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We're looking at a house that is 3 lots over from a house that has a train running through the backyard. The houses are spread out on acre lots, so the train is not that close. I have no idea how many times it runs per day. Does anyone know how I could find that out? Any thoughts on resale? This house actually meets ALL of our specs, so the train is the only issue...
I used to live one block from some heavily used train tracks (about 60 trains a day). You get used to the noise and it really wasn't that bad, but the apartment building was also built with soundproofing on the side that faced the tracks.
Right now the trains here are very infrequent but that will change with the high speed rail and the commuter train they're talking about putting in between Durham and Raleigh. Also, you'll want to look at maps of future rail plans to see if those lots are slated for any sort of eminent domain in the future since they will need to expand the current tracks to accommodate increased rail service. You could suddenly find your house next door to the train tracks rather than three lots over.
Back in college, I lived in a 5th floor walkup that was one block from the main train line in my college town. EVERY train traveling east-west through Nebraska on a Burlington Northern line or Amtrak went on that track, it seemed. Another block down was the Amtrak station, so trains starting and stopping were probably the same distance from my apartment to the house you're looking at. After my first week in the apartment, I didn't hear a thing. However, like I said, I was on a fifth floor, and the building was a converted warehouse from 1916, with thick brick walls and reinforced concrete (a history of the building noted they specialized in storing pianos and safes!), so that may have provided additional sound-dampening. But I never had any problems with train sounds. But I also love the sound of a train from a bit of a distance. I think the whistle has a beautiful melancholy, and the sound of the wheels against the tracks make me think of distant places I could see from a train window. Yeah, I guess I'm a bit of a romantic !
It might depend on the people. If you're a light sleeper anyway, then it might bother you more. Maybe a white noise machine might be all you need to block sound. Do you know what trains run on the track? If it's an Amtrak train, you could try to find out the schedule, and be at the house when a train is likely to run by, so you can see for yourself. Also, if it's possible to talk to neighbors, ask then what they think or how much of a problem it is for them. But, having lived as close to a train, I know I got completely used to it, and when I had to travel for work, it was disconcerting being in places where I couldn't hear any trains at all!
I don't think the noise will be a problem for us, personally. We live next door to Cardinal Gibbons and the PNC center. We've gotten really used to noise. However, I plan to start doing some home recording and will need a sound-proof room. So, depending on the train schedule it might not be possible for us...I don't know if I could sound-proof my booth enough to block it out. If it only runs twice a day, morning and evening, no problem at all. I think it's an Amtrak line because on the map it looks like it goes to the Amtrak station. But I really don't know anything about how train tracks work.
More than anything, I'm curious if other people would live this close to a train track. I definitely wouldn't do it if it was in my backyard. But it looks like it might be far enough (looks more like a 2 acre distance) that it won't be annoying.
I live close to some tracks. The trains' rumble quickly becomes white noise that no one notices, however their whistles do not. So I think it matters more how close you are to an at grade crossing, where they will blow the whistle, than how close you are to the actual tracks.
I will note that Im close enough to clearly hear the low frequency rumble and the engine, but not close enough to hear all the squeaking from the wheels and brakes. If I was so close that I heard all the squeaking that freight cars make, I think that would drive me crazy.
You could try contacting CSX and asking them about how many trains they run daily on that stretch of track. They may even give you the schedule but maybe not since I'm guessing that changes around a lot more often than the commuter trains which are pretty set in stone.
I live about a mile away right now from the tracks in downtown Cary and i can tell you trains run all day long. It really doesn't bother me though, you just get used to it and it becomes background noise
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