It's almost like your house was cheap because it was somewhere nobody else wanted to live.

Wah.

I saw the episode of American Restoration where Rick moved to the new shop.

Next to the rail line.

Maybe okay for a restoration shop, but it's going to piss off the camera crew. Next season will have a running gag of loud train horns interrupting the recording.

I like hearing the trains. I couldn't stand living next to a freeway or airport flight path though. that'd just put me on the crazy train

Inglewood. Inglewood, always up to no good.

I moved next to an air force base and the jet noise bothers me, who do I piss and moan to?

On the other hand, the article says that operations have doubled at the trainyard recently. It's kind of like moving in next to an airport for small planes and then having it turned into a delta regional hub. Not only is it noisier, it further lowered their property values.

"Inglewood and the Alyth yards have lived together, you know, as neighbours for a hundred years. We have to figure out how we mitigate that relationship for the next hundred years and what measures we have to take," Carra said.

Here's an idea: condemn the houses, flatten them, and make sure no residential structure is ever erected there again.

I grew up within a block of a busy freight railway line, and about two miles from the local speedway.

Not only am I used to loud ambient noises, I kind of miss hearing them.

Disapproves

Turn the area into low cost housing for deaf people.....

And the trains go "Woo woooooooooooo!"

The HOA for the community my father-in-law lives in started complaining about noise from trains, even though the tracks were there long before the community. The only effect it had was to piss of the train companies enough that it ensured they blew their horns every time they rode by the community. When the HOA complained about the horns the train companies told them it was for safety since there was a community so close to the tracks they had to make sure no one was on the tracks.

my gun range is130 beautiful acres in what used to be a rural farming area when it was founded in 1935.

Around 30 years ago they started building a development. Now the place is ringed in on all sides by Mcmansions owned by idiots who bought a house next to a gun range and get upset about a the distant sound of gunfire on the weekends. FFS the giant sign for the range is right beside the entrance to the development.

This is like some retirees who bought a house in this here college town, right along the main drag between the campus housing and the bar scene. They then proceeded to try to get new noise ordinances drawn up which failed to pass, of course.

Idiots :)

I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

I live next door to a grade school. The school was built in the 70's. A neighbor tried to get us all to sign a petition to get the school to have indoor recess because she works nights and needs to sleep during the day. She didn't get a single signature - well, except her own, I suppose.

JRoo: I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

If only you had the balls.

Not In My Back Yard!

JRoo: I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

angry much?

its a federal law

MrEricSir: It's almost like your house was cheap because it was somewhere nobody else wanted to live.

Keep thinking that. I've seen places going for 400k that were a couple hundred feet from a RR crossing.

I used to live in an apartment that faced an elevated train line. For the first two weeks or so, I didn't sleep more than an hour or two at a shot; it was miserable. Then it was like someone turned off a light switch, and after that I wouldn't even notice the train if I wasn't looking out my window.

All the same, I didn't renew the lease on that place. Not because of the train, but because it was in a pretty shady neighborhood and I was tired of having my bike stolen every month like clockwork.

9beers: MrEricSir: It's almost like your house was cheap because it was somewhere nobody else wanted to live.

Keep thinking that. I've seen places going for 400k that were a couple hundred feet from a RR crossing.

They built condos looking over train tracks in my town that were selling for 500k a few years back. They've dropped a little since then, but seriously. It's not the weirdest thing. Some people will pay for the location if the train noise doesn't bother them.

I love how they need to do a study on this, as if the entire situation is not bleedingly obvious.

JRoo: I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

Guess you don't want to be around for this. WDW Railroad and Liberty Belle whistle exchange. (new window)

This is the best link I can find of the exchange. The person recording it was at the stern of the Belle which is the noisiest place to be because of the paddle wheel (which really makes the boat go) and the engines (which are real steam)

JRoo: I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

You sound steamed.

Robo Beat: I used to live in an apartment that faced an elevated train line. For the first two weeks or so, I didn't sleep more than an hour or two at a shot; it was miserable. Then it was like someone turned off a light switch, and after that I wouldn't even notice the train if I wasn't looking out my window.

There are protocols in place that allow a railroad crossing to be a silent crossing. Problem is, it costs a lot of money for the equipment so most communities can't afford it.

Hey, my neighbourhood made Fark!

I live about a dozen blocks from these folks, never hear any of this. I do have a single rail line about 3 blocks from the house and I am right under one of the airport runway approaches. Of the two, the plane noise is worse. But only in certain kinds of weather.

Meh, I knew this was a noisy neighbourhood. But it is a fantastic location - near downtown, the river park, quick drive to work. Walkable / bikeable to all sorts of entertainment and restaurants.

No neighbourhood is perfect, would rather have this than drive 45 mins from the suburbs to anywhere interesting.

Oh, and the alderman lives at the end of my block.

I'm curious: why do they choo-choose to live there still? There must be a better way to conduct business. Surely it's not too hard to engineer some sound dampening?

The way things are going, railty prices are gonna hit rock bottom.

I grew up across the street from a train yard. I totally miss the sound of cars coupling and decoupling.

The same thing happens with airports and shooting ranges. A developer buys cheap land next to a noise source, builds houses, and sells them to stupid people happy to "save" some money. The stupid people then complain, pretending they had no idea they were moving in next to a noise source, and demand it be closed.

9beers: Keep thinking that. I've seen places going for 400k that were a couple hundred feet from a RR crossing.

That price sounds about right for San Francisco. Same price for tsunami zone and freeway overpass views.

Tabletop: On the other hand, the article says that operations have doubled at the trainyard recently. It's kind of like moving in next to an airport for small planes and then having it turned into a delta regional hub. Not only is it noisier, it further lowered their property values.

Yeah, it sounds like they actually do have something of a beef.

Robo Beat: I used to live in an apartment that faced an elevated train line. For the first two weeks or so, I didn't sleep more than an hour or two at a shot; it was miserable. Then it was like someone turned off a light switch, and after that I wouldn't even notice the train if I wasn't looking out my window.

Yeah, it's surprising what we can learn to tune out. My wife grew up with eternal traffic horns and she sleeps right through them now despite being a very light sleeper in general.

chairborne: my gun range is130 beautiful acres in what used to be a rural farming area when it was founded in 1935.

Around 30 years ago they started building a development. Now the place is ringed in on all sides by Mcmansions owned by idiots who bought a house next to a gun range and get upset about a the distant sound of gunfire on the weekends. FFS the giant sign for the range is right beside the entrance to the development.


My redneck uncle is dealing with the same bullshiat. He bought a shiat-box house 10-15 years ago, 15 miles from the city limits and probably 5 miles away from (and well out of sight of) anyone else in the world. He piled up his land with crappy busted up cars and old appliances and shiat and all the other crap rednecks love.

Then, slowly but surely, these fancy subdivisions creeped their way towards him, till now there's a whole street full of houses that run up to within a 1/3rd of a mile or so...truly a stone's throw... and now all these people who saw his house and crappy yard fully on display well before signing on the dotted line, now they keep trying to get someone to oust him and/or make him clear off his property.

I don't like it when people move near a train tracks, airports, military bases and then start acting all NIMBYish over something that has been around for years. There are a few of those where I live who complain about the military base they live next to. They whine in the local media and then the military PR mumbles a few "Okay we hear you." and more or less go on about their business.

My grandparent's home is under a busy flight path and they lived there almost as long as the airport has been operating. When planes were louder it was kind of annoying when talking on the phone otherwise no problem. I also lived near a train yard and had no problems either. I liked living near the train yard, the noise of the trains passing was quiet comforting.

JRoo: I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

This is for you (new window)

It's easy to blame the homeowners, but the story isn't always as clear-cut. I work in downtown (the Pearl District) Portland, OR, next to the train tracks. A few years ago, all these residential towers sprung up around the train tracks, where before there were fields or old dilapidated buildings. The trains went from the standard 3-5 short toots to these ridiculously long horn blows (to the point where you couldn't carry on a conversation inside the building), especially late at night; one time we counted and a single train blew its horn 22 times leaving the station. They would start an eighth of a mile back and blow the horn until the train was well past the intersection. There was no reason other than to piss off the tenants.

When the neighborhood got together and got the area designated a quiet zone, the train company predicted a rash of injuries and fatalities, but, since the trains are only going about 5 mph when they enter the intersection, no one has been mowed down yet.

JRoo: I wish I could murder as slowly as possible every motherfarker who has ever blown a train whistle.

Suck it! (new window)

Bennie Crabtree: I love how they need to do a study on this, as if the entire situation is not bleedingly obvious.

I suspect the conclusion of the 'study' will be "fark you, put a pillow over your head."

In a stunning case of Fark commentators completely mis-reading the article, it has been revealed that the problem is not that the rail yard is noisy, it's that it's suddenly become twice as noisy as it has been for the last 100 years.

I live two communities over. It has, in about a months time, become unbearable, and I'm 1.5km from the yard. It was never even audible before, now the trains sit there in high idle for hours at a time. It's farking lame, I was one of the douches who complained to the city. It was really nice before, I love trains and their noises... but this... this isn't cool. I shouldn't be hearing this much noise over a km away. Not cool, CP, not cool.

Tabletop: On the other hand, the article says that operations have doubled at the trainyard recently. It's kind of like moving in next to an airport for small planes and then having it turned into a delta regional hub. Not only is it noisier, it further lowered their property values.

Economic growth. How does it work? Seriously. It's like buying a house next to an airport thinking "surely the airport will never get bigger."
I'm not saying the changes made things worse than what people expected, but only that they should have had better expectations of what could be if train traffic got worse. It's a bit of more predictable phenomenon than things like crime and drugs. A train railway runs through your city, expect train noise. If train traffic increases, expect more train noise.

we_put_the_corn_in_cornhole: There was no reason other than to piss off the tenants.

Why were the conductors so mad at the residents? Serious inquiry.

/used to take the train from 205 into downtown.
//gained 25 pounds off Thai street cart food at 9th and Alder

Omahawg: I like hearing the trains. I couldn't stand living next to a freeway or airport flight path though. that'd just put me on the crazy train

I grew up by the tracks. Never even noticed the sound. Live near the airport now (walking distance) and no, I'm not used to the sound of it yet. Doesn't drive me crazy, but I don't like it.