Subscriber Comments for
Wake Up Call

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 319744	2012-09-14 08:46 AM
I heard that too. I thought maybe someone was on the track.
COMMENT 319749	2012-09-14 08:50 AM
Yeah, no kidding. Certainly sounded like something was amiss on the tracks, have never heard a train blow it's horn for that long or that early in the am.
COMMENT 319750	2012-09-14 08:51 AM
Someone on the tracks might prompt a couple long blasts. This was an ongoing toot, toot, toottoot, toot, etc. for miles. I think some engineer had a friend in the cab and allowed the friend to entertain themselves.
COMMENT 319753	2012-09-14 08:53 AM
I also heard it. I kept listening and thought my ears were just ringing. Thought it was kind of weird and I'm glad I wasn't the only one that noticed.
COMMENT 319756	2012-09-14 08:56 AM
i was waiting for the bang.
COMMENT 319760	2012-09-14 08:58 AM
I noticed a pattern of 2 long toots, 1 short and a long toot and a real slight pause. I've heard at intersections they will or are required to use their horn. That definitely seemed excessive from what we normally hear... that continued all the way through town. Does anyone know who we can call to find out?
COMMENT 319763	2012-09-14 09:02 AM
Maybe the engineer fell asleep on the horn button?
COMMENT 319768	2012-09-14 09:08 AM
Woke us up too.
COMMENT 319770	2012-09-14 09:10 AM
I don't know about the horn - it work all of us up at 6:40, but I believe that was the Amtrak 768 Pacific Surfliner scheduled to leave southbound at 6:43am.
COMMENT 319774	2012-09-14 09:14 AM
The loudness might have had something to do with the weather this morning.
COMMENT 319779	2012-09-14 09:17 AM
I don't know but it woke me up like it was in my room. Joys of living next to the train track. It was very loud and very annoying!
COMMENT 319782P	2012-09-14 09:19 AM
Heck - who needs an alarm clock when you have Amtrak!
ROGER DODGER	2012-09-14 09:33 AM
Mellower than all the other sounds I hear around here..Someone was probably sleeping on the tracks.
COMMENT 319801P	2012-09-14 09:41 AM
When I first moved to Santa Barbara the trains did not use their horns at night. Then there was a year (don't remember which year) with several incidents of people killed by train. It seemed that after that the trains started using their horns at night. Maybe this morning it was an engineer who feels the Santa Barbara area has more risk for people on the track.
COMMENT 319802	2012-09-14 09:42 AM
The horn blew straight through Carpinteria also.
COMMENT 319805	2012-09-14 09:44 AM
malfuncitioning right of way light for passing south bound passenger.train.there was a north bounnd freight that was waiting on side track around blind turn at la cumbre
COMMENT 319808	2012-09-14 09:47 AM
My thought was that he was just waking everyone up to be an arse. This has happened before.
COMMENT 319811	2012-09-14 09:50 AM
I like it! Blow the horn, most of us should be up by that time anyways :)
COMMENT 319819	2012-09-14 09:58 AM
Better a conductor leaning on his horn to warn oncoming trains than a train to train collision on the same track. THAT would not only wake you up but the sonic boom from the impact would toss you out of bed. Hey Mitt, is that you?
COMMENT 319820	2012-09-14 09:58 AM
I thought I was dreaming the horn! Guess it wasn't fake! Didn't wake me, and I'm near the tracks on other side of the freeway...Ha! If the train and helicopters (mind you I live right next to Cottage) don't wake me, I wonder what will??? hahahaaaaaaaaaaa!
COMMENT 319825	2012-09-14 10:07 AM
756 I was waiting for it too.
COMMENT 319826	2012-09-14 10:08 AM
I've been on hold with customer relations for 20 minutes trying to complain/find out what was up, but I'm about ready to hang up. - Yea i'm giving up now!
SHOREBIRD	2012-09-14 10:12 AM
If there wasn't a good reason the engineer is a jerk. It woke me up as well.. I was also waiting for the sound of the crash. Expecting sirens to follow.
COMMENT 319833	2012-09-14 10:16 AM
It was Obama sneaking into the engineer's cab of his BHO re-election tour train ,,, he's always blowing his own horn !
COMMENT 319840	2012-09-14 10:20 AM
I have never heard it like that through the area and wondered if there was some type of emergency?
COMMENT 319844	2012-09-14 10:27 AM
good, i hope he was all over it as he went by the Bacara!
COMMENT 319849	2012-09-14 10:31 AM
Wanted to wake the dozing bums along the right-of-way.
COMMENT 319851	2012-09-14 10:36 AM
Hopefully those that are complaining have good reason to still be in bed at 6:30 am - I'm sure there is a logical reason for this horn issue - You be amazed what you can get accomplished by getting up a little early :)
COMMENT 319856	2012-09-14 10:43 AM
i live across from the bluffs in carpinteria and he was blowing his horn all the way through here as well.
COMMENT 319859	2012-09-14 10:55 AM
Heard it loud & clear up in San Roque.
COMMENT 319861	2012-09-14 10:59 AM
Woke me up, too, but I figured there must be something amiss and I just hoped everything turned out alright in the end. If 805 is right, that's pretty scary.
COMMENT 319768	2012-09-14 11:00 AM
There was a pack of wild pit bulls on the track.
COMMENT 319866	2012-09-14 11:05 AM
@851...not everyone here is elderly and up by 4AM. try staying up all night with a colicky baby, then get awakened by some train hazing prank...
COMMENT 319750	2012-09-14 11:05 AM
We live close to San Marcos High. Sounds like he tooted all the way from Carp to Goleta. Pretty clear that he was just playing with his tooter,
COMMENT 319871P	2012-09-14 11:16 AM
We had a very low inversion this morning-that may have made the horn sound louder than usual. On a another note, does anyone remember the engineer that would play songs with the train horn while coming through town?
COMMENT 319873	2012-09-14 11:16 AM
Playing with one's tooter in public is quite rude. I hope he is fined or at least reprimanded.
COMMENT 319874P	2012-09-14 11:17 AM
851 - I get up around 5:00 am and always have.... I do however know many people that, have babies and don't get much sleep, work night shifts, have illnesses etc...which leads them to sleep "odd" hours. Just try not to be so self righteous, ok?
COMMENT 319851	2012-09-14 11:21 AM
@851 - A few things - Am I Elderly? - No. 4am? I thought it was 630am - Baby keeping you up? Sorry about that - New parent? If you have kids, they are always going to keep you regardless of their age . An errant train horn blowing through our city is the least of your worries
COMMENT 319878	2012-09-14 11:21 AM
John Travolta hijacked the train and was hoping to get some ransom money. Denzel Washington was trying to save everybody too. At least that is what was showing on TV this morning when I turned it on.
COMMENT 319883	2012-09-14 11:25 AM
There is a cute story that I have heard many times is that there was a train conductor who had a girlfriend in Montcito/SB and he would toot his horn to say hi to her.... THEN THEY BROKE UP.... and he would then REALLY TOOT his horn to say @##$%@!!!
COMMENT 319889	2012-09-14 11:32 AM
I liked it!!
COMMENT 319908	2012-09-14 11:54 AM
40% of the worlds working population work swing or night shifts. The arrogance of day people is astonishing and believe me it was tough to be in that 40% We got no respect but we have to punch a time clock just the same. Did everyone posting miss 319805's explanation? If he is to be believed a malfunction in a visual warning system caused them to resort to an audible warning. Wake me to save lives once in a blue moon? No problem.
COMMENT 319779	2012-09-14 12:08 PM
I just happened to be suffering from an infection that leaves me feeling pretty sick. Yes I had to get up in the morning but that isn't the way I would like to be woken up. No I am not going to complain to pacific railroad but maybe you who suggests we should all be awake would like to be in someone else's shoes. Especially those who work the night shift. WOW.
COMMENT 319928	2012-09-14 12:16 PM
I was still in bed but in that morning dreamy state of mind. I could hear it clearly in San Roque. Made me think of old country blues songs.
COMMENT 319930	2012-09-14 12:21 PM
@851, YOU would be amazed what you can get done going to sleep late... Hee hee.
COMMENT 319770	2012-09-14 12:34 PM
We have a newborn. I got 3 hours sleep last night. The train woke me up. Shove it.
COMMENT 319944P	2012-09-14 12:36 PM
So let me get this straight. There was a malfunction in the visual warning system and so the horn was used instead. Rather than loose a little sleep, you would rather someone had been killed because there were no warning lights. Think things through before you sound off people.
COMMENT 319949	2012-09-14 12:43 PM
We heard it!
COMMENT 319856	2012-09-14 12:51 PM
@944P, you might want to take your own advice before sounding off. there's no confirmation that there was a malfunction in the visual warning system. that was just speculation. that's not the issue at all. what we're talking about here is a train that was almost constantly blowing its horn between goleta and carpinteria. as a news man, i've learned never to trust what you read on the internet. i've got a call into the head of western media relations for uprr and am waiting to hear back from him. sometimes it pays to get the story from the horse's mouth as opposed to getting it from posts on the internet. that's usually more like the other end of the horse!
COMMENT 319990P	2012-09-14 01:44 PM
I was sleeping so hard that while it woke me up too, I couldn't tell if it was going north or south.
COMMENT 319993	2012-09-14 01:50 PM
319908; 40% of the world's statistics are made up.
COMMENT 319997P	2012-09-14 01:56 PM
Hi There, I was the one who asked. I have to say I don't mind the sound of the train at all. But this was something different. It was continuous, and honestly it sounded like an emergency. I know I have watched way too many adventure movies. I thought it was being hijacked or something. Glad it wasn't anything like that.
COMMENT 319930	2012-09-14 01:59 PM
The reverberations of the air horn blasts were a result of a TSA agent giving the Train Conductor a pat down. Nothing serious folks, just making sure the rails are secure and safe for the common folk.
COMMENT 320004	2012-09-14 02:14 PM
I slept right through it.... haha.
COMMENT 319856	2012-09-14 02:14 PM
MYSTERY SOLVED!: i've had amtrak and uprr looking into this and i can now tell you what was going on. the amtrak pacific surfliner #768's horn was malfunctioning. that's why it was sounding almost continuously. it was repaired once it got down to ventura. from the horse's mouth to the news man's ear. you're welcome!
COMMENT 320007	2012-09-14 02:15 PM
Be assured it WAS an emergency. Trains are dangerous, and safety is the #1 priority of every train operator. Probably there was a braking problem, or speed regulation problem. It seemed to me the train was going faster than they usually do. Also, it was not AMTRAK, it was a freight train. Amtrak's horn has a jazzy sound.
COMMENT 320019	2012-09-14 02:35 PM
Bummer...I missed it... slept right through it...too bad...and...I live near the rail road tracks too! I love the sound of the train horn...makes me wonder what kind of sound dinosaurs might have made..Train whistle or horn blowing is a nice sound to my ears...
ROGER DODGER	2012-09-14 03:00 PM
@955 I feel that way about TV and newspapers it's all Bull Manure.
COMMENT 320094P	2012-09-14 04:29 PM
019, usually I would agree with you about the sound of a train's horn, but this was really obnoxious. It was so out of the ordinary that it woke me up and my cat jumped off the bed. We live near the Wake Center (ha!) and usually the trains are barely noticeable. Not this time!!! I felt like it was going to drive right through my head! It was as bad as our Monday morning wake up we get every other week from the Marbourg guys picking up the recycling at 6:20 right in front of our house. They stop to crush everything they have collected so far right in front of us. Our bedroom window faces the street. I hate recycling Mondays. This train horn was just as bad. Grrr. 005, who do we beleive, you or 805? You both sound like you have the straight scoop.
COMMENT 319856	2012-09-14 04:44 PM
094P, i'm 005. i spoke to both the media liaisons for both amtrak and union pacific this afternoon. they both did a lot of research before confirming the story. union pacific has no reports of any malfunctions of the visual warning system in our area, so 805 is just speculating and making it sound as if it's fact. amtrak confirmed that this morning's surfliner had a horn malfunction that wasn't repaired until it got down to ventura at about 7:23am. that's the scoop. end of story!
YIN YANG	2012-09-14 05:04 PM
Regarding which story to believe: KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid); Occam's Razor; look for horses not zebras. Generally, these principles work.
COMMENT 320123	2012-09-14 05:06 PM
Driving that train ,high on cocaine.
COMMENT 320128	2012-09-14 05:11 PM
Going off the rails like a crazy train. Doh! Horn was stuck
COMMENT 320131	2012-09-14 05:15 PM
Funny how 007 couldn't have been more wrong. Not criticizing but why should we "be assured" of that 007? Aren't you just speculating?
COMMENT 320155	2012-09-14 05:59 PM
I heard it also and I'm near the top of Cineguitas. Whenever its really foggy in the morning, the sound from the trains and even the harbor are very amplified.
COMMENT 319768	2012-09-14 06:58 PM
Homeless, gangs and pit bulls have ruined Santa Barbara. Trains are the least of our problems.
COMMENT 320175	2012-09-14 07:00 PM
Just wondering...do people generally dislike the sound of the fog horn at night too?
COMMENT 319861	2012-09-14 07:02 PM
Can you imagine being a passenger on that train and listening to the horn all that distance? :-}
COMMENT 320094P	2012-09-14 10:16 PM
106, 094P here. I wasn't berating you, I was legitimately asking who we should believe because you both sounded authoritative. I'm sorry you took my question the wrong way. It is really hard to tell sometimes when people are just saying stuff without really having the facts and when they actually do. Thanks for calling and finding out the straight scoop.
SANYSIDRO	2012-09-14 10:38 PM
I have to comment on this now that I know it was a horn malfunction. I totally feel for the train conductor now. My horn on my Honda Civic malfunctioned coming up San Ysidro once - it just wouldn't stop. I had to stop at the red light next to MUS... I just sat there with my hands waving in the air so people didn't think I was a complete JERK and I waved at a class full of little kids walking up the sidewalk... I kept going, and had to stop at the East Valley Rd light again, and then I drove all the way up to Montecito Village Automotive Repair behind the grocery store - feeling like SUCH A JERK the whole time - and they all came out to see what was going on and then laughed at me. (I didn't blame them.) Finally someone popped my hood and disengaged the horn. That is NOT the way you want to make an entrance. :-) But glad this mystery is solved - we heard it too.
COMMENT 320261P	2012-09-14 11:01 PM
I used to live on Cathedral Oaks by Fairview and one day the trains started honking REALLY early in the a.m. and finally enough people were annoyed and Barney B. Formerly of SBNP (remember back that far?), looked into it and actually published the same story as 883. No matter what the reason is I have to agree that it is annoying. I live in San Roque now and do not miss it a bit!
LOUWHO?	2012-09-15 03:11 AM
I love the fact that I can go to edhat and get the answer to anything I was wondering about in Santa Barbara - like an endless train whistle. Thanks OP 106 for getting the answer to our morning wake up call!
CORKY	2012-09-15 07:41 AM
I was waiting for a crash. It seemed to go on forever and not fade.
COMMENT 320302P	2012-09-15 07:50 AM
856: THANKS for providing the answer.
MADMAX	2012-09-15 08:19 AM
It was loud and Clear from the Mesa too!
MESAJIM	2012-09-15 02:22 PM
I came down from SLO on the Starlight last Sunday...we had to sit and wait in Goleta for almost half an hour until they determined that we also had a malfunctioning light issue. Conductor announced we'd be ”creeping along at a snail's pace for safety reasons”. Took us 1/2 an hour to get from Goleta to SB station. You would think something as serious and ongoing an issue as malfunctioning lights would be something they might want to get fixed before a collision occurs...
RICHBUSYWOMAN	2012-09-15 05:46 PM
So funny... Two things: one is, just the other day, someone commented that the thing (s) they liked about living in SB was the train whistle at night! And the second, the mystery SOL-VED reminds me of the VW Bus horn malfunction in "Little Miss Sunshine." I peed my pants laughing!
RICHBUSYWOMAN	2012-09-15 05:47 PM
BTW, I never heard a THING!!!!!
RICHBUSYWOMAN	2012-09-15 06:01 PM
@Mesajim... My daughter was held up on the way to SLO Thursday b/c of the rocket launch (and subsequent "searching of the tracks for debris") and was terribly late for a dentist appt ... When I called them and told them the "excuse," they were like, "Wow. You could not have made that up!!!"
COMMENT 321505P	2012-09-18 12:37 PM
I know this is old news, but I've been traveling since the event and still wanted to post my observations... I called 911 (others had already) because I was concerned for the public safety. It seemed to me either the engineer was either on drugs, or else disturbed and hostile—neither of which was good for anyone in front of that heavy projectile. I'm not confident in the credibility of the apparent official position that it was a whistle malfunction, for two reasons: 1) I was listening to the many repetitions and thought I detected variations in the timing; different pause lengths, etc. 2) I stopped by the Amtrak station at 8:20 to express my concern, and the agent didn't know what I was talking about. If it had been a malfunction lasting to Carp or even Ventura, it would have persisted thru the station stop—and how could that have escaped the notice of the office crew?

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