Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the past and present operations of the NYC Subway, PATH, and Staten Island Railway (SIRT).

Moderator: GirlOnTheTrain

 #205845  by F40
 
Do the buzzers on PATH trains follow a specific sequence before/during departure? At the conductor's operating position near the rear of the train, I could hear soft buzzers (two at a time, maybe four) before departure (which is how NYC Subway works IIRC), but after the train has gained speed (i.e. 10-15 mph) I think I heard two more.

Who operates the buzzers on PATH and how are they sequenced before/during departure?

 #207684  by SRS125
 
Buzzer might be something sounded by the conductor leting the engineer know that it's time to go. We used to operate on a system of buzzer sounds on the big Sperry Rail Service cars. If I remember it right the signals were:

O - Short sound
= - long sound

O - Stop
OO - Move Forward
OOO - Move Backward
OOOO - Hold Car Speed

= OO = Look out for oncoming Train/Standing Railcars on adjacent tracks
= = O = Sound when aproching Railroad grade crossing, train stations, etc.

PLEASE READ AND NOTE THIS DISCLAMER BELOW BEFOR QUESTIONING ME OVER MY HALF OF RAILROAD SIGNALING.
These buzzer/Horn signals may be different from railroad to railroad. These are the standard signals used by Sperry Rail Service and may not have anything to do with any railroad, but may offer a possible idea as to what NYC Subway and PATH may be using or doing.

 #216312  by Rich T
 
When a break test is performed before departure from a terminal, the conductor watching the gauges in the rear car will signal the engineer with the buzzer.
Other buzzer signals when running could have been the engineer or conductor signaling a employee stop.

 #258017  by The Workers
 
There are other buzzer signals not listed in the rule book that are used to convey other information. Such as "hot chick on platform!". These buzzer signals vary between crews. :wink: