Commuter Train Noise? (Southborough) (Medford, Amherst: renting, houses, neighborhood)

[pearlygrl9]

We're considering purchasing a house very close to the Southborough Commuter rail stop. We went by there today and the train just sounded it's horn once on approaching the station - definitely not a huge deal for daytime/early evening. I'm concerned however, because I see that it comes through around 11:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. as well. Does anyone know if it sounds it's horn in the middle of the night?

[wickedripeplum]

I lived right by the West Medford commuter rail stop for years, and yes it most certainly does. Also other trains run on the commuter rail tracks, especially at night and also sound horns (though this may be less of an issue if you aren't right by a street crossing).

Completely honestly it doesn't take very long to get used to. It just becomes a part of the comforting background noise of your life. YMMV

[willdufauve]

I lived on one in an upscale neighborhood in Amherst, MA. My property backed up to the tracks, maybe 350 feet from the house, as did other houses.

The first 3 years I loved it, especially in the winter when there was snow and it was very scenic looking through the woods. The train passed once in the afternoon and once in the wee morning hours.

The house and foundation vibrated, pots hanging on the kitchen pot-rack clanked, and the windows rattled for about 30 seconds when it passed. After a few years, they changed the rules to require them to blow the horn at all intersections at any time of night. The horns are very LOUD. Sometimes a train would sit on the track overnight for no apparent reason, with the engine running, both LOUD and smell of diesel fuel permeating everything within 200 to 300 yards. They added more trains to the schedule.

By the fifth year, what I thought was scenic and kind of cool was a real intrusion affecting my sleep, especially in warm weather with the windows open for cool night air. Waking halfway up for a minute, every night at 2:00 AM like clockwork, you begin to anticipate it with your internal clock. On a night with no train I would wake up waiting for it to not come by. Think about it - a house is a longterm purchase. Sold a year later than I should have, on the seventh year.

[2KidsforMe]

We live pretty close to the commuter rail stop in Southborough. Honestly, it doesn't bother us or our sleep. We do hear the horn sometimes during the day, but I have never heard it at night (maybe we just slept through it, I can't for sure say if it goes off or not), We are happy with our location, and wanted to be in Southborough. It's difficult to find a house in this town that isn't sitting on a busy road, doesn't have highway noise from 495/Masspike, or the like, so a little bit of rail noise was a fair compromise. How close will you be actually?

[scarletfire]

If you're very close to the station you'll also hear the bell that goes off numerous times to indicate that the train is on its way. I'd find that more bothersome than the train whistle itself but I guess it depends just how close you are. Will you be right on Southwood?

[haberstroh]

I know how hard it is to find an affordable home in this area and you have to be willing to make some compromises.
Still I would not live so close to a train or a station. If gas prices stay high there will most likely be more train traffic i.e. more noise, more pollution, more disturbance, day and night. And even if it does not bother you it might hurt your re-sale value in the future.
What I have learned from buying houses in the past is that the little disturbances usually don't go away but only grow into bigger headaches. I don't mean to be a downer but maybe there is other houses out there for you to consider. I wish you good luck!

[scarletfire]

I agree with Haberstroh. There are many things you can change about a home over time, but not the location! :-)

[pearlygrl9]

Originally Posted by 2KidsforMe

We live pretty close to the commuter rail stop in Southborough. Honestly, it doesn't bother us or our sleep. We do hear the horn sometimes during the day, but I have never heard it at night (maybe we just slept through it, I can't for sure say if it goes off or not), We are happy with our location, and wanted to be in Southborough. It's difficult to find a house in this town that isn't sitting on a busy road, doesn't have highway noise from 495/Masspike, or the like, so a little bit of rail noise was a fair compromise. How close will you be actually?

It's actually just over the town line in Hopkinton on a street right off of Rte. 85 which runs parallel to the tracks. The train runs about 150 yards from the house. We went by there to hear it and the bells were really not bad...it was the whistle that I was more concerned about.

[findingmesomeday]

We have a set of train tracks that run thorugh town. No commuter rail, just freight--about 4 trains between midnight and 6AM. We used to live about a mile from the tracks and I found the whistle comforting. I'd sometimes hear it around midnight--never heard it otherwise.

We are renting temporarily since we sold our house in hopes of relocating south. Our backyard backs right up to the train tracks--with a big fence, of course.

It's horrible. The kids aren't affected because they are deep sleepers and their bedrooms face the front of the house. I fell asleep on my son's bed one night when he was over at a friend's house and just that small difference--front vs. back of the house, was enough for me. But in the master bedroom--we've been here 9 months and I am only now JUST starting to SOMETIMES sleep through the train. The whistle is blown almost directly behind our house. And the diesel engine is LOUD! The rest of the train isn't so bad, but it does make the house shake.

I look forward to Friday and Saturday nights when there are no trains.

I would never, ever buy a house closer than a mile away from the train tracks.

[willdufauve]

Originally Posted by NChomesomeday

I would never, ever buy a house closer than a mile away from the train tracks.

Actually a quarter to a half mile from a commuter train isn't bad.