Elburn looks to replace train horn system in the downtown
Elburn residents could soon find some relief from the relentless noise of train horns as they approach the railroad crossings in the downtown area.
Public Works Superintendent Phil Van Bogaert said the wayside horn system installed at the intersection of First and Main (Route 47) streets in 2009 has been malfunctioning since October 2022.
Village President Jeff Walter said they got the system working for a while, but it went out again.
Wayside horns were designed to replace the train’s horn as a means of alerting motorists to danger, enhancing safety at at-grade rail crossings.
When a train approaches, the wayside horn system detects the oncoming train and blasts a warning sound focused directly at the intersection, reducing the noise in the surrounding area.
Train engineers are still allowed to blow their horn if they see something on the tracks, somebody walking near the tracks, in bad weather or if there is an indicator light that the automated system is not working.
When the system was first installed, the manufacturer, Railroad Controls Limited, told village officials that a regular 80-decibel train horn could be heard in the surrounding 171 acres. The automated horn at the intersection affects only five acres.
However, the signals (the large red XXs) at the intersection in Elburn that tell the train engineer that a horn will blow at the crossing are broken. So even if the crossing horn is blowing, the engineer doesn’t realize it and still thinks he needs to blow his horn, Van Bogaert said.
It’s a lot of noise, Walter said.
“I’ve been receiving feedback from residents on a regular basis,” he said.
The village’s initial attempts to fix the system were stymied when it was discovered that the original manufacturer did not make the components anymore.
After much research, Van Bogaert found another manufacturer, Rio Grande Pacific Technology, created by several former employees from Railroad Controls Limited.
Elburn received a proposal in 2023 from RIOTECH to install two wayside horns, one at the South Main Street and one at the South First Street crossings, for $125,905. With additional expenses, the total was $144,905. However, the money was not in last year’s budget.
This year, RIOTECH’s proposal for the work is $125,905. RIOTECH said it should be able to resolve all issues remotely in coordination with Elburn support staff and most likely could work with local electrical companies such as Leyden Electric if on-site repairs are needed.
Walter said he wasn’t sure when the new system would be installed.