Living close to a RR track (pig, electricity, buy, well)

[North Beach Person]

Bobb,
B&LE has a good reputation for maintaining their rights of way so that is a plus. Without seeing the roadbed itself it's hard for me to say but my wild guess is that it's what is called a "low grade" so the speed limit will be about 20MPH or so (it has been years since I worked for a RR so my memory for those details is dim). If the noise gets to you, you can always plant some evergreens facing the track. You are moving to a decent area for fishing and hunting if those are your things. I grew up a few miles east and a bit north of you.

[Future Trooper]

Originally Posted by HappyTexan

Go park your car there for several hours..enough to have 2-3 trains pass by and see what you think.
For some the sound of a train is calming, for others, like arch above, it drives them insane.

I like the sound of a train and wouldn't mind living with RR tracks along the property..just not close to a crossing where you hear the horn for a long time as they approach.

I live 13km south of the Big Four Yard Container Port near Indianapolis,Indiana and I can hear trains leaving/approaching.

[slamont61]

I used to live on Main Line tracks in Wisconsin. I counted some 24 freight trains and two or three Amtrak trains passing each day. Does one get used to it? Yes, one does. Do you ever NOT hear it? No, they ARE loud. In summer when watching TV or a Movie you have to turn up the volume or if it's a DVD or you have a DVR, pause it. Winter means that isn't an issue.

I could EASILY deal with a slightly used rural rail extension. No problem what-so ever. Living along the main line was bearable because there was a Lake on the other side of the tracks. I can recall a short time, 9/11 when all Rail and Air traffic was suspended how strangely quiet it was.

I can take living next to a train, I'll pass on a plane. Airports can be NOISE POLLUTION of epic perportions.

[TabulaRasa]

I lived for half a dozen years quite literally ON a set of tracks that served BNSF freight trains and Amtrak. As in, so close that if I opened my window and threw a wad of gum out, it could stick to the side of a boxcar if it were going slowly enough. Really just a few yards, siding and grade crossing right there. My building was a community landmark, had been a boarding house used by railroad passengers since the 1860s up through the 1960s. It was located IN the freightyard.

Four Amtrak trains went through a day, and freights ran just about every 45 minutes, all day and all night. Within two weeks of living there, I was sleeping through the night...you totally tune it out. Just as people who live near airports do. The biggest hassle was trying to have phone conversations when a train would go by, more for the whistles than anything, and the fact that coal dust from the freights carrying coal hoppers would get on the windows, requiring more frequent window washing. Once, though, there was a freight derailment where buckling cars came pretty close to hitting the building.


Now I miss it. It was a soothing rumble.

[jetgraphics]

In a post petroleum world, transportation will be by boat or train (electrified).

So it's a double plus 5 star location, in my humble opinion.

[Joli]

The Bessemer and Lake Erie RR carries raw materials from the Pittsburgh and Conneaut Dock Company down to steel mills around Pittsburgh. It is definitely not a high speed train as it does not transport people.

The property sounds very nice, especially since it backs up to the Conneaut Creek. Since the RR tracks are on the other side of the road, and you will probably spend a lot of time in the back of the house, the noise may not be that bad.

Are you prepared for the snow that area receives? Also, have you looked for property in northeast Ohio, like Ashtabula County?

I grew up in Conneaut, Ohio, and many times had to wait for the Bessemer train on Furnace Road, which was the main road into the downtown area on the east side of town. I could hear the train on the farm where I grew up, but it was probably 1 - 2 miles away.

[BOBBB17037]

Thanks for all the replies,
Joli: Yes I am ready for the large amounts of snow the area gets actually looking to make some $ from snow removal. Besides my son and I love snow (I grew up in NE Mass)
Yes have and still am considering NWPA and NEOH. I have been through Conneaut OH several times actually came up Furnace Rd the last time I was through Conneaut on the way to Ashtabula mall.
I have a good friend that lives in Albion,Pa and we have talked about her and her daughter renting part of the house so that would mean staying in Pa for her daughters school.
Its all things to consider

[luzianne]

I like trains! My brother lives in the country and has a train track behind his house. You'll get used to and before long you won't even hear the trains. To me it's kind of a soothing sound.

I live in the city and you can't hear trains during the daytime because of traffic, but at night when it's quieter you can hear them off in the distance. I really like the sound.

[GregW]

We lived within a stones throw of a freight line in connecticut. When the infrequent trains came by all conversation stopped and resumed when the noise stopped. I wouldn't mind living next to a short line but a Transcon high speed might be a bit too much.

[Cunucu Beach]

I would hate it and would worry about my pets and any curious children that might be around. Only you can decide if you can tolerate a train going past your house 4 times a day.