Noise protocols for overnight rail services

[Freightmaster]

Do level crossings get their alarms muted overnight as well as I'm sure a blaring alarm every half hour or so doesn't go down too well with the neighbours...

Yes - I just to live a few houses away from a level crossing and it was was barely audible at night,
a bit like if you put a cushion over your phone when it rings, but that was 20+ years ago so I'm not
sure if they still do that these days?

 

[TUC]

I think there is perhaps a difference between having trains passing your home several times a night, which is a momentary noise one might get used to, vs a stationary train with engine running for an extended period.

 

[Ant1966]

Similarly could here the 22:10 Waterloo-Yeovil as the 50 blasted away from Andover.

IIRC there are a couple of locations where signage instructed crews to shut down engines during the night. Blowed if I can remember where though.

There was such a sign at the signal protecting the exit from the SB loop just SW of Cheltenham station. Right next to a quiet residential cul de sac of bungalows (Heron Close). Was used on occasion for slower freights, a pair of 20s could make quite a noise! Favoured spotting haunt from my youth in the mis 1970s. No idea if the sign is still there

 

[D1537]

Walking towards Brighouse station for an overnight service, I was struck by how far away the running engine for what turned out to be the 0339 to York (which had arrived at 0330) could be heard. I was conscious that this would be all the more noticeable to nearby Brighouse residents as there are not usually stopping overnight rail services at the station, although there have been on a number of occasions in recent months due to the Transpennine Route Upgrade work, and the diversion of services from Huddersfiel.

Are there any general expectations set regarding running engines during prolonged waits at stations overnight, and are there different operational limitations depending upon the type of train?

It doesn't help that the 185s often go into that "revving" loud-quiet mode (difficult to describe, but anyone familiar with the type will know what I mean) when waiting for extended amounts of time. They're quite loud when they do that and I remember staying in a hotel in Sheffield once which wasn't particularly close to the station and being able to hear them.

 

[GordonT]

It doesn't help that the 185s often go into that "revving" loud-quiet mode (difficult to describe, but anyone familiar with the type will know what I mean) when waiting for extended amounts of time. They're quite loud when they do that and I remember staying in a hotel in Sheffield once which wasn't particularly close to the station and being able to hear them.

At least the demise of the heritage DMU and "Pacer" units removed their special type of engine noise disturbance.

 

[MP33]

There are apartments built on what was a goods yard, on the Great Central Railway. The buyers were advised, as part of the conveyancing process. That the railway is closed, and will never ever re-open.

 

[londonmidland]

It doesn't help that the 185s often go into that "revving" loud-quiet mode (difficult to describe, but anyone familiar with the type will know what I mean) when waiting for extended amounts of time.

It’s called engine ‘hunting’. It’ll do it until it settles at its idle engine RPM.

 

[Taunton]

It’s called engine ‘hunting’. It’ll do it until it settles at its idle engine RPM.

... or not settle. For a centrifugal governor, that's the type with two balls spinning round a shaft, even the manufacturers will tell you it governs RPM to a RANGE rather than a precise value. And that's when they are new. Over time wear, friction, and rather simplistic adjustment deviate from that.

 

[800002]

Chiltern's Class 68s are not used on the trains to Oxford. But with so many flats now built right up against the railway, and including the northern end near the bays, I've always thought the residents had a lucky escape on that one.

Complaints escalate in the summer months mainly, at Oxford, with chiltern units being left on in the hot weather combined with open windows.

The 68s have generally been the source of complaints at Marylebone.

 

[Sheridan]

Not necessarily an issue late at night, but I wonder how the residents whose houses back onto Croes Newydd loop have taken to the new Wrexham shuttle and the unit going into the loop every hour (when it runs!).