, and found a house that has its own small scale private rail crossing with the drop bars and dingy bells and lights and everything, due to the rail hugging the road on the wrong side for them. It was very cute.
I live a couple blocks from train tracks that are used for freight, they pass every 2 hours most of the time, and run 24/7. They shake my building when they pass, and I can hear them blast their horn for road crossings with the windows closed. All this to say trains themselves are nothing special to me as a thing that exists.
I got to ride a subway (in Boston) for the first time back on like 2018-2019 or so, as a very much mid 30s woman, and even I got super excited for it. Like visibly, kid-seeing-train-for-first-time excited. My partner took a pic and titled it excitement. Dick.
Then last year I took a train to Chicago and wouldn’t you know, exactly as excited the entire time. Only half of that was because I didn’t have to drive in a big city.
I want trains!!! I want them to be fast and plentiful. I want to see trains all over the place, stopping in every single town. And I want them to do more than freight! Freight is good, don’t get me wrong, but we could do so much more, we used to do so much more!! The freight lines still have all the old passenger stops along them, most of them are still in decent shape but have been converted to storage or businesses, but that could be fixed pretty damn easily.
I’m sad that we used to have trains but now I have to drive everywhere because rich people fucking suck.
Kill the rich and we can make trains again.
I’m gonna be taking a 4hr train with a friend tomorrow, it’ll be fun :D
As someone who lives near trains, this just gave me an idea. Why don’t we have speakers located at each stop? Then, the conductor can trigger those directional speakers as needed. If those aren’t working, then they can hit the “wake up the whole neighborhood” horns.
Most railway crossings should be grade separated. It’s more infra but removes chance for any human error (and horns)
Humans are idiots, and the whole point is to keep them alive anyway. They can’t claim they didn’t hear a blast from the train horn.
A few years back they were trying to improve train safety after idiots in Florida kept ignoring the gates and getting run over, so they started using horns again in my town
But the interesting part was the compromise. They decided a better safety option was to build medians at every grade crossing, so idiots can’t drive around the gates. No more horns again permanent infrastructure, nothing active or clever needed
They sort of already do that with the rail crossing dingy bells and lights, but both usually happen if the crossing apparatus is present. I think its required here?
On a side note, I had to take a weird back way home the other day, due to highway closure, and found a house that has its own small scale private rail crossing with the drop bars and dingy bells and lights and everything, due to the rail hugging the road on the wrong side for them. It was very cute.