Hey Ernie,
Good to see you back on here, it seems we were missing you for a while...
The only point in your post that I am going to disagree with is that the engineers were blowing the horn excessively. I'm a locomotive engineer and I can tell you, we don't have a choice. We will get in trouble for blowing too much or for blowing too little. And not just in trouble with the company but also the Federal Railroad Administration and the Public Utilities Commission, both of which have the power to levy big fines on us for failure to comply. The law says that the train must sound the horn for a minimum of 15 seconds but not more than 20 seconds before the crossing. The pattern and cadence must be a correct "long-long-short-long" and that pattern be prolonged or repeated until the train is completely through the crossing. The loudness is not variable, it's just an on-off button. Anyway, I'm just sayin' that they're probably just doing their job. Time them with a stopwatch and see... If they regularly blow more than 20 seconds, a complaint would probably get pleasant results.
If enough people hate the horn as much as you, your town can make the crossing a "no whistle zone" for the trains, but your town must pay for the crossing upgrades on it's own.... Concrete medians and 4-quadrant gates so it is impossible for cars to go around. Well, I guess than may not be practical for a town of 249 people....
Jon