# What do you think about land near railroad tracks?



## clarkecrew (Jan 2, 2014)

We're going to look at a big old farmhouse today. Truth is, I'm already in love with it. Currently it's on just over 2 acres, with 5 adjacent acres also for sale. The house was built in 1888 or so.

My question is about railroad tracks. They run parallel to the front of the property. I'm not good with distances, but 50 or 100 yards from the front door. 

Of course we're thinking about the obvious issues of safety (animals and kids) and noise, but is pollution of either the land or the air something to be concerned about? 

Thanks!


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## Adirondackgal (Aug 8, 2013)

We bought property two years ago. There is a little over 17 acres. The railroad tracks are in the back of the property. I am not concerned at all. I can't wait to get our house built. I know it is going to take a long time because DH and sons will be doing most of the work. Compared to where we live now and what we have to deal with neighbors, the train going through will not bother me. There is wildlife that we will be able to see and hopefully I will be growing vegetables and at some point fruit.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

If it is near a crossing, and has a steady supply of trains on it, it may well drive you around the bend with the horn tooting. Then again, maybe not. My in laws live 1/2 mile from a busy train track. When we have gone to stay over, I never sleep, because the tooting drives me crazy. Yet they say they do not even notice the trains.

I guess when the loudest noise I hear from bed is a muffled baa, tweet, owwwwwoooooo, hoot hoot, ughhh!, cock a doodle doo, etc., I am not used to the shrill whistle. Everyone takes a train whistle differently, and they say you get used to it. I can hardly imagine getting used to it though. Just me though.


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## roadless (Sep 9, 2006)

I love the sounds of trains, I grew up with it, to me it is comforting.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

We've got a single rail line on the other side of our back neighbor's property - about 1/2 mile straightline from our backdoor, fully wooded in between. There are no nearby crossings, so we don't get whistle noise, but we can still hear the train rumble. That is 1/2 mile away. I think a train rolling by 100 yards away, with no trees in between, would drive me batty - even without a whistle.

General word of unsolicited caution: be wary of a property that you're "already in love with" before you've even explored it. Going in with that outlook is likely to make you overlook some things that you would otherwise consider problematic. You're much better off making your initial visit(s) without emotions.


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## Gray Wolf (Jan 25, 2013)

Aside from the noise, I'd find out what they are normally hauling if you can. 

For instance, there is concern among people living next to new and proposed coal train routes about coal dust being a health problem. Chemical, nuclear waste, explosive, and propane routes may be of concern to you.


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

I lived in an apartment that was a block from the tracks. For the first week I would wake up when the 2:00, 4:00, and 5:00 trains came through. After that I slept through them. You get used to normal noises.

I had a house that was built in 1898. Remember, level, plumb, and square are abstract concepts that have no basis in reality.


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## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

I live 1500 yards from tracks and it's a non issue. Friends who live 50 yards say they get used to it but their homes rattle.
I think it would affect resale at that distance, by narrowing buyer pool and likely price.
And as someone already said, the whistle, if it blasts every time anywhere nearby that will drive you nuts. And if there's those drop arms with warning bell anywhere around it could be the worse part, they brake and go off for hours sometimes.
I'd spend quality time inside AND outside as it goes by and decide if it's worth it.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

I love trains, but I would pass on trackside properties now. When I stop at crossings I look at the markings on tank cars. Sulfuric acid, crude oil, precursor chemicals to plastics are just some of it. The Megantic disaster was a wake-up call for me, but even more than that, if there ever is a derailment authorities FORCE evacuations within large areas, sometimes for extended periods. Aside from security issues, what about animals that need tending?


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## FarmerDavid (Jul 16, 2012)

I grew up on a farm that had a pretty busy BNSF line running through it. Tracks maybe 100 yards from the house. Has five crossings in a mile radus from the house so lots of horns. Living there you rarely if ever hear them, just don't conceously notice them. Not an issue at all. Barn on the property was burned down by railroad fires four times, but none in the last 70 years.


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## lakeportfarms (Apr 23, 2009)

I used to live about 100 yards from a train track with a crossing. When I first moved in the trains ran several times a night. I eventually lucked out, because after a few months they came by during the hours I was awake.:hysterical:


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

As long as it is not next to the Chicago Stock Yards it shouldn't be any problem, I live close to a track and it doesn't bother me........


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## highlands (Jul 18, 2004)

I would not want to be near railroad tracks. Lived by them for 10 years(?). It's not the noise. Its the herbicides.


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## bigjon (Oct 2, 2013)

they do spray along the tracks with heavy duty weed killer-no thanks!well water?garden?


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## bentleywarren (Dec 8, 2013)

Many years ago I lived on 0.6 acres that had a railroad on one side, a gravel public road on one side, and a paved public road on one side. The railroad crossing was about 100 feet from my house. I sold the house as soon as I could, and I would never, never go back into a situation like that. The train itself wasn't unbearable, even though the windows did shake, but the whistle being blown for the crossing was unbearable.


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## clarkecrew (Jan 2, 2014)

Thank you ALL for your replies! We were supposed to go look at the house today but our appointment got rescheduled for tomorrow. I think that's a good thing, as it gives us some time to relax a little bit. Besides the train tracks, there are a few other big issues that might not allow this to happen, but we'll see. The good news is that we would almost certainly rent for 6 months or a year before buying it, but we don't want to go forward unless there's a good likelihood it will become permanent.

Lots to consider. Thanks!


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

I would want to check with your local Emergency Planning Commission to see what is hauled. 

If it is a feeder line used for non-hazardous material ok. 

If like most tracks all kinds of chemical and nuclear material are on it I would look elsewhere. Way to close for me. 

If I lived within 3 miles of a train track or interstate highway I would make preparations for what to do if their is a spill. 

The town of West Texas is a lesson on knowing what is near you. 

Check the EPA and state environmental websites and go visit the local emergency planning office and ask to see what hazards are near the proposed property. 

In my county we have several pipelines. One blew up and burned recently in the adjoining county. Knowing it is there is very important yet if it is not on your property but right next to it unless you check and find out you would not know it was there.


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## tarbe (Apr 7, 2007)

I think land near RR tracks needs to sell at a heavy discount.

My property is in a county that has zero miles of RR tracks. That is not a coincidence!

All else being even remotely equal, I'd pass on land near tracks, just like I'd pass on land near an interstate.


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

...............IF they are hauling bulk oil , and they have a derailment , the potential for large exploisions(sp) and fire is ever present ! Even IF you are a couple thousand feet away , you will still be kept from your home for long periods of time . , fordy


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## Al Von (Aug 9, 2012)

I think you should buy the property, then start complaining about the noise. 

Just kidding. I shake my head when I read those stories in the media.


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## Rick (May 10, 2002)

clarkecrew said:


> Thank you ALL for your replies! We were supposed to go look at the house today but our appointment got rescheduled for tomorrow. I think that's a good thing, as it gives us some time to relax a little bit. Besides the train tracks, there are a few other big issues that might not allow this to happen, but we'll see. The good news is that we would almost certainly rent for 6 months or a year before buying it, but we don't want to go forward unless there's a good likelihood it will become permanent.
> 
> Lots to consider. Thanks!


I Harry already mentioned the tanker cars - Sulfuric acid, crude oil, precursor chemicals to plastics are just some of it


I love trains, but HazMat issues would keep me from living there, unless I was born and raised there.


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## Sturedman (Nov 18, 2012)

I bought an old farm house in Cincinnati that was built in the 1860's. My address was on 2nd St. The problem was, in the 30's, 2nd St. was sold to the railroad. I had train tracks 32 feet (that's right, feet lol) from my front door. The alley in the back became our street. I wasn't the only one, all the houses suffered that. We averaged 2 trains a day. After the first week, we were used to it, and had no problems. I ran an 8 foot privacy fence along it to keep the animals and kids away. The hard thing was getting insurance on the house. You can't build like that anymore. I had to fight to grandfather the house in. Trains really aren't a problem unless it's a really busy track. Our area had a 15 mph limit on the trains, so that made it easier.


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## SouthGAMan (May 5, 2014)

I grew up not overly far from tracks (less than a 1/2 mile) and never really noticed the noise at night although the dogs did bark at times from them. I will say that some tracks get used FAR more than others. I'd try to find out how often the track is traversed by trains and also if there are any rumors that the particular section of track near your potential place will soon be out of service. I have seen more than a few sections be 'retired' as industries in the area have changed.

Good luck!


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

In this part of the US the railroads are gearing up and hiring lots of people at $22-$25/hr for laborers. I've heard the figure 5,000 new jobs.

That tells me they are making a huge investment in upgrading the tracks.

I'd take one in a heartbeat but it requires you to be able to stay out of town for up to weeks at a time.


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## farmerted (Dec 21, 2012)

depends when the train comes through, which way the wind is blowing and if there is a crossing. 

A train half mile from my house comes by at 6 am and 11 pm, as well as several times between, blasting it's horn for a mile. Sometimes I sounds as if a tornado is going to blow down my house other times I don't hear it for days. Cold windy days are the worst, shakes the house. Super long coal trains going down to barges on the Mississippi being shipped to who knows where.


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## hmsteader71 (Mar 16, 2006)

The home I grew up in, and where my dad and sister still live, is right near railroad tracks. You will get used to the noise. I learned to sleep right through it. We never had issues with pollution and to my knowledge it only derailed one time and it didn't cause any damage to any homes that are there.


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## farmerted (Dec 21, 2012)

train came through blasting it's horn this morning at 5:30, was sleeping with the windows open so it was like an alarm clock going off inside my head. more coffee!


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## crazyfarm (Oct 29, 2013)

I wouldn't. I grew up in a house near the railroad tracks but it was farther than you say yours is. The house still shook from it and the noise was bad. Also, anytime there was a railway killer we had to be very careful. We actually had a few killings last year from transients on the railway.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

When I was little, we lived in the country a miles from tracks. On damp summer nights, you could here the trains coming and going for miles and when they were under power, the drone would rattle our windows. It was not a problem...just what I remember.

Now I live a couple of blocks from tracks and I hardly notice, unless I'm waiting to cross.

Kids will travel great distances to play on the tracks in the country. At least this one did. 

If you want a home, it's what you can live with. 

If you are making an investment, "location," not locomotion, still applies.


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## urban gleaner (Jan 23, 2014)

With the house that close to the tracks, I would be concerned about structural damage caused by shaking/vibrations. Especially a place that old. If you do/have decided to by, I would get an inspection done FIRST.


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## vicker (Jul 11, 2003)

I grew up in, and am now aqain living in a house that is about 1/4 mile from a busy track. They move a lot faster now than they used to, it sems. They now come by at around 60 MPH and blow their horns. It is a sound I grew up with, and I find it pleasing.

My mother was from OK and all of her many siblings were great story tellers. I always loved the one my uncle Richard told of on old man who had lived right by a rr his whole life. A train came by every dadburn morning at 3:00am, blowing its whistle and rattling the little house. One night, 3:00am came around and there was no train. The old man jumped out of his bed and shouted, "what the Heck was that!?"  It's one of them stories that is told a way better than it is written.


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## fordy (Sep 13, 2003)

Bret said:


> When I was little, we lived in the country a miles from tracks. On damp summer nights, you could here the trains coming and going for miles and when they were under power, the drone would rattle our windows. It was not a problem...just what I remember.
> 
> Now I live a couple of blocks from tracks and I hardly notice, unless I'm waiting to cross.
> 
> ...


................From all I've read , I'm thinking the folks who like living close to the train tracks don't really comprehend the level of explosive energy in the crude oil being transported close to their homes ! All petroleum from North Dakota , has almost the same chemical characteristics as refined gasoline , so a 100 car train with crude oil from several different oil fields is JUST as dangerous IF it contains several loads from the Bakken field because once the cars derail the Bakken crude will effectively engulf all 100 cars . 
.................Crude from fields other than Bakken are much less flammable and therefore safer to transport cross country...............But , the railroads don't reveal that information to the public or the communities that they transport the crude cars through . The Feds are supposedly going to force the RR's to notify all communities about trains carrying crude before they actually arrive so the folks are somewhat prepared . , fordy:shrug:


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## farmerted (Dec 21, 2012)

http://www.up.com/aboutup/funstuff/horn_signals/ This a chart of why trains blow there horns, I thought it was fairly interesting so I thought I would share.


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## CurtisWilliams (Mar 14, 2005)

When I was a youth, we lived not more than 150' from tracks, and another couple hundred feet from a crossing, with mandatory tooting, and crossing guards. The first month really was miserable. Then the noise faded in to the background, and didn't disturb our life style, sleep patterns, ect...

As a kid, the trains and tracks were both an entertainment resource, a place to play and an avenue to other places. 

My father worked for the B&M Railroad, and I grew up around trains. I was never taught to fear them, but to treat them as the potentially deadly behemouth that they are.

I have an underground crude pipeline a couple miles from my house. Given the quantities of potentiatelly explosive materials that flow 24/7, a trainload is pretty minor, IMHO.


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