Was wondering how far away you can hear a train, in good conditions (i.e. the train is upwind of you, rural location so not much traffic).
Obviously answer will vary dependent on type of train, so might be good to consider some options:
- Classic diesel loco such as 37 or Deltic (which I would imagine would carry a long way)
- The acceleration of a Paxman engine in an HST
- A modern EMU such as a 444 or 450
- A ttypical train horn. This last is of particular interest as I swear I heard a horn from the Elsted area, West Sussex, perhaps 7 miles from the Portsmouth Direct on one occasion in October 2004. (At this time the Portsmouth Direct had a mixture of Desiros and slam-door stock, but I think it was the former). Wind was westerly so the line would have been upwind.
Aside from the horn above, I do recall hearing down trains from a bridge about 2 miles east of Brockenhurst in the New Forest, about 3 mins before they passed in ideal conditions (NE winds), so perhaps about 4 miles away, maybe in the Ashurst area. On the other hand at one time, in the 80s, I lived around 3 miles from the the Portsmouth Direct and don't really recall hearing trains then, though there was some high ground in the way.
Obviously answer will vary dependent on type of train, so might be good to consider some options:
- Classic diesel loco such as 37 or Deltic (which I would imagine would carry a long way)
- The acceleration of a Paxman engine in an HST
- A modern EMU such as a 444 or 450
- A ttypical train horn. This last is of particular interest as I swear I heard a horn from the Elsted area, West Sussex, perhaps 7 miles from the Portsmouth Direct on one occasion in October 2004. (At this time the Portsmouth Direct had a mixture of Desiros and slam-door stock, but I think it was the former). Wind was westerly so the line would have been upwind.
Aside from the horn above, I do recall hearing down trains from a bridge about 2 miles east of Brockenhurst in the New Forest, about 3 mins before they passed in ideal conditions (NE winds), so perhaps about 4 miles away, maybe in the Ashurst area. On the other hand at one time, in the 80s, I lived around 3 miles from the the Portsmouth Direct and don't really recall hearing trains then, though there was some high ground in the way.