Concerns living near train tracks?

[jeromedawg]

Does anyone here have experience living near train tracks? A place we're looking at is prob 500-600' away with about 5-6 homes and a couple streets in between for some buffer. The tracks are somewhat 'recessed' in kind of a valley too so there aren't really any crossings close by as the neighborhood area is roughly between two overpasses that the trains would travel under. I don't think this is as bad as living 500-600' from a major freeway. Most of the trains are commuter trains but I think there are some freight trains passing through overnight too. The home has double paned windows. Just curious what peoples' experiences are.

[norajean]

It could range from no issue to a living nightmare. If the freight trains blow their horn at every crossing all night it could be hell. We had a place two miles from the trains in Texas and heard them 2am, 3am, etc.  You need to talk to neighbors in the area.

[Dollar Slice]

Yeah - train noise never bothered me, except for the horns. If you're near a crossing where they have to honk their horns every time they come through, it would be a bit much. But it really depends on you - my dad would go nuts if he lived where he could hear trains or traffic. He used to complain about "highway noise" that I didn't notice at all (just a very slight distant whooshing sound), and I consider myself to be very noise-sensitive. Different noises will bother different people. I hate the sound of truck and motorcycle engines, for example, but trains don't bother me at all.

I would try to spend some time there and see what it actually sounds like before making a decision.

[AccidentialMustache]

I can't comment on that close. We're ~2000 feet from a rail line, mostly freight traffic (because let's be real most rail line traffic in the US is freight). There's a level crossing about 1.5 miles S/SE. We hear the horns but they are not loud or particularly annoying. With the windows closed we hear the horn but not much train rumble. With them open the rumble becomes a lot clearer. No distinct ca-klack ca-klack, just a low rumble like thunder in the distance.

Our previous home we could barely hear the horns and it was about 3 miles NE from the same crossing. You might hear the rumble on a perfectly still and silent night, with the windows open, and no traffic or stereos.

The trains in general are less annoying than the "look at my big ass / loud car / truck / motorbike / penis proxy" crew at the nearby (100 feet) stop sign -- but we're also a lot further from the train than you would be. YMMV.

[Morning Glory]

You get used to trains. We have them at the back of our property, maybe 1/4 mile from the house. I'm extra sensitive to noise and they don't bother me. The harleys bother me more. In the past I have lived within 200ft of train tracks and it didn't bother me much. It probably depends on how well your house is insulated too.

[Linea_Norway]

I used to live close enough to a train track to hear the horn before it passed the crossing. We were far enough away that this wasn't bothering us. You get used to it and know that the train is on schedule (we used to commute by train).
We had a friend who lived right beside the track. When the train passed, their windows would shake. So think about the vibrations. When I visited them, I was shocked about a train almost driving through their living room. But they were used to it. Only when the train company closed our train station and the train drove past with higher speed, using the horn much closer to their house, it became too loud for them.

With lots of freight trains, you should also consider whether they transport anything dangerous, like chemicals. Trains sometimes get accidents and spill their contents. Although this concern would be at least as big on a motorway with trucks. Passing freight trains are often very long and make more noise passing then a passenger train, in my experience, because they are so heavy.

[Imma]

Yes, we live pretty close to two train tracks, and we hardly hear the commuter trains (I think 16 per hour on each track) but we do hear the freight trains. They don't sound their horns here because we live in the city, but there is a distant rumble. I didn't grow up near a train station, so when I first moved here I did hear the train, especially at night, but now I don't hear it. I got used to it within weeks. It's much better than living close to a main road.

[Paper Chaser]

There are a bunch of different factors here. Size and speed of the train can have huge impacts on noise levels. Train horns are loud, and carry pretty far. Our house is about half a mile from a train crossing and if we're really paying attention, I can hear the train just rolling down the tracks from inside our house. That's before they blow their horn for the crossing. But we also live in a sparsely populated, flat, rural area so the sound waves have a pretty easy path to us, and there's not a lot of base level noise that might hide the trains. It's also a house built in the 60s, and probably could use some improvements to insulation/air sealing/sound proofing.

So terrain, obstacles in between you and the trains, size/speed of the trains, and quality of construction all come into play with the noise levels.

[Metalcat]

I used to live close enough to a train track to hear the horn before it passed the crossing. We were far enough away that this wasn't bothering us. You get used to it and know that the train is on schedule (we used to commute by train).
We had a friend who lived right beside the track. When the train passed, their windows would shake. So think about the vibrations. When I visited them, I was shocked about a train almost driving through their living room. But they were used to it. Only when the train company closed our train station and the train drove past with higher speed, using the horn much closer to their house, it became too loud for them.

With lots of freight trains, you should also consider whether they transport anything dangerous, like chemicals. Trains sometimes get accidents and spill their contents. Although this concern would be at least as big on a motorway with trucks. Passing freight trains are often very long and make more noise passing then a passenger train, in my experience, because they are so heavy.

This.

I grew up with a tourist steam train that ran about 500ft from my house and blew it's very, very loud horn right out front at the intersection. It was extremely loud and shook the whole house. It only ran twice a day, but that meant 4 times blaring past my house, and it was awful. Train horns are not a short blast.

I then moved further down the track, and a little further away from the track with trees between my house and the train, and I barely noticed it because there was no intersection, so no horn, just a mild rumble a few times a day.

So yeah, it depends on how close you are, how much buffer there is, how many trains run daily, and if it's a spot where the horn is normally used. Oh, and would the train mess with any intersections you might use daily for work. I briefly worked at a clinic right behind a train track, and some of the trains had so many cars that they could make me late for work as I waited for them to pass.

[dcheesi]

I grew up with pretty much exactly the scenario you describe (except a bit closer), and we were totally used to it. One year at Xmas we had bunch of in-laws' kids, SOs, etc. over, and at one point they all perked up and started asking "what's that noise?". To a one, every single member of my immediate family responded with "...what noise?"

[theoverlook]

I lived in an apartment that overlooked an at-grade train crossing. The first night I did not sleep a wink and thought I'd made a horrible mistake. The second night I slept through every train and horn, and never really noticed it again. I don't think it would be great as a "grown up" to do it, but you'll get used to almost anything. How far away is the closest level crossing, so how noisy is the horn from the house?

[srad]

+1 for talking to the neighbors.  Would be good to know how often it comes by and how loud it is. 

Also, what does the market say?  How much of a discount are you getting buying a home this close to the tracks vs one maybe 5 blocks away?

My first house was on a double yellow lined, 30 mph, residential through street.  It was cheaper than the other homes in the neighborhood that weren't on the street by around 10% (which is why i bought it).  Turns out I am noise sensitive, I didn't realize the noise would bug me as much, I sold it as soon as I hit the 2 year mark..

[StarBright]

I'm two blocks from a crossing. We get several freight trains through a day.

After a few weeks I didn't hear it anymore.

It drives my in-laws nuts when they visit though.

[Duke03]

I'm with everyone else that agrees in a matter of a few days you won't even hear the noise.  My issue and please bare with me is it comes to safety.  Train tracks are like magnets to some people and especially kids.  If you have kids please put the fear of god into them about never going near or playing on or by the tracks...  One more thing take note of quick exit routes from your house leading away from the tracks and make sure your cell phone number is registered with the local government safety organization in case there is ever a derailment.  Not sure what part of the country you are in but take note of which way the wind normally blows at night time and during the day and how it changes with the seasons.  This could very well save your family's lives one day.  I'm not trying to scare anyone that lives near a train track, but you need to realized that railroads ship the most dangerous chemicals known to man.  The government forces them to ship it by rail because it's safer than trucking it down the highway.  Safer does not mean accidents never happen and heaven forbid a hazmat derailment ever happens near your home every second will count getting your family as far away from the tracks and up wind as quickly as you can. 

[YttriumNitrate]

My house is about 3000 feet from a busy rail cooridoor with four sets of tracks (two light commuter rail and two freight). With the windows open I can hear the "A Train is approaching the station" warning being played. I've lived here over four years and had basically completely tuned out the trains ... until I read this thread a few days ago and now I'm hearing them again. Ugh. 🤨

[DadJokes]

It could range from no issue to a living nightmare. If the freight trains blow their horn at every crossing all night it could be hell. We had a place two miles from the trains in Texas and heard them 2am, 3am, etc.  You need to talk to neighbors in the area.

Agreed

We lived maybe a mile from train tracks, and there was one train that would come through 2am or so daily and blare his horn nonstop for a full 15 seconds. Every intersection had arms that dropped down, so it was entirely unnecessary to do that so excessively. Fuck that guy.

Personally, I would never want to live closer than that to tracks again.