Pacific Surfliner

[winterskigirl]

I rode the Pacific Surfliner #763 between San Diego and L.A. last week. First time for me on the Surfliner but I'm not new to Amtrak I noticed that the horn never sounded. Is there a reason for this?

 

[Paulus]

There's a lot of quiet zones, but not the entirety of the route as far as I know. You sure you just didn't notice it sounding was all?

 

[TinCan782]

I usually don't notice it unless I'm near the head end.

 

[GG-1]

Aloha

Since a large part of the run is along the ocean there are large stretches without grade crossings

 

[winterskigirl]

I was in business class and I think I remember this being the last car on the consist. It's possible I just didn't hear the horn.

 

[guest in the west]

Trust me, the horn is used, especially as the train leaves San Diego downtown until past Old Town, when there is not another grade crossing until 15 minutes later in Sorrento Valley. It's then used often through the Encinitas-Leucadia-Carlsbad area, then infrequently past Oceanside until you near San Juan Capistrano because there are relatively few crossings as the train runs through Camp Pendleton (Marine base) and along the Pacific Ocean through San Clemente (though there are three or four pedestrian crossings to the beach where the engineer toots). It is used a lot in central and northern Orange County, where a concerted effort is underway to build underpasses/overpasses to eliminate the many grade crossings, with a large number of them at odd angles to the tracks.

 

[TinCan782]

I was in business class and I think I remember this being the last car on the consist. It's possible I just didn't hear the horn.

In Business Class, you were next to the locomotive...if going northbound you were at the rear as the train is in "push" mode. If going southbound, the loco (and Business Class) is at the head end and you will hear the horn.