We’ve lived here in the suburbs nearly fifty years. Hearing train whistles in the distance is just part of the local ambiance. I’d never wondered what a signal meant until recently, probably because I’m just out of deep sleep about the time the 3 a.m. train comes through, with its mournful long-long-short-long song.
I learned that it’s the most common whistle signal which is sounded every time a train approaches a grade crossing. That long-long-short-long signal is specified in railroad manuals.
But the early history of the signal is more fascinating. Long-long-short-long is Morse Code for the letter Q. In England, any ship carrying the Queen would announce her presence by sounding long-long-short-long on the horn to warn other ships in the harbor out of the way. When she began to travel by rail, the same signal followed. When approaching the station, the train whistle wailed the familiar sequence.
The tradition from England came to the US with our railroad system and became the standard signal. It still is today, more than 200 years later.
National Train Day
National Train Day was created by Amtrack in 2008 to commemorate the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the US at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869.
Thanks for the lesson, Joy.
[trains make me smile, happy to learn more about them]
I’m fascinated by old steam engines. I don’t think I’ve ever written about Grandma Leora taking my sister and me to CA on a train, to watch my cousin graduate from high school (and more). I enjoyed learning this little lesson as well, GP!
What a fascinating bit of railroad history! I remember hearing trains passing through at night when I was a child.
Passing through the night. What a lovely phrase.
Loved this post! I recall as a kid staying overnight at my grandparents’, whose house was just a few yards from the railroad track between Knoxville and Clinton. At night, I could hear the whistles blow from far in the distance and then hear (and feel!) the trains rumble by during the night. Next to hearing rain on their tin roof, those were my favorite sounds. My wife and I still enjoy taking rides on tourist railroads. If your first lesson in railroading was the long-long-short-long, maybe your next one should be about FRED. (Hint: it replaced the caboose.)
Aha, the FRED one! Yes, I had to look it up, hoping it doesn’t lead to a total rabbit trail! Even rain on a shingled roof. What a blessing, even as an adult. You’ve got more childhood stories to write, don’t you Dennis!
Interesting information, Joy. I had no idea. I’ve always loved the sound of a train whistle.
Same here, but I never thought to wonder about any of it, well, until I turned 80!
I grew up around trains (my dad ran those restaurants you used to see in some train stations in Canada), and I never knew that! Thanks, Joy! I still travel by train whenever I can. I’ve done coast to coast here. When I was younger…
Oh Gail, coast to coast! How wonderful!
I loved this, Joy. Very interesting.
Thanks, John. I guess I should wonder about more things I take for granted, huh!
Thanks for sharing the early history of the train whistle. It makes for good trivia! 🙂
It sure does. I should wonder about more things and see where they lead, huh!