TRAIN WHISTLES: A Language in Code

On modern railroads, train crews also talk to each other by radio or telephone,"" Sattler allows toward the end of this illustrated glossary of toots and woooos. But if you have the chance to watch trains go by you can still hear that whistle blow--and now you'll know how to read the different combinations of blasts. Sattler takes a typical train through a number of situations that call for whistled messages, and for convenience she repeats them all in an appended list: three short blasts mean the train is backing up, one long means the train is coming to the station, and there are others warning people off the track, dispatching the flagman or calling him back, etc. Indispensable knowledge for the train buff, even if (s)he only applies it on the toy track at home.