A whistle post was installed along a railroad line about a quarter mile before a road crossing. It signaled the engineer to sound the train locomotive's horn, or whistle, as a warning that the train was approaching the crossing. This whistle post (the bottom half is broken off) was found along the old Peoria and Eastern Railroad, just east of Urbana, Illinois. Today, this stretch of old rail bed is part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District's brand new Kickapoo Rail Trail.