Anybody live near a railroad track?

[RochesterRob]

  Going through a town after getting tires for my pickup.  Went over a track and notice the one house along the street could not be more than 15 feet from the track.  Being at a street crossing the train by law has to blow its whistle which would have to be deafening at 15 feet.  Further, there were younger kids playing outside with little in the way of a yard.  Hopefully, they have a good healthy fear of a locomotive as it passes through versus playing inches away from the track.  There was a story in the news a while back about a home owner whose property butts up against a railroad track.  The owner had moved there recently and got it into his head that the railroad track there was not active so he parks things like his boat tight to the tracks.  Long story made short is train passes through during the night so the engineer does not see the boat so edge of boat closest to the tracks gets hit creating 2-3 thousand dollars worth of damage.  Interesting to me as there are still plenty of railroad tracks across WNY and even though you may never see a train at a given crossing but if you sit there long enough you will see a train pass through.

[plenzmd1]

I do not live close, but close enough that I can hear the train come through at night.What surprises me though is the nicest and most desirable neighborhoods of whats called the near West End and the West End Of Richmond sit right along the tracks.

I mean I hear the trains at 3AM and I am 3/4 mile away..there is a neighborhood filled with $1.5M + homes that sits truly right nest to the tracks...how they hell they sleep every night is beside me.

 

But they are right next to the most exclusive CC golf course..so maybe that is the draw.

[WhoTom]

When my wife and I were dating, she lived at the end of a dead end street that had a RR track next to it. Took me a few weeks before I realized that the earth-shaking sex was actually a train going by. ?

 

 

[The Poojer]

Live across the street from the SEPTA/Amtrak line

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

I used to live near train tracks in Rochester on Blossom Road and close to them in Morrisville NC. 

 

You actually get get used to it after a few months and sleep through the 2AM whistles. 

[Mr Info]

I used to live along the tracks in a historic house in a historic town. It was an active Amtrak and CSX line. It was too noisy for me but a beautiful house and nice neighborhood. I ended up selling that house and moving two blocks away from the tracks because I really like the town. I no longer experince the noise issue but have the convenience of an Amtrak station within walking distance. 

[WhoTom]

23 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

I used to live near train tracks in Rochester on Blossom Road and close to them in Morrisville NC. 

 

You actually get get used to it after a few months and sleep through the 2AM whistles. 

 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/a8aaf87f-fe8a-4e58-9697-bc09b49b5d87

 

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by WhoTom

[707BillsFan]

We VRBO'd a house in Fairport, NY that had the canal across the street. Across the canal were the train tracks. Didn't think anything of it....until 3am came around, every dang night. Wonderful house. Great location. I don't know how people do it night in and night out. Train horn blowing @ 3am. I wonder if engineer who drives the train has a little smile on his face whenever he does that so early.

 

On a side note....trains have long left our area. We now have a commuter train that runs from 6am to midnight. Certain areas (neighborhoods where these trains go thru) have been designated quiet areas so they can't blow the whistle while travelling thru. 

[/dev/null]

2 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

Interesting to me as there are still plenty of railroad tracks across WNY and even though you may never see a train at a given crossing but if you sit there long enough you will see a train pass through.

 

23 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

On a side note....trains have long left our area. We now have a commuter train that runs from 6am to midnight. Certain areas (neighborhoods where these trains go thru) have been designated quiet areas so they can't blow the whistle while travelling thru. 

 

Commuter trains are rare across the United States.  Most trains these days are freight trains transporting goods from ports along the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi River to the interior of the country to distribution points where they are moved to air or truck

[RochesterRob]

28 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

We VRBO'd a house in Fairport, NY that had the canal across the street. Across the canal were the train tracks. Didn't think anything of it....until 3am came around, every dang night. Wonderful house. Great location. I don't know how people do it night in and night out. Train horn blowing @ 3am. I wonder if engineer who drives the train has a little smile on his face whenever he does that so early.

 

On a side note....trains have long left our area. We now have a commuter train that runs from 6am to midnight. Certain areas (neighborhoods where these trains go thru) have been designated quiet areas so they can't blow the whistle while travelling thru. 

  Interesting.  I've been through Fairport and have crossed the area you mention a few times.  Nice town.  My understanding is that crossing procedure is set by the feds and the engineers have very limited discretion concerning crossings.  I'm glad they blow the whistle even at the most remote crossings as sometimes that is the only warning you get as they approach.  I think the feds raised the standards in terms of lighting at crossings but I don't think every crossing has warning lights even in 2018.  I've been fascinated with trains since I got my Lionel set as a kid.  A little disappointed as a kid since I got a Santa Fe locomotive instead of an area line but grew to like it.  One Erie RR car in the set on the other hand.

[Mr Info]

2 hours ago, Mr Info said:

I used to live along the tracks in a historic house in a historic town. It was an active Amtrak and CSX line. It was too noisy for me but a beautiful house and nice neighborhood. I ended up selling that house and moving two blocks away from the tracks because I really like the town. I no longer experince the noise issue but have the convenience of an Amtrak station within walking distance. 

I forgot to add some info to my reply after I saw the communication between @707BillsFan& @RochesterRob

 

The town I live in has a restriction of 30 mph for all trains (Amtrak & CSX) thru the town. In addition, there is a restriction on train audio whistles/horns thru the town but unsure of the exact wording of that restriction.

[RochesterRob]

18 minutes ago, Mr Info said:

I forgot to add some info to my reply after I saw the communication between @707BillsFan& @RochesterRob

 

The town I live in has a restriction of 30 mph for all trains (Amtrak & CSX) thru the town. In addition, there is a restriction on train audio whistles/horns thru the town but unsure of the exact wording of that restriction.

  I believe 30 MPH is the default speed for populated areas concerning trains but most routes have precise speed ratings for every mile along the way.  I was told before the speed reduction on the old Portage trestle (Letchworth Park) that some engineers were unnerved by the height and crossed considerably under the designated speed.  This can create a problem if that train needs to be out of the area so another can pass through shortly thereafter.  

[Buffalo716]

3 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  Going through a town after getting tires for my pickup.  Went over a track and notice the one house along the street could not be more than 15 feet from the track.  Being at a street crossing the train by law has to blow its whistle which would have to be deafening at 15 feet.  Further, there were younger kids playing outside with little in the way of a yard.  Hopefully, they have a good healthy fear of a locomotive as it passes through versus playing inches away from the track.  There was a story in the news a while back about a home owner whose property butts up against a railroad track.  The owner had moved there recently and got it into his head that the railroad track there was not active so he parks things like his boat tight to the tracks.  Long story made short is train passes through during the night so the engineer does not see the boat so edge of boat closest to the tracks gets hit creating 2-3 thousand dollars worth of damage.  Interesting to me as there are still plenty of railroad tracks across WNY and even though you may never see a train at a given crossing but if you sit there long enough you will see a train pass through.

 

Yes I live within a half mile of th tracks.

 

i hear the train whistles at night 

[Marv's Neighbor]

If Richmond airport is in a north traffic flow, we're under 2 approach paths.  That's OK because they're slowing down anyway.  If they reverse to a South flow, no noise because they have mostly climbed and turned toward their assigned headings.

 

I grew up in S Buffalo.  We were there when they built I-90, late 50's,  and I could hear the trucks at night, during the summer.  That was great when I was a kid but now we're in another city, and very close to I-295, and that's a pain in the as*. 

 

In S Buffalo, we were also under the Rwy 5 approach.  Very similar situation.  NE traffic flow, we could hear/see the planes, SW traffic flow no noise.  In both locations we had some distant RR noise, but never a problem.  Growing up in S Buffalo, there was always distant train noise.

[billsfanmiami(oh)]

The company I work for is a railroad contractor and we do work on 6 of the 7 clsss ones, as well as a number of short lines. I’ve traversed thousands of miles of track over the years.

 

It’s true that the majority of crossings are “unprotected” (no gates or flashers). It costs a ton of money to outfit a crossing with gates or flashers and to maintain it. There will always be lots of rural crossings that only have a crossbuck sign. 

 

As for speeds it’s really more dependent on the engineering of the track and geography of the area than just population proximity. There’s lots of track out there that’s 60 mph freight and 80 mph Amtrak very close to heavy populated areas. Of course there are also plenty of speed restricted areas through major metropolitan areas. 

 

Engineers get into deep **** if they’re caught speeding even 1 mph over the max speed for that segment of track. Most likely taken out of service immediately. Also, if they’re traveling significantly slower than track speed for some reason, the dispatchers will get on them pretty quickly. 

 

 

[Misterbluesky]

5 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

I used to live near train tracks in Rochester on Blossom Road and close to them in Morrisville NC. 

 

You actually get get used to it after a few months and sleep through the 2AM whistles. 

Our son lives in Morrisville,he loves it down there.

[That's No Moon]

5 hours ago, The Poojer said:

Live across the street from the SEPTA/Amtrak line

Did not realize the Pooj was a Mainline fellow.  You're right in the neighborhood of the spurned woman murder/suicide a couple weeks back.

43 minutes ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

 Also, if they’re traveling significantly slower than track speed for some reason, the dispatchers will get on them pretty quickly. 

Because they are jamming up the traffic.

[Golden Goat]

Growing up, I had a few friend who lived in Woodside, Queens. The #7 train was literally 30 feet from their row house window and passed every 7 minutes. It deafened me; They claimed they slept like babies. 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2018 by Golden Goat

[row_33]

Grandparents home was across the street from a major railway line, would be scared awake by it every hour

 

great grandparents had their house beside the 401, noise barriers and protective fencing wasn’t installed until the 1980s. Could hear every transport truck going by.

 

[RochesterRob]

1 hour ago, billsfanmiami(oh) said:

The company I work for is a railroad contractor and we do work on 6 of the 7 clsss ones, as well as a number of short lines. I’ve traversed thousands of miles of track over the years.

 

It’s true that the majority of crossings are “unprotected” (no gates or flashers). It costs a ton of money to outfit a crossing with gates or flashers and to maintain it. There will always be lots of rural crossings that only have a crossbuck sign. 

 

As for speeds it’s really more dependent on the engineering of the track and geography of the area than just population proximity. There’s lots of track out there that’s 60 mph freight and 80 mph Amtrak very close to heavy populated areas. Of course there are also plenty of speed restricted areas through major metropolitan areas. 

 

Engineers get into deep **** if they’re caught speeding even 1 mph over the max speed for that segment of track. Most likely taken out of service immediately. Also, if they’re traveling significantly slower than track speed for some reason, the dispatchers will get on them pretty quickly. 

 

 

  I cross an unprotected crossing when I have to go to a certain business.  It's out in the sticks and the crossing is pretty well blind from the south due to vegetation other than the pavement of the road.  I always stop as a person is supposed to and one time although I can normally hear the rumbling and/or see the exhaust of the locomotive I did not see or hear anything.  I inch towards the track and the locomotive is maybe 100 feet away and lays on the whistle.  I was where I was supposed to be but if I had decided to blow through who knows what might have happened.