Horn or Whistle?

[Gregory Wallace]

Seriously... what's it called on a train these days, a horn or a whistle? Or something else entirely?

And another thing: they all sound different. Some are a single note, some seem to be two-tone. And some are just beautiful, sounding like this big, glorious orchestral chord.

Can these sounds be altered? And do some locomotives just sound better than others? Can anyone here tell engines apart just by the horn/whistle?

Driving you guys nuts with silly questions since 2003,
~Gregory

[petertenthije]

I am not sure if this count, being the Eastern US section, but in the Netherlands we got both.

* The whistle is located near the passenger doors and are the signal that the doors will close.
* The horn is used to scare people of the track. In case people are ignoring the lights/bells/gates at a railroad crossing.

[iCe]

Driving you guys nuts with silly questions since 2003,


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Guilford350]

Here are a couple links that might be helpful:

http://www.fra.dot.gov/Content3.asp?P=95

http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/