@article{ref1,
title="Developing a basis for efficient railroad horn testing",
journal="Journal of the Acoustical Society of America",
year="2010",
author="Erdreich, John and Keefe, Joseph",
volume="127",
number="3",
pages="1794-1794",
abstract="In response to complaints of excess noise from residents living in the vicinity of rail grade crossings, the Federal Railroad Administration promulgated regulations mandating minimum and maximum horn sound output levels. Older fleets require testing of horns to ensure compliance with these limits. Test requirements (no reflecting surfaces within 200 ft of the horn; wind less than or equal to 12 mph; no precipitation) severely limit the ability of urban commuter railroads to comply with the testing, especially in northern and coastal areas. To develop an alternate test protocol, measurements of horn sound levels were carried out in a semi-anechoic chamber and outdoors to determine if a reliable transfer function could be constructed to convert the chamber measurements to the outdoor measurements. Standard deviations of the A-weighted chamber measurements were smaller than standard deviations of the outdoor measurements. For one fleet, the differences between chamber measurements and outdoor measurements resulted in a consistent difference of about 41 dB(A). Locomotive supply air pressure differences at the horn were not a significant factor in sound output.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0001-4966",
doi="10.1121/1.3384000",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.3384000"
}