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[Anonymous]

Ok guys maybe someone out there can help me answer this question. I may buy a house that is adjacent to a railroad track, my hunch is that this track is used alot, therefore, I would like to know much this track is used. I could go sit out there all day and night over a couple of days and get a better estimate, but I have to work. Is there a better way to find out information about train schedules, would this info be private for home land security reasons. There is a union pacific station right down the road, can I walk in there and ask them these questions? The location of the rail road in question is in Downtown; Houston, Texas. The track name is South GH&H JCT (H236). Final question, Is this the best forum to ask a question like this?[?]

[PBenham]

QUOTE: Originally posted by train_brain

Ok guys maybe someone out there can help me answer this question. I may buy a house that is adjacent to a railroad track, my hunch is that this track is used alot, therefore, I would like to know much this track is used. I could go sit out there all day and night over a couple of days and get a better estimate, but I have to work. Is there a better way to find out information about train schedules, would this info be private for home land security reasons. There is a union pacific station right down the road, can I walk in there and ask them these questions? The location of the rail road in question is in Downtown; Houston, Texas. The track name is South GH&H JCT (H236). Final question, Is this the best forum to ask a question like this?[?]

It's as good as any. If the rails are polished and the roadbed is in good shape, and the property is a place where you would be comfortable, GO FOR IT! If it is your property, UP cannot hassle you if you are on your own land and you have affadavits to prove it! Now, if it is in poor condition, stop. If the neighborhood makes you nervous at night, and you are leery of the area , DON'T! If you think, or suspect the track is in poor condition and in Houston all lines there would have hazardous cargos rolling by and if they derail, they might run you out of your home in the middle of the night,to escape potentally dangerous fumes! Potentally worse? Think it over, then really carefully talk it over with everyone you live with and others whose opinions you trust.

[ndbprr]

There are some but very few freights are scheduled from what I know. They are mostly run when traffic dictates. Commuter service will have a published timetable. I moved a year ago into a house one mile from the ROck Island mainline in the south suburbs of Chicago and thought traffic wouldn't be too bad. Was I wrong. Metra finsihes up by 11:00 pm or so and then Iowa Interstate sends freights through all night some nights. most of the engineers blow very quietly and gently for the four road crossings but there is at least one SOB who thinks if he is up everybody else should be too so he ties down the horn from about two miles away. there are nights I listen to it when the windows are open for 15-20 minutes and it is a pain. It took me six months to block it all out and there are still some nights it wakes me up. Of more concern to me would be track condition and materials hauled. Being in the south you could have a lot of tank cars with hazmat materials. i wouldn't want to be downwind in that case. yes this is a good forum in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Ok the property is directly adjacent to the track, they are building a sound proof wall approxmatly 10 feet high to block out some of the sound. I am really questioning the ability of this wall to drown out the sound, concidering I have heard a train go by and it was deafing; squiling, rumbling, ect. I suspect like others have posted that trains run all the time, reguardless of time of day. Kind of like planes, commerical traffic during the day, cargo at night. I did notice the tracks pollished and in good condition, so I really have a big decsion to make before I close on the house. Do I really want to do this? I guess another reason for my asking these types of questions is do I have enough information to barter the builders asking price down? For those of you familar with houston this would be near the Maxwell House coffee plant; Congress Rail Yard. I have a couple of maps I have found on the internet, showing this rail yard and track. Being the only major track that runs thru downtown Houston, I think it would be hard for them to take out this track. What to do???

[trainboyH16-44]

I was thinking of getting a house near the tracks when I move out too. It is along the CP main, lots of trains, no whistling after 10 or before 6 (if the enginners obey the signs) and it is a 40 zone (MPH for the trains) good neighborhood, not the best but it is getting better. What do you think?
train_brain, welcome to the forums!
Matthew

[1train1]

200 feet behind my home (at the end of my backyard) is the CN mainline. Passenger service on a regular basis - freights too ; but somedays it's heavier than others. Looking out my kitchen windows or lying in bed and hearing the trains hit the old 100 year old bridge just before they get to the Paris Junction is music to my ears. No better place to railfan where I don't have to drive anywhere.
I'm sure someday if I ever have to move I will be looking for something ' on the tracks '.

[Anonymous]

Trainboy, your situation sounds ideal for a housebuyer in general and you might even be able to knock a little off the asking price by faux-naively inquiring, "Don't all those trains make an awful lot of noise?"

[blade]

i would never buy a house near a railway track.my first concern would be the safety of any minor children.the second reason is that some 20 years ago i visited some family friends up in montreal quebec canada (i am a canadian railfan,eh)and the house shook like crazy ,in the middle of the night couldn't sleep all too well.

[BillyFloyd]

This brings back memories. In the late 1980s, I lived outside of Harpers Ferry, WV about 100 yards from the CSX main line. There were trains all day and all night- grinding up the grade in run-8, or heading downhill toward the bridge, with dynamics screaming like banshees.

For me, it was railfan heaven. I got used to the noise pretty quickly, but if anything unusual happened, it would wake me up. One thing that was guaranteed to wake me was if the train stopped and the slack ran in... boom-boom-boom-BOOM!

Much more annoying was the one-lane underpass where our road ran under the track. A lot of drivers thought if they blew their horns before entering they could get away without stopping to check for oncoming traffic. One b****d with a luxury car and an early commute time would wake me up every morning as he leaned on his multi-chime horn from a quarter-mile away. Thought of setting the alarm early one morning and shooting the SOB, but decided the ensuing paperwork would be too much trouble.

[route_rock]

TOO FUNNY!! Heck I lived 13 blocks from the tracks and my house still shook! Ore trains coming out of a siding 5 miles away would just be getting into a grade and you could feel the subtle vibration. Youll get used to the horns the squealing and the banging. I work ona line that runs real close to a lot of houses on riverfront property.BIG houses and the people there always wave at us, no shaking of fists or anything like that. I guess noise is trade off for a good view. We also have a connector line to ADM that runs so close ot the houses I can touch them as I roll by ( 10 mph max) I even waved at a family sitting down to dinner ( and it looked pretty good too) they waved back.
I have lived next to tracvks and highways and airports. If you want peace and quiet move to Wyoming out in the middle of nowhere. There will always be a trade off peace and quiet (except for the coyotes howling) or some noise that you will get used to.

[Jack_S]

When I was young (1950s) a friend of my cousin's lived in a big house very close to the Pennsy's 4-track main north of Bristol, PA on the way to Trenton and NYC. There were a lot of big, fast trains, both passenger and freight. When a train went by at speed (very few slow ones) the noise was incredible and the whole house shook.

The family was pretty affluent so I wondered, at the time, why they didn't move. Maybe the father was an early foamer.

[kenfath]

For my first 18 years our family lived in an apartment building which faced the CB&Q tracks in Berwyn, IL. I'd estimate at least 150 trains per day went past our windows. It was a really great experience watching the final days of the steam trains as well as the introduction of the shinny stainless steel Zephyrs and commuter cars. The freight trains were always an amazing sight with their many cargos and owner railroad names displayed on the cars. Yes, there was noise and the building shook, but you got used to it. What was more alarming was the quiet when there would be a strike or service interruption. There was also a sense of order, for example you became accustomed to the fact the fast mail would go by at 9:12 PM, the Denver freight at a specified time frame, etc. Was it a positive influence? Yes! Would I like to do it it again? Yes! Would I do it again? Most likely! I went to work in the railroad industry, partially because of the influence of watching trains rolls by, and recently retired after 39 years of service making the trains roll by.

To the person thinking about buying near the tracks, my suggestion is check it out thoroughly. Spend time in the neighborhood at all hours of the day and espcially at night. Make certain your family concurs with the idea. Should you choose to buy near railroad tracks, please be a positive roll model. Educate your family as well as everyone you have contact with that railroads are dangerous playgrounds. They are not an extension of your back yard!

For about five years while I was a RR employee, my office phone number was one of about five that were listed in the local phone directories. There would be about one call every two weeks from a neighbor complaining about the horn noise. I would explain why horns are sounded and bells rang and explain how our company was really trying to be a good neighbor while trying to conduct business Safely in accord with rules and regulations which required the sounding of these warning alarms. Sometimes I felt I had placated their concerns. Occasionally I'd be told that because I worked for the RR I didn't care about their problem. That was furthest from the truth! The fact was my youthful years convinced me that trains are a wonderful sight to see and hear.

[Jack_S]

The city of Fullerton, CA (one of the best SoCal train-watching spots) has encouraged the building of an upscale condo project right across the tracks from the AmTrak station, about 50 yards from the south side of the tracks. It replaces a neighborhood that was in decay. It is to be called "Transit Village".

I might like living there (I can take out my hearing aids) but I probably couldn't afford a unit, based on the advertising puff. I wonder how a non-fan is going to feel the first time one of those huge BNSF Transcon freights goes through in the middle of the night, roaring and blowing its horn.

The Santa Fe Cafe, based in the station, has, on Friday and Saturday nights, rock bands perform free, and the station area becomes a magnet for the local kids. A BNSF freight is the only thing I know that can completely drown out a well-amped Punk Rock band.

[Anonymous]

The people that I can't understand are the ones that have houses right next to railroad crossings. All hours of the day and night of the engine horn blowing would sooner or later have to get on your nerves.

[txhighballer]

train_brain,I know the area intimately,as I used to run down there. South GH&H Junction is where the former GH&H Railroad(now UP) main line splits from the former West Belt main line of the Houston Belt and Terminal and heads to Galveston. The West Belt main hosts trains of both the Union Pacific and BNSF. Moves on the GH&H consist of trains to Galveston,switcher moves to the coffee plant,jobs working Congress Yard,plus other runs. There be as many as 30 trains a day through that junction in 24 hours. I have not been back down there in a few years,but it's a busy place.