On Whistle-Blowers

A quick observation.

Workers working on tracks of Inokashira line are a common sight at my station. They thump the stones, bonk the tracks, pull the tubes, and generally behave in a normal workerish manner. And since they're working on the train tracks, they have frequent breaks.

Whenever the train comes, the foreman signals the crew with a loud whistle sound. It is a bit uncanny, since the foreman knows when the train is coming before the announcement is made. When they hear the signal, all the workers line up against the wall, hold their arm up as if greeting the train, but more often than not they drop it before the train comes. I suspect that is one of the little work safety rituals common here in Japan, like the station attendants pointing both ways to make sure the platform is secure.

However, one would think that a loud whistling sound would come from a whistle. The thing that sparked this observational post is that today was the first time I actually saw a whistle. A sub-foreman (is that even a word?) had one, and signaled the crewmen along with the foreman.

So if the foreman doesn't use a whistle to produce a whistling sound, what does he use?

The answer is, a special megaphone-like device, which emits a very cunning imitation of blowing a whistle when you press its trigger.

The thing is, the Amazing Whistling Bullhorn is not any louder than a real whistle (as I found out today), it doesn't sound much different, and it's definitely Bigger Than A Cat (okay, a kitten). [Those who don't know, Bigger Than A Cat is a reference unit of size for some of my friends and me, ever since childhood. It's no weirder than, say, "gallon", or "foot".] And it presumably needs batteries. So, why not use a whistle? Is a lo-tek whistle too lowly an instrument for a foreman? Or is it work conditions issue, protecting the poor foremen from employing their lungs too much? Or an union thing, seeing how whistle-blowing would be the only physical labour they would be doing - as apparently their job description is just observing how other people toil, and not toiling themselves?

Note to readers: I have no problem with the foremen, despite the slightly satirical tone of the post. Knowing a bit about how the Japanese system work, they have earned their apparently toilless office. Still, the whistle thing confounds me. Opinions?