Passenger Trains > "Horns" are silenced at Safeco Field !!

Today is "Opening Day" for the Seattle Mariners Baseball Club.. First game at 3:40 PM against the Oakland A's... "Randy Johnson" is throwing out the FIRST PITCH !!!
Because of highway construction around BOTH Safeco and Qwest Fields, vehicular traffic will be eliminated from "Royal Brougham" between First and Fourth Avenues... Pedestrians will be required to walk up stairs to cross tracks as well.
Because of these changes, the Mariners are telling fans not to expect the trademark "Train Horns" during game day activities anymore !! Kind of sad when you think of it.

If there are any AMTRAK or BNSF hoggers on here, what instructions have you received from your respective Trainmasters ??

You never know, some Engineers may blow their horn anyway as a nostalgia thing. We'll have to wait and see.

Cheers.

KRK

What a shame. We look forward to the horns. It sure isn't the stellar play of the Mariners. Trains running nearby make SAFECO Field unique.

RetiredGal9 Wrote:
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> What a shame. We look forward to the horns. It
> sure isn't the stellar play of the Mariners.
> Trains running nearby make SAFECO Field unique.

They are hardly unique. The B&O main line runs alongside Oriole Park At Camden Yards Stadium in Baltimore, MD, as well as the Baltimore Ravens Football Stadium. LOL
You hear train horns 'a' plenty at those 2 venues!

BaltoJoey

KRK,

The horns will continue for this homestead per BNSF. After this homestead they are slated to be silenced, depending on the legal departments decision.

Macster Wrote:
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> KRK,
>
> The horns will continue for this homestead per
> BNSF. After this homestead they are slated to be
> silenced, depending on the legal departments
> decision.


What the heck does the Legal Dept have to do with it ?? That is, "blowing the horn at a NON-crossing" ... Give me the FRA section that says that !!
In the meantime, here is what Gus Melonas of BNSF has to say...

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011585308_whistle12m.html?syndication=rss

Cheers.

KRK

I think, given the large numbers of pedestrians that are around this area during games, that Royal Brougham should be designated a 'loud' zone. It really is a safety issue.

KeyRouteKen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Macster Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > KRK,
> >
> > The horns will continue for this homestead per
> > BNSF. After this homestead they are slated to
> be
> > silenced, depending on the legal departments
> > decision.
>
>
> What the heck does the Legal Dept have to do with
> it ?? That is, "blowing the horn at a
> NON-crossing" ... Give me the FRA section that
> says that !!
> In the meantime, here is what Gus Melonas of BNSF
> has to say...
>
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/20
> 11585308_whistle12m.html?syndication=rss
>

The crossing and signals are still in place being used by construction forces, or at least were when I was down there last week. Still 20 mph over the crossing too.

TAW

KeyRouteKen Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Macster Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > KRK,
> >
> > The horns will continue for this homestead per
> > BNSF. After this homestead they are slated to
> be
> > silenced, depending on the legal departments
> > decision.
>
>
> What the heck does the Legal Dept have to do with
> it ?? That is, "blowing the horn at a
> NON-crossing" ... Give me the FRA section that
> says that !!
> In the meantime, here is what Gus Melonas of BNSF
> has to say...
>
> http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/20
> 11585308_whistle12m.html?syndication=rss
>
> Cheers.
>
> KRK


I was curious about his statement as well but in a way I suppose that it would be up to legal due to the amount of foot traffic there during game days. I am looking forward to just highballing out of KSS straight to 50mph =D

RetiredGal9 Wrote:
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> Trains running nearby make SAFECO Field unique.

Its not uncommon to hear a train sound its horn passing Fenway Park - the ex-B&A main, now MBTA Worcester line runs a couple hundred feet from the back of the Green Monster. Coors Field, Anaheim Stadium, Yankee Stadium and the Rogers Centre a few more MLB parks that come to mind as having active tracks passing within a few hundred feet.

Dave

Slightly different but the RCA dome in Indy has tracks about 50 feet from the southwest corner of the building. You can hear the diesels rattle the walls as they pass.

In Louisville's Fairgrounds Stadium (Cardinal Stadium) you could look across the parking lot and the highway and watch NS trains go by. It wasn't uncommon to see 3 to 5 trains during a baseball or football game. Nice diversion when the home team is loosing.

John

there's no stadium that can match hearing train horns, especially s/b, than safeco. these horns are very audible on radio and tv broadcasts.

I remember how the World Soccer tournies at Qwest and Safeco complained about the horns but the fans loved the experience.

Seattle Mariners radio broadcaster "Dave Niehaus" would usually give greetings to the railroad when the horns wailed over the air... Such as:
"There go our friends at the BNSF" (or whoever_...)

KRK

wa4umr Wrote:
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> Slightly different but the RCA dome in Indy has
> tracks about 50 feet from the southwest corner of
> the building. You can hear the diesels rattle the
> walls as they pass.

Not any more you can't. The RCA Dome no longer exists. Lucas Oil Stadium is not too far from the same piece of railroad, though.

There are TONS of minor-league ballparks that have tracks nearby, if not visible from inside the park. Perhaps the best known is the St. Paul Saints' field, which has tracks beyond the outfield fence and the PA announcer says "Train" in a monotone voice every time one comes by. I suspect a lot of these ballparks were built on the sites of former railroad yards, so the presence of active rails nearby should not be surprising.

What about the AT&SF running by the parking lot to Angles Stadium or whatever it's called now. Back before the outfield was closed in for football, Amtrak would always whistle and Shey Torrent, the organist there would play "The Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe."

Back in the 60s when I would go to games at Anaheim Stadium, I always brought my dad's old binoculars. Not to watch the game, but catch the numbers on the side of the PAs pulling the San Diegans.

Great old times, but when you compare three trains each day to San Diego in 1967, now there are 11 on weekdays, 12 on weekends, and that doesn't count Metrolink.

Lee Hower - Sacramento

Although, I've only visited Texas a few times, when I saw "HORNS" in all capitals, my first thought was that it was referring to the University of Texas "Longhorns" being held scoreless in some sort of athletic contest.

Well, you can see the trains once again - since they un-closed the stadium after converting it back to baseball only in the late 1990's. For weekday day games, you can typically see 4-5 Amtrak Pacific Surfliners go by (plus a Metrolink or two if the game goes into extra innings).

andersonb109 Wrote:
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> What about the AT&SF running by the parking lot to
> Angles Stadium or whatever it's called now. Back
> before the outfield was closed in for football,
> Amtrak would always whistle and Shey Torrent, the
> organist there would play "The Atchison Topeka and
> Santa Fe."

There are a couple decent angles from new Busch Stadium, home of the Cardinals, of 12th Street Yard in downtown St. Louis.

Pump

Sounds like, pardon the pun, the horns at Safeco Field are not dead yet...

From the Western Board:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,2169905

Bob