What's more amazing to you?

[Bergie]

Here's a little something to getting us talking on Monday morning...

Visit the following link to watch (or read if you don't want to watch the video) a story from Bay-area news station KRON reporting on a neighborhood complaining about excessive noise from passing trains:
http://www.kron.com/Global/story.asp?S=1516666&nav=5D7lIzlL

Now, what's more amazing to you:
- the fact that the residents have the nerve to complain about the noise after building homes a mile from trian tracks?

- or, that the reporter completely disregards safety by filing a portion of his report from the middle of the tracks? [V]

[dharmon]

Well, let's see, umm you went to go look at a house, and I'm guessing that at some point you had to cross the tracks to get there.....or did BNSF sneak in a put the tracks there during the night?

These are the same folks that flock to get the "affordable" new construction houses and don't notice that the airplanes are flying overhead until they actually moved in, then complain about the noise. I'm sure the train crews are trying they're best to be as loud as they can...just like the planes fly "louder" after dark.....I've heard that one before too.

Yeah, umm, yeah. How about we make an ordinance that the trains don't blow the horns at all. And maybe require the city/railroad to place the large noise barriers like they do along some stretches of interstate. That way when the car, bus, SUV mini-van full of kids gets hit going around the barriers........anyone else notice the train coming in the video and the cars passing in front of it?? The California version of MISSOURI can come leaping out of whatever rock there under and ask why the RRs aren't properly signalling at crossings.

Its always something in the Peoples NIMBYcratic of California.

[Bergie]

You hit the nail on the head.

Everytime I see a new subdivision going up next to one of the Interstate highways here in the Milwaukee area I wonder how long it will be before my tax money goes to build a wall to protect their peace.

Did they ever consider why the house was so affordable compared to all the other options in their area? Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Erik [:)]

When I tried to watch the video it had alot of problelms. I was however, able to get the gest of the problem. I am close to the tracks. Not close enough to see the train but I do hear it. It doesn't bother me. There is a problem in this country of excessive stupidity. People buy or build a house close to the railroad tracks or airport. Then they complain about the trains or airplanes. Because of safety issues you can't plant trees to close to an airport but trees could be planted near these tracks and help keep down some of the noise. The railroad line was there before the people. Don't blame the railroad for their stupidity. If the noise bothers them that much let them move. That is how they got their in the first place. And while they are moving, as a French Monarch once said, "Let them eat cake". [}:)] [:p]

Oh, one last comment. The people and the reporter claim that the horns are getting louder and louder and louder. I am not sure but I don't think the engineer can adjust the volume. People will say and do anything to get their way.

[Anonymous]

When I started my reply there were no other comments as yet. By the time I watched the vid and typed a reply Dan had snuck in on me. But I guess we are all riding the same bus here.

Maybe we should ask them if they want some cheese to go with their whine? [:D]

[mudchicken]

Bergie/ Eric:

(1) The news media, as usual, does its stupid routine. The Tribune stations in Denver and Chicago have done it twice in the last 12 months that I'm aware of. (Go talk to the Editor at Simmon-Boardman's Railway Track & Structures Mag. .....the Chicago station (WGN) was even showing how to tresspass to get to the site of a memorial!)

(2) As for Californians (I'm married to one), far too many tend to ignore common sense (Sacramento has none, why should anywhere else?)....it's always somebody else's fault.......

Mudchicken

[dharmon]

Buyer: "So what is the asking price again?"

Realtor: "Let me see, I believe this one is listing for <HORN>< HORN>

Buyer: "Sorry didn't catch that."

Realtor: "About, < HORN>< HORN><HORN>< HORN>< HORN>...which is really a good price."

Buyer: "Do the trains run here all the time?"

Realtor: "Hardly ever, and never at night, you won't even know they're there.

Buyer: "We'll take it!!!"

Realtor: "Great! Excuse me while I take this call. Hello..."

Seceretary: " Mr Jones is on line one to talk about the houses in the subdivision going up."

Realtor: " Mr Jones, how are you? No I wouldn't worry about that. That airport is a good five miles from where the house is going to be.....and it will be a couple of years before it's finished........

[zardoz]

jhhtrainsplanes-
the new locos have a damn button for the whistle and the volume is not adjustable, only the duration (to some extent, but it is difficult to get a tiny 'toot' out of it).

The older locos (SD40 & such) had a handle to pull that actually regulated the air flowing to the whistle. If the whistle was clean, one could (if so inclined) cause the whistle to be somewhat melodic and actually pleasant to listen to. And the volume was controllable.

I must admit, however, if I was running in the territory where the whiners were complaining about the noise, I would be tempted to blast just a little bit longer and louder, although I likely would not actually do it, because that would punish everybody, not just the one's that deserve it.

The people complaining of 20 whistles might be right. The rule says that the whistle signal 15L must be sounded approaching a crossing, beginning not less than 1/4 mile from crossing. But the application of this rule is varied. If the train is going slow, it could take 90 seconds to cover that 1/4 mile at 10mph. Some engineers will lay on the whistle for the entire 90 seconds, sounding one long 15L; others will do a series of short 15L's, yet others will sound the first whistle at the 1/4 mile mark, wait 30 seconds then sound the second, and so on. Each method seems to comply with the law, but some are much more annoying.

I live right next to the tracks, well within the 1/4 mile mark, and I appreciate it when the engineer does the third method I mentioned. But if he does not, I can hardly complain, as the tracks were there when I bought. However, I sure would like to see gates installed and a whistle ordinance enacted; damn whistles keepin me up all night....................:)

[Anonymous]

I live real close to a busy grade crossing which sees Metra and UP freights all day long. I knew that when I came here. After a while it gets so that you don't really notice the horns that much. If train tracks have existed long before the housing, then whoever has bought a house there and didn't investigate what they were getting have no call to female dog.

[kwboehm]

I say we should copy the video clip, and send it in to the railroad (BNSF?) police, and then let them file trespassing charges on the TV crew...we've already got videotaped evidence. Somehow I doubt that they had permission to be between the rails.

As for the neighborhood...too bad so sad. The railroad was there long before any of the neighborhoods were. As it's been stated earlier in the thread, wouldn't you as a potential home buyer look in to these things? I don't feel sorry for them. Also I don't see their complaint. I lived for 18 years about 2 blocks from the Milwaukee West (Metra) station in Bensenville. I currently live about 2 blocks away from the UP's Falls City Sub, south of Omaha, and am soon to move into a house across the street from the BNSF's Creston Sub. None of those places keep me awake. My significant other, who is not a train fan by any means says the house across the street from the tracks is not bad at all as far as train noise goes.

[Mookie]

I'm trying to find a house, duplex that is right next to the tracks! Something that is in rentable shape! So don't have much sympathy for the "winers". I would be the real snowbird sitting in the yard this winter!

Mookie

[vsmith]

This story reminds me of when I worked behind the "Orange Curtain" deep in the heart of orangeness in Irvine, Ca. This was near what was El Toro Marine Corp AIr Station which had F-18s,F-14's,Intruders, and Herky Birds flying in and out all the time. Well back in the eighties they build a kister load of new homes out there right up to the air base property. People flocked to buy, greedily plopping down their gold for a home sweet home. Sure enough as soon as they moved in within a month the complaints would start, "those damn jets take off at all hours, theyre too damn loud, I cany sleep, I cant relax, blah,blah,blah..." (F-18s are LOUD!!!!)

I would hear these people blab on then ask, "when you bought the house, didnt you know there was an airbase around?" they always said "yes" then they'de say something truely idiotic like " but I thought they'd only fly when I was at work" or "but were not at war, why do they have to fly?"

Only truely STUPID, STUPID, STUPID people buy thinking that the world is going to conform to their needs. These idiots were part of the reason El Toro was shut down, too many big mouths bitching to their congressman, Now the "Great Park" proposal for El Toro to turn it into a big "Central Park" type recreation space is stalling, because the greedy *** developers want to snatch the land to build more houses.
These same nimby whiners are the reason all orangeheads have to drive to LA International (a good 2-3 hour drive in heavy traffic) to fly overeas, becuase they dont want an airport in thier backyard.

So I have no sympathy for these dunderheads. I lived less than TWO BLOCKS from Santa Fes old mainline thru Pasadena for 5 years, we got trains thru at all hours of the day and the train horns were hardley noticable even at night. and thats living in an old bungalow with single pane glass and no insulation. Unlike new house which are fully insulated usually with double paned glass windows. So these whiners need to taken out, slapped around and made to live under the flightpath of a major airport for a while (right at the end of the runway), then maybe they'll have some margin of comparison.

[Trainnut484]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dharmon

Buyer: "So what is the asking price again?"

Realtor: "Let me see, I believe this one is listing for <HORN>< HORN>

Buyer: "Sorry didn't catch that."

Realtor: "About, < HORN>< HORN><HORN>< HORN>< HORN>...which is really a good price."

Buyer: "Do the trains run here all the time?"

Realtor: "Hardly ever, and never at night, you won't even know they're there.

Buyer: "We'll take it!!!"

Realtor: "Great! Excuse me while I take this call. Hello..."

Seceretary: " Mr Jones is on line one to talk about the houses in the subdivision going up."

Realtor: " Mr Jones, how are you? No I wouldn't worry about that. That airport is a good five miles from where the house is going to be.....and it will be a couple of years before it's finished........

AWW-SHUCKS. Did the Realtor agency left out the mainline in their brocheres again?
I guess the duplex community should've been named "Rolling Thunder...I mean Rolling Meadows." LOL.

Take care

Russell

[Anonymous]

Okay i'm going to solve this the Rude Candian way, and when i use the following words like "You, Your.." Etc, Rememebr they are DIRECTED and NO ONE inpeticullar, except the residents of the house

1) Who was there first? Railroad or your house? No WAY!! I thought it was your house that the world revolved around... So your saying the Railraod was? hhmm.. Ah yes that solves a few problems...

2) doesn't anyone scout around the neighborhood before they buy a house? Thats like buying a house Riddled with bullet holes.. in the middle of the Bronx. GRAT NEIGHBORHOOD HONEY! see automatically a logical thinking process should go like this... Train Tracks a mile away.. COULD POSSIBLY mean Trains.. d'uh... Followed by HORNS then by Jammed Railraod lights and bells.. That is the logical thought process... And if you don't like those terms.. I have a BRILLINAT idea.. pack up your stuff and leave, as a matter of FACt don't UNPACK at all!! Those people aren't exactly troubled with the smarts are they?

Oh and that reporter wasn't exacly functiong at 100 watts either, as a matter of fact i'd say he was the dimmly lit light at the bottom of the tree, This question now goes out to 2+ year olds or anyone with an IQ more then 7.6.. What do Train tracks Signify? A) Trains could pass on these Rails at any given minute, therfore not a good place to stand.. B) What a great place to set up a picknick C) that represents a new type of foot path that makes great for walking, D) A perfect place to stand like a chump and give a half-arsed report..

And that woman... "sometimes they honk even after they've crossed..."wow, Did she just crawl out of a sewer? YES CORRECT!! I still continue the pattern even if i'm through the corssing! Wow people like that.. GRR.. cause.. ANGER!

They're lucky i'm not the Richmond engineer or conductor. i'd Blow the whistle 50 times or 60.. and if my boss called i'd up it to 75.. Just because I hate people who complain about useless things like that.. as i always say... "Breath in, Suck it up, and move on with life!"

[edblysard]

Of course they knew the tracks were there, and so did the realtors.
Funny, the horn you hear at the end of the clip isnt anywhere as loud as the BNSF main out of Houston to Dallas, which is about 300 to 500 yards from my house.
I have lived here on and off for 40 plus years, and never be awakend by the trains, at least one per hour, which blow for four grade crossings in less than a mile.
They knew the tracks were there before they purchased, the reporter knew they knew, just sorta forgot to include that in his somewhat baised report.
Solution?
If they dont like the sound of trains, then move!
Ed

[heavyd]

We all know but most people out there are totally oblivious to trains and the railroad! They have no clue at all what has to happen for a railroad to work! It is because of that ignorance that they choose to live so close to tracks. I say don't worry about, not our problem!

[JoeKoh]

I actually wouldn't mind moving back to the old neighborhood but mamma wants to live in the country.you would think people would check the area out ask questions from others before they bought a house there.basic common sense(there it is again!)folks.
stay safe
Joe

[dharmon]

I would like to remind you that this is the great state of CA we're talking about. It was not hese poor vicitmized families fault. This was a pre-existing danger that the local government and corporate interests knew about, yet failed to warn these poor hard working people of and allowed them to move to this area. I believe that we probably are looking at a future blue ribbon inquiry here, and alot of public funds are going to be needed to help these folks with the trauma they have suffered. Any self respecting local councilman had better get on the band wagon now!

Yeah right........this is the same state that feeds, not just a little, but hugely off of the tit of the Uncle Sams armed forces. Daily, the services bend over backwards to meet or exceed whatever state generated hairbrained idea is up next. You may not know this Mr. and Mrs American taxpayer.... but the young Marines you sent to kick in Mr. Saddams door, CAN'T EVEN DIG A FOXHOLE at Camp Pendleton. Because some rocket scientist had declared that there are something like 34 endangered grasses, bugs and birds on the base, they have to assault the same, endangered species cleared beach over and over again and drive on pre determined attack roads......to fox holes which are marked by yellow "do not cross tape". So picture this, some young kid setting up an ambu***o get the bad guys may never have had the opportunity to train like he should fight. Instead as the Iraqi tank rolls by, our troops are sitting there behind this tape going "you can't see me". To build, rebuild or move a structure on any of our installations, however minor, requires an environmental impact study at great cost, becasue they almost always are challenged in court.

There was an absolutely great editorial reply written by a Marine pilot...who was disciplined foor writing it a few years ago. If I find it I'll post it. But a woman from near Camp Pendelton was writing to complain about the noise made by the training exercises.. His reply was something to the effect of ..you are right Mrs. Jones, we at the Marines have specifically targeted your house to annoy as much as possible. We have daily meetings of the annoy Mrs. Jones task force. Through dedicated surveillance of you and your house, we have determined the best time of day to fly our jets low and drop bombs so they cause you personally the greastest annoyance......

I'm done. Ed I'm ready to come home.

[Anonymous]

A quote from the article:

QUOTE: The railroads say the horn blowing is required by federal law. Five horn blows for every crossing. But the neighbors tell us it's more like 20 now.

I always thought it was four blows - long long short long. Am I missing something here. This summer aircraft traffic was redirected over the ctiy because the main runway was closed. People statred complaining. It a new new neighborhood, an the airport has been there sine WW II. They can never say they didn't know the airport was there. BTW, I live a mile away from the crossing, and trains don't bother me at all. There are some houses right next to the crossing. I wouldn't wanna be there at 4 25 am when a gravel train passes by.

[Anonymous]

Kinda reminds me of the time in Fond du Lac, WI(where I live), when a councilman suggested, that, instead of building an overpass on a busy highway, maybe the railroad(WC) should build a by-pass around the city.[?]

The railroad's only been here since about 1900.....[xx(]

[Anonymous]

Let me add something to my post-[:)]
The railroad has been around here since 1914
The neighborhood - since 1950.

[brilondon]

Do the people who but the houses in the vacinity of the railroad actually think that just because they moved there that the trains are now going to be quieter. "Mr. Smith just moved in a mile away from our railroad so we had better decide where and when we will run our trains just so that Mr. Smith can live in peace in a house he bought close to the railroad." This is the stupidest thing that I have ever come across next to the new homes that were built next to Pearson International airport in Toronto. There I got that off amy chest. I read some where in that article that the railroad is one mile away. I live less than a mile from the CP mainline in London and I have difficulty hearing the trains. It really sould not be a concern to the person who the article is about.

[brilondon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by JoeKoh

I actually wouldn't mind moving back to the old neighborhood but mamma wants to live in the country.you would think people would check the area out ask questions from others before they bought a house there.basic common sense(there it is again!)folks.
stay safe
Joe

The thing is that common sense is really not that common at all.

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by brilondon

QUOTE: Originally posted by JoeKoh

I actually wouldn't mind moving back to the old neighborhood but mamma wants to live in the country.you would think people would check the area out ask questions from others before they bought a house there.basic common sense(there it is again!)folks.
stay safe
Joe

The thing is that common sense is really not that common at all.

Amen my friend[:)]!
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Mookie

I'm trying to find a house, duplex that is right next to the tracks! Something that is in rentable shape! So don't have much sympathy for the "winers". I would be the real snowbird sitting in the yard this winter!

Mookie

I too would love to live in a house that's right next to the tracks! I can hear trains from my bedroom at night and I find the sounds of the trains going by quite relaxing and if anything they help me fall asleep faster. I actually saw one of those relaxation tapes somewhere that was of steam locomotive sounds. My advice to these people, if you don't like hearing the trains, buy a house somewhere else!

[mudchicken]

Erik:

Another one for your files.....In Denver, you have the "Flour Mill Lofts" in the downtown Denver renaissance area not far from Union Station. This building was a massive 8 story Flour Mill and concrete silo complex abandoned in the 1960's. A developer comes in and converts the eyesore into 1/2 half million dollar condos/lofts. The building had a rail served dock and is located opposite the south main track wye switch at 20th Street at the beginning of the Denver-Pueblo joint line. (Any train between Denver & Pueblo, UP or BNSF has to go by this building, certainly within 50 feet of it...it's the only way left to go North-South through town, the other lines have been chopped up by public works projects and/or abandoned 30-50 years ago.( The area around the Flour Mill could be likened to the thin part of the hour glass in a railroad sense.)

There is now a homeowners association from building condo owners at Flour Mill Lofts, DEMANDING that the railroad leave the area because of the noise and vibration!
The BNSF Division Engineer gets phone calls every two weeks, like clockwork, from the chief whiners in the building. Poor guy has to sit there and take the unjustified verbal abuse and be civil about it every two weeks .

On the flip side, there is an OLI Coordinator and a retired railroader living in the building that love the ambiance of the place......Go figure!

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I find the ignorance/stupidity of some people quite baffling.

[techguy57]

Next they will complain about the sirens on the fire engines going to put out the wildfires that are threatening to destroy their homes![xx(] I lived next to a very busy city firehouse for a while and now I live very near to the Metra/UP lines and another firehouse. You get used to it. I'd much rather have those services there than not. I never felt safer than living next to the firehouse. I agree with everyone else too, its kinda hard to miss the tracks!

If I worked for the RR I'd fine that reporter too. If he's stupid enough to stand in the middle of the track and film it for all to see then he deserves it. To paraphrase I think Don Henley said it best:

Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know the boys in the news room have a running bet.
We all know that crap is king,
Give us dirty laundry.

Thats my two cents! Be sure to tip your waitress. Try the veal. Ed for President.

Mike

PS DAN- that <horn> bit was funny stuff[:D]

[Anonymous]

Alright [:)] Another Vote for ED [:)]

[dekemd]

We have the same problems out here in North Carolina. The most recent was a few years ago when people started complaining about the local gun range. When the range was built in 1954 there was only one house within a mile of the place. Now there are about 75 they don't like hearing gunshots on the weekends. Go figure.

Several years ago CSX had a derailment (big pileup) on the old Clinchfield line that ran within a mile or two of a boy scout camp. Due to hazardous materials that were spilled the camp and nearby residents were evacuated. People were outraged that the railroad was hauling hazardous materials near a boy scout camp. They wanted the county commisioners to pass an ordinance banning the railroad from hauling hazmat on that line. Some even contacted congress about it. Nevermind the fact that the railroad had been there a good 50 years before the boyscout camp.

"I see stupid people. They're everywhere!"

Derrick