Blowing the Whistle on Train Horns in Texas Communities

Texas has an extensive railroad system that covers thousands of miles across our beautiful landscapes, which is vital in transporting goods and people across our great state. However, with this huge railroad system comes a bit of annoyance.

If you live in a place like Abilene that has trains that go right through the middle of town, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. It is annoying to have to wait for the train at the crossing, and the loud blast of the horn can be a bit frustrating.

How Loud Are Texas Train Horns?

Whether you are stuck at the tracks waiting to cross, or you work near them like we do here at Townsquare Media in Abilene, trains that roll through town can be pretty irritating - especially when you hear the loud train horn 12 or more times a day.

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After some very tiring and extensive research (ok, I just Googled and I asked a train dude), I have the answer for you.

According to Train Horns Delivered, most train horns put out about 140 decibels, sometimes up to 150 or more. That's pretty dang loud! To put it in perspective, a rock concert, depending on the sound engineer (ahem..Joe Michie), reaches up to 125 decibels.

I dug a little bit further and asked my buddy Jeremy, who's a train conductor, how many times they have to blow the horn:

"FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) says we have to blow the horn 2 longs, 1 short, 1 long at every crossing."

So, there you have it. Train horns are loud and can reach up to 150 decibels, and they are blown a bunch of times at each crossing. I think the conductors blow that horn way more times than that. I digress.

Obviously, the horns are designed to provide safety to not only Texans but for the conductors and engineers themselves. I get it, but boy are those trains loud!

Speaking of trains, have you ever wanted to just hop on one and ride around Texas? Well, you can with some of these epic train adventures.