Railroad Crossing Wayside Horn: Resident's Relief and Driver's Safety

One potential solution for the problem of annoying locomotive horn sound is a stationary horn mounted at the crossing. This “wayside horn” is sounded in place of the locomotive horn when a train approaches and is positioned to direct the sound precisely down the intersecting roadways rather than along the track. A wayside horn can therefore operate at a lower sound level than a locomotive horn and produce less area sound exposure. The objective of this project was to evaluate a wayside horn produced by Railroad controls limited. We conducted the evaluation through observation of a test installation in Rocky mount before and after wayside horn installation. Before wayside horn installation, the site had a typical array of safety devices (gates, lights, signs, and marking) . the site was a nearly ideal crossing of a road with one through lane in each direction of a single track with low train volumes and speeds in a moderate density suburban area. We examined the reliability of the system and also measured sound in the area, motorist behavior, motorist opinion, area resident opinion, and train engineer opinion. Based on the results from previous studies and the results from precious studies and the results from our test, the study team concluded that the wayside horn offers significant sound relief to residents and others in the area around a crossing . the team also concluded that the wayside horn has led to slight, if any, shifts in driver behavior and opinion. Finally, the study team has concluded that the wayside horn appears to be reliable and acceptable to train engineers. The team strongly recommends that the NCDOT, other relevant agencies, and railroads continue to allow wayside horns and begin preparing policies and procedures to decide where they should be installed and who should pay for them.