# How far do you live from train tracks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 31, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008 "2013-07-31T18:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/81 "2013-08-02T07:13:24Z")
I live about a mile from Union Pacific’s Dolores yard in Carson, and only when the wind shifts to the east do I hear trains. Love 'em. Trains make up my very earliest memory. We lived about 200 yards from Pacific Electric’s Sentous yard in Los Angeles, and I can recall standing at a window and watching freight trains trundle down Jefferson Boulevard toward Culver City. We moved from there when I was almost two. The track is now Metrorail’s Expo Line, and when I ride it I can look out and see the little house we lived in back in the early 1940’s and the window a little boy watched trains from. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/82 "2013-08-02T15:34:43Z")
I’m just over 7 miles from the nearest line. If the wind is just right and I’m outside, I can hear the whistles. There’s a former line less than a half mile from my house, but the tracks have been torn up and the right of way turned into a multi-purpose trail. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/83 "2013-08-02T17:18:28Z")
I’m maybe 4 miles from train tracks now. There’s a minor switching yard there. I hear the horns now and then. I find it calming. I grew up maybe a mile from train tracks and could hear their horns too. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/84 "2013-08-02T19:04:06Z")
About 20 metres from a suburban trainline (four trains an hour), I don’t really register the noise anymore, and yes, I sleep through it fine. About one mile from the main intercity line, which I don’t hear at all, over all the local traffic noise, other trainline, etc! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/85 "2013-08-02T19:33:53Z")
About six blocks from a fairly busy line. Which is relatively far compared to other places I’ve lived. And I definitely hear them, though it is soothing. On Monday I slept in a caboose in a train themed B&B. I’m not vouching for their accuracy, but the owners claimed that the track the cabooses were on was officially still active, so on Monday night I was pretty close. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/86 "2013-08-02T20:06:45Z")
Half a block from the DC subway which runs underground near my house. I’ve never noticed it, but my neighbors who live above it say the feel the trains’ vibrations. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/87 "2013-08-02T20:15:36Z")
I live 4 miles from the nearest freight line. I can occasionally here the whistle from my house if the wind is cooperating. The people whose town it goes through revere the train as a god. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/88 "2013-08-02T20:16:23Z")
Looks like one and a quarter kilometers, or three quarters of a mile, to the south. Interestingly, those weren’t the tracks I thought of at once, because there aren’t many street level crossings and I seldom go that far south. To the north, the tracks are a full mile away, but there’s a street level crossing that I drive over quite often - and occasionally walk across. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/89 "2013-08-02T20:25:32Z")
I believe the only active freight rail line in Seattle runs along the waterfront, so about 5 miles away. The state (county?) is building light rail that will be closer, but underground. When it’s foggy, I do hear the Ferry horns as they leave the dock, but that’s even farther than the rail line. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/90 "2013-08-02T20:26:03Z")
3 kilometers from an elevated city train 4 kilometers from “real” trains. Never hear them. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/91 "2013-08-02T20:43:25Z")
Years ago we lived about 60’ from the BN tracks and had freight/Amtrak trains at various hours. Our old (1905) house had almost no foundation and vibrated when trains passed. For some odd reason it would give an almost imperceptible ‘twitch’ when a train passed over the ‘points’ about 2 miles away. When guests were present (who invariably didn’t notice the little bump) one of us would casually glance at the clock and say “Well, just about time for the old 9:07 to come rollin’ thru.”(mentally adds 2 1/2 minutes to current time). Lo and Behold, the ‘Old 9:07’ would rumble past right on time to the general amazement at our arcane knowledge of train schedules. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/92 "2013-08-02T22:58:37Z")
500-600 ft from a really big depot. I’ve gotten used to the train whistle(unless I’m standing right next to it) but it’s really loud when they switch out cars. Here’s a train whistle now! The house I grew up in is about half a mile from the same tracks. My parents’ house now is like a mile away from much quieter tracks. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/93 "2013-08-03T01:23:40Z")
A mile from the BART commuter train, about two miles to an actual freight line. I hear them both from time to time, but it’s not intrusive. I used to live half a block from the elevated BART track in Albany, and after two weeks, I never noticed them unless I was outside and saw them. I have fond memories of going to my grandparents’ house in Merced as a kid, going to sleep out on the porch and listening to the trains off in the distance. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2013, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/94 "2013-08-03T10:12:24Z")
I don’t know the exact distance, but it’s about 1-1/4 miles(two kilometers). This line is to the east of me, running north and south. There are other train lines in the city limits, but these are the closest. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/95 "2013-08-03T13:56:33Z")
My house is 1.14 miles from the DART (Dallas-Area Rapid Transit) light rail tracks, but as far as main line freight tracks go, about 6.3 miles from the ones in Addison. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/96 "2013-08-03T14:15:41Z")
Right now about a mile, but I’ve never seen (or heard) a train on it. I don’t think the track ever gets used. For several years we lived literally right across the street from a track. We could feel trains coming before we heard them. We told people we lived on the right side of the tracks, but just barely. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/97 "2013-08-04T04:53:33Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > I live about a mile from Union Pacific’s Dolores yard in Carson, and only when the wind shifts to the east do I hear trains. Love 'em. > > Trains make up my very earliest memory. We lived about 200 yards from Pacific Electric’s Sentous yard in Los Angeles, and I can recall standing at a window and watching freight trains trundle down Jefferson Boulevard toward Culver City. We moved from there when I was almost two. > > The track is now Metrorail’s Expo Line, and when I ride it I can look out and see the little house we lived in back in the early 1940’s and the window a little boy watched trains from. That’s a great memory! Thanks for sharing. I get a kick out of reading the old station names in Wikipedia. Who knew that Westwood was called Talamantes? Or that the stop near Sepulveda Boulevard was Home Junction? ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/98 "2013-08-04T07:21:42Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > That’s a great memory! Thanks for sharing. > I get a kick out of reading the old station names in Wikipedia. Who knew that Westwood was called Talamantes? Or that the stop near Sepulveda Boulevard was Home Junction? There is a siding along Aviation Avenue just south of LA Airport called “LAIRPORT” I would like to see the Green Line station at Hawthorne airport renamed “Flying Wing” as the famous postwar bomber was built there at the North American plant and test-flown out of the Hawthorne airport in the late 40’s. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/99 "2013-08-04T11:43:42Z")
I’m about 400 metres from the train tracks, and about 600 metres from the subway tracks. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008/100 "2013-08-04T14:03:55Z")
My place and my SO’s place: both about 100 m from the track; 200 m from the next station. We can easily sleep through trains passing even in summer with all windows open. But there is no level crossing without crossing gates within hearing distance of either, so no horns to be heard. (You very frequently hear trains but almost never hear a train’s horn in built-up areas in Germany). The main annoyance at night are the warning horns of track gangs, but track works are only every few years for a few days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-do-you-live-from-train-tracks/665008.md?page=6)