We have our home up for sale. There have been numerous prospective buyers see the house. Comments have been positive for the most part. A few people indicated interest in the house except that they were concerned because of the presence of CSX/AMTRAK tracks behind the house. The house is in a subdivision in which the tracks run behind many of the homes. We’ve been in this home for over 20 yrs and never has there been any incidents involving trains. I am confused why a prospective buyer would be concerned about train tracks. What am I missing? I’m literally too close to the situation to understand what it is about the train tracks that concerns buyers. What do you all think? What’s wrong with train tracks?
Noise
Safety concerns, especially buyers with children
They lead to Terminus
noise… if someone has the choice to live in an earshot of a train or not, they will probably choose not to. i would consider living near a track if the price was really good, but if it was just average price i’d find a neighborhood without tracks in the back.
I think that people that live by train tracks get used to it after awhile and it doesn’t bother them, just like living near a busy road and hearing the traffic. I lived fairly close to one at one time and don’t remember it ever bothering me.
John
Pathfinder 23 HPS
quote:
Originally posted by davejaskThey lead to Terminus
LOL
I grew up living under the flight path of taking off and landing C-141’s.
Trains don’t bother me.
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noise?.It’s really not that bad. The only time it becomes an issue is during the spring/fall when the windows are open and you’re watching tv, and even then it’s only for a couple of minutes.
safety?..6ft fenced in back yard?.children stay in the yard. There has been six families raise their children on our block, there has never been a problem with them playing near the tracks. If fact, the only interaction between people/trains is when the crazy teenagers riding their 4x4s along the track right-of-ways?.stupid! but even then no one has been injured.
And I don’t get the price part of it either. If someone doesn’t want to buy the house because of the tracks and if you lower the price of the house why doe is seem like a nicer house, does lowering the price make the tracks go away?
Unless it was a heck of a deal, I would not buy a house with tracks that close. Between the noise and even the remote chance of a derailment, why do so when there are houses not near tracks? Plus, if you have not lived near tracks, you anticipate it being much worse than it is. No offense meant.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
quote:
Originally posted by davejaskNoise
Safety concerns, especially buyers with children
They lead to Terminus
I hear they are serving up Beth burgers at Terminus. 
To be serious, I worked for a company that cleaned up train wrecks. It’s called Hulchers if you want to Google it.
Amtrak rails are the best. They are frequently inspected and run the heaviest gauge rail. Good ballast and ties. That being said, there are way more train wrecks than you hear about. Way more. A high speed mainline will pile them up well past 100 yards from the rail. They also haul a lot of propane and natural gas. No good.
I personally would not live within a half mile of a mainline.
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Not trying to bust your bubble but I would never purchase a home near the tracks either. All above reasons are concern…Noise being number one. I lived in St. Matthews for the past 10 years. No where near the tracks but when a train rolled through town at 3am…You knew it!
I’ve spent many nights in a friend’s home (when I was a child) and they lived within yards of a very busy set of train tracks in the upstate (there were at least 4 tracks parallel to each other behind their house). You heard train horns, slams (trains joining together with a loud crash), and etc.
But, I never once lost a wink of sleep because of it. It’s the sound of folks working and making a living, which is (in some ways) music to my ears anyhow. I would not personally consider the noise to be an issue. I have several sleep disorders, and some ungainly sounds can be a problem… but only if they are noises I can’t figure out, or noises that mean something needs fixing (like a drippy faucet, leaky toilet tank, etc). Trains? Nah.
Saying “I am offended” is telling everyone else that you cannot control your own emotions, and thus you need everyone else to do it for you.
Noise…that is what people are worried about.
My in laws in Gulfport are a quarter a mile from a major track. I love the late night sound of one coming through.
I had an uncle that had a house in the mountains and the railroad tracks ran by his house. We would stay there on vacation sometimes. I used to love to hear the train rumble and by with the wheels click clacking over the rails. I think the sound is soothing actually.
Dorado II
Carolina Skiff 25DLV
I could be wrong,but I think there was a ordinance put into effect that the train operater could not sound the horn in certain areas after a specific time because the peolpe complained about the noise.
Double D.
that would be correct DD. trains runs by about a block from my house and they are not allowed to sound the horn or go at a high rate of speed, they don’t bother me at all… except when they are blocking my way to work!
also, love listening to the tugs going up the cooper at night. good stuff
“mr keys”
With the exception of Matt R?..I haven’t heard anyone else express rationale, fact-based concerns about living near tracks. As most have said, the noise isn’t a real problem. And for safety?the speed of the freight trains is rather slow? considering they are either slowing down as they are getting closer to the rail yards or just starting to speed up, leaving the yard. BTW, I’m not being argumentative, I just thought it would be good to discuss it and maybe find a way to convince potential buyers that their concerns for the most part, are unfounded.
Well the only suggestion I have is to ask the potentail buyer/buyers why they are afraid to live near the tracks,that maybe your only way to find your answer.
Double D.
quote:
With the exception of Matt R?..I haven't heard anyone else express rationale, fact-based concerns about living near tracks
Kind of makes my point. If they have not lived near tracks, they can only imagine what it is like and probably imagine things being worse than they actually are. As a buyer, you tend not to want to believe the seller as many sellers will tell you anything to get you to buy.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
My first apartment had tracks through the backyard. After about the 3rd night we hardly noticed and it certainly wasn’t an issue. We kinda liked it.
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