Train whistles making me crazy! (Winchester: house, live, beach)

[Jlyles]

One of my fondest memories was visiting my grandparents and hearing the train whistles in the distance. But the OP still has my sympathies too!

Originally Posted by Denton56

Did you just move to a new place? It would drive me nuts too. You have my sympathies. I can hear the train where I live, but it's very faint since it's five miles away. My grandparents had a train track directly behind their property line. Somehow they grew used to the noise. I hope that you can too.

[jbird82]

When I first moved to Alexandria, on my first night I left the window open as it was a nice night. Wow, what a mistake! Between the metro and the freight train and buses, I think I was awoken about 10 times. Never again after that night in the bedroom. I lived really close to the tracks though and could hear the train whistle from time to time even with the windows closed in my bedroom.

My new apartment is close to the tracks also, but it has better sound proofing and I don't really notice the train now.

[vwlizard]

YES! I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN!

My last house was outside of Chicago. I used to love the sound of the trains. My house was just a few houses down from the train crossing. It wasn't a problem when we fist moved in. In fact we spent a long time sitting outside the house before we bought it to make sure.

For some reason, a few months after we moved in, the started LAYING on the horns. Not a toot toot, not a warning, just an obnoxiously loooonnnnggg horn.

[NGX159]

Railroads uses train horns for one reason - TO WARN MOTORIST AND PEDESTRAINS OF AN ONCOMING TRAIN!!! People complain and crap, nut they need to understand the difference between warnings and distractions. In Florida, there was a ban on train horns but whejn that came into play, the car-train collisions GREATLY increased. Instead of people complaining about trains, they need to focus more on those boom-boom cars.

[bangorme]

I think there is a difference between a train whistle blowing twice a night, and twice a minute. I live in Kingstowne, and left my window open a couple nights ago. The train whistles were blowing constantly. I really do mean twice a minute. After about 30 minutes I got up and closed the window, but could still hear them over the fan. I don't know if this was going on all night or was some kind of whistle check.

[Flamingo13]

Exactly bangorme, it goes on almost constantly thoughout the night and wee hours of the morning.

Alexandria updated on Facebook saying that due to work being done, CSX is doing this because of safety reasons.... I still say it's overkill. Anyway, you can check out what Alexandria says on it's website.

[Cantsleepatnight]

I've lived in Alexandria near the baseball fields next to Cameron Stations for almost 5 years. I've never really noticed the trains blowing their horns until about 4 -6 months ago. They are blowing their horns at 12am 2am, 3 am, 5am. I can't sleep anymore. My windows are closed and still hear the horn. Is it really necessary at this time of the night/early morning to be blowing horns? It make be a safety issue, but I'm sure there are other ways to notify others working that the a train is coming. With all the technology out there a text message or radio signal could be sent to workers working on the track as well as giving the workers a schedule of when trains are coming through the area. For me the train noise is affecting my quality of life. I've gone to the doctor to get a prescription for sleeping pills. I can't take them forever.

[Tish Thompson]

I always thought it would suck to live really close to a train line until about 7 years ago. I lived in an apartment building that literally would have been demolished if the train derailed. Every morning at 2, a freight train that seemed to be 10 miles long came through. Within two weeks, I stopped noticing the train and would actually wake up on the nights it didn't come through. I think you can learn to tune it out if you change your focus.

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

For those that live in Alexandria (and I assume parts of Fairfax County) - a question: are those constant and at all hours trains blowing their horns making you crazy? I contacted someone from the City to ask where to complain and heard back already! Good for him. He gave me a phone number, facebook, email, etc. and said unfortunately the City has no control over it, which I think stinks, there should be some kind of enforceable noise ordinance I would think. Anyway, I plan to complain, as does at least one neighbor who mentioned how annoyed they are (not sure about the others, but it's got to be annoying as many people live between our area and where the train(s) run).

[FairfaxGuy73]

I used to live a couple hundred feet from a train track, and it wasn't that big of a deal. Once my college housemates and I found ourselves drunk and really far from our place. So we hopped a train, which took us right back home. Was a hell of a thing getting off as it was working up to speed, though, and I had coal all over me. Maybe not a good option for you.

Maybe you could just insulate your walls more and get double paned windows. They can't even get trains to stop carrying hazardous chemicals through DC even with terrorist threats. Don't try to fight them 'cause you'll lose.

[South Jersey Styx]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

For those that live in Alexandria (and I assume parts of Fairfax County) - a question: are those constant and at all hours trains blowing their horns making you crazy?

There's a train that runs through the center of our town (Winchester) but the occasional whistles/horns don't bother me. However, if you can't sleep, how about trying one of those alarm clocks that has sounds on it (a beach and ocean waves, water falling, chimes)? The other suggestion is to wear ear plugs when you sleep, maybe only in one ear (the other ear to the pillow in case there's a fire in the night and you need to hear the fire alarm).