Doc Searls talks about living near a busy railroad [link is gone]. Since Mulliken’s original reason for existence was the Pere Marquette rail line, we have the same issue. It’s rarely bothered me….
It seems that Doc has more soundings to cope with, though. This little town’s only got two rail/road crossings, so eight tones — dah dah dih dah || dah dah dih dah — do the trick. The fascinating thing, to me, is the variety–of the locomotive horns, and of the styles of the folks sounding the horns. Always the same short song, but so many ways to carry the tune.