SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

i grew up about 3 blocks from the train station so i am VERY used to hearing the sounds of the train go by at night/during the day etc

our house now is about 1 block from the train tracks & its really not bad at all... on the weekends if i'm home all day i maybe hear it 3 times... at night during the week its about 2 times a night... but its a very quick "chugga chugga chugg" sound and its done lol

i've always wondered everyone elses thoughts since this seems to be right up there with living close to a main road....

ETA: the sound is not loud at all - its actually quite soft and muffled

Message edited 10/7/2008 1:24:05 PM.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I used to live in Mineola and the train went by about a block from my house, I grew up with it all my life, so you get used to it and don't even hear it after awhile.

I wouldn't not buy a house b/c I could hear the train from it. I wouldn't buy a house iwth the RR tracks right up against by back yard, for safety and aesthetic reasons.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I live about three blocks from the RR tracks and I love it! I have always loved trains, watching them, hearing them etc. DH is the same way, so when we found our house we were excited by the proximity to the train

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

DH and I both work in Manhattan, so being walking distance to the train station was a big plus for us when we were looking. That said, we would not want our yard to back RR tracks and we wouldn't want to be within a block of the train station.

We rented an apartment that was near the RR station (3 blocks) and we got used to the noise right away. It didn't bother us at all.

Right now, we're about a half mile from our train station. We walk to and from the train year-round, but we cannot hear it from our house. It's the perfect situation for us.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I grew up in a house that was a few blocks away from LIRR. It really didn't bother me at all.

Now where i live Amtrak tracks are seriously 25 ft from my kids bedroom, yes I seriously hate them only because the conductor are horn happy. The freight trains shake the whole house, that's not too bad, it's the horn!

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

We bought in Massapequa where the tracks are elevated - We're about 4 blocks from the station, which is ideal for us working in the city, we easily walk to the train .....Sometimes at night you can hear the 'ding dong' of the doors opening/closing .......but that's about all ......Noise like that doesn't really bother me, I used to sleep in NYC w/ the windows wide open !!

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

We're walking distance to the train and it doesn't bother us. However, I wouldn't buy a house with the tracks right next to it because it is very loud.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I lived in Oakdale for almost ten years & the tracks were a few hundred feet behind my across the street neighbors backyards. There was a dense wooded buffer, but it was a townhouse community so the yards weren't very big.
When the newer trains first started running the whistles were deafening, and because the tracks crossed locust ave they blew several times a day. Luckily the over 55 community very close by protested & they changed the pitch of the whistle very quickly.
Once in a great while pictures on my walls would vibrate slightly, but overall I found the sound soothing & it never bothered me at all.
My stepdaughter lived in a house with the tracks in her backyard & it was really loud. If I was on the phone with her we'd have to stop talking until the train went by.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

DH and I live under the direct flight path to JFK LOL when people are in our backyard and planes pass, they duck!

because of this we would definitely have NO problem living with train noise, traffic noise, plane noise bc we know that we would get used to it

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I grew up 3 blocks from the train tracks too and it never bothered me either. And like someone said in the other post about traffic, my mom always said my brother and I are great sleepers b/c of growing up so close to the tracks.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I also grew up right next to train tracks and close to an airport. Doesn't even bother me. lol, I do however think it's very interesting that when someone asked about living close to a main road yesterday almost every poster was dead set against it, but no one really seems to mind living next to train tracks.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

Posted by Lake0703

I also grew up right next to train tracks and close to an airport. Doesn't even bother me. lol, I do however think it's very interesting that when someone asked about living close to a main road yesterday almost every poster was dead set against it, but no one really seems to mind living next to train tracks.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

i am literally one block from the Elevated train in lindenhurst. i NEVER grew up near the train and thought that it was going to really bother me. but, it doesn't. i am very shocked to say that even now, 5 years later!

i definitely wouldn't rule it out!

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

We live in an apartment about one block from the train station right now. The trains go by and we can hear the horns/vibrations. It's not that bad..but some people live RIGHT ACCROSS from the tracks...that must be rough.

Message edited 10/8/2008 4:21:43 PM.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I'm near the train and don't even hear it. I grew up in with it nearby, so it was never an issue.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

Posted by MeeshMosh

Posted by Lake0703

I also grew up right next to train tracks and close to an airport. Doesn't even bother me. lol, I do however think it's very interesting that when someone asked about living close to a main road yesterday almost every poster was dead set against it, but no one really seems to mind living next to train tracks.

yes that is ery interesting!!

Message edited 10/9/2008 5:31:10 AM.

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

Posted by Goobster

Posted by MeeshMosh

Posted by Lake0703

I also grew up right next to train tracks and close to an airport. Doesn't even bother me. lol, I do however think it's very interesting that when someone asked about living close to a main road yesterday almost every poster was dead set against it, but no one really seems to mind living next to train tracks.

yes that is ery interesting!!

B/c trains don't come by every minute, of every hour. But busy roads are often busy all day. The two are very different. I am a few blocks from the train and I never hear it. What bugs me are the cars that pass my home b/c that is much more frequent. KWIM?

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

I used to live in an apartment in Philly right by train tracks and it was LOUD and the trains went by so many times, it was right by a major train station. I did get used to it, but whenever DH (then just my boyfriend!) was staying over he would always wake up and complain about it...

Re: SPINOFF to traffic noise: what about train tracks?

Really close train tracks would have been a deal breaker for me. i like to be able to hear the train from a very far distance.

There are actually quite a few houses in my town on the market right now that have been sitting for so long because they are right up against the train tracks.