Passenger Trains > NIMBYs again, but with a new twist

It seems that this poor fellow in Connecticut recently came to the shocking realization that trains apparently run on tracks - and now he wants someone to buy his house from him, because the town refused to put up the cash for a quiet zone.  (Mind you, CT Rail service is new, but Amtrak and freights have been running there daily all along.)  You can't make this stuff up...

https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/enfield-town-leaders-say-no-to-million-dollar-quiet-zone-to-cut-train-horns/1622819999?fbclid=IwAR0rbfwPft_OnV27qmgqM2xh6nbROQApb2ZpVDX_l9c2AwqsF77CW-GCbNQ



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/18 08:17 by pennsy3750.

Pella sells very nice, sound-absorbing windows. 

Or he could purchase noise-canceling headphones and turn the house into a B&B for railfans! Alternatively, he could start a crownfunding site to pay fpr the quiet zone.  

Bruce



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/18 14:11 by BCutter.

First of all the idiot is tresspassing by standing in the guage....Next, some people have all the luck....would not bother me one bit.....music to my ears.....

Keep standing on the track and you won't be concerned about the noise.

"It's (his home) about $40,000-$50,000 below the estimated value due to the train volume,"

That doesn't make sense, but he's probably trying to say his property would appraise $40-50K more if there were fewer or no trains.

If you buy a property next to an existing or planned potential nuisance source, like a rail ROW, airport, recycling facility etc., you're taking a chance. Before signing, read your property docs and check if there's any projects or proposals that could impact the property.

Tracks- might be trains running on them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/18 09:28 by Duna.

I know this area well.

The tracks have been there forever (we know this) but there I also the towns sewage treatment plant right down the road.

It smells 364 out of 365 days.

Track speed for passenger is max thru there.

No good views of the river either. He just wants someone to buy his house.

Duna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "It's (his home) about $40,000-$50,000 below the
> estimated value due to the train volume,"
>
> That doesn't make sense.


NJ has heard the same illogical argument in flood buyouts.

My house floods regularly, because it is in a flood zone. A similar house outside the flood zone would sell for $200,000 more.

Even though my purchase price reflected the flood discount, the government should pay me what the house would sell for if it was located in a better neighborhood.

Posted from Android

He should be glad his house has devalued - less property tax. Thick pile carpeting rather than hardwood floors would absorb some of the vibration under foot.

intentionally bought a house in Andover, Massachusetts with the B&M in the back/side yard.  Was on the regional transit board when we got commuters trains back on the line. Now it is also used by Amtrak's Downeaster service.  The trains were always good neighbors.  

Compared to road noise, construction noise, playground noise, jet noise,  etc., a few minutes of rail sounds throughout the day was just fine.  

The only problem we had was that the 11am freight out of the yard over by Lowell would come by our house about 11:15pm each night -- never heard the TV weather report on the late news for all the time we were there!

joemvcnj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> He should be glad his house has devalued - less
> property tax. Thick pile carpeting rather than
> hardwood floors would absorb some of the vibration
> under foot.

Maybe he's realizing that the property tax isn't going down as quickly as it goes up. I believe he has to file paperwork to ask the local/state government to reassess the lower value to impact his taxes?

I lived 80' from 2 CSX tracks for 15 years.  Trains 24/7.  I got to where I could not hear them.  My neighbors said they could not hear them.  All Our wall were cracked and ceilings fell regularly.  The man needs to find one of those crazy railfans and double the price!

Signals must have not been working if trains were going "constantly." 

Duna Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "It's (his home) about $40,000-$50,000 below the
> estimated value due to the train volume,"
>
> That doesn't make sense, but he's probably trying
> to say his property would appraise $40-50K more if
> there were fewer or no trains.
>
> If you buy a property next to an existing or
> planned potential nuisance source, like a rail
> ROW, airport, recycling facility etc., you're
> taking a chance. Before signing, read your
> property docs and check if there's any projects or
> proposals that could impact the property.
>
> Tracks- might be trains running on them.

It's sad most don't do that!

Reminds me of a time during firearms qualifications for a local law enforcement agency.

Midway through the qualifications, a new Cadillac SUV pulled into the range, past the warning signs and a well dressed woman got put, asking to speak to whoever was in charge.  She explained that she was a realtor and was going to show a house down the road to some potential buyers... could they please stop shooting until later?

After that, the big guns came out...  buyer beware!

I also remember an article on TO a year or so ago where an inactive line started up again serving a local plant that had been furloughed for several years.  Homeowners were upset... their realtor had assured them the line was abandoned and was being turned into a park!

 

This guy literally lives next to the sewage treatment plant. Also, the whistle post for Bridge Lane is directly behind his house. I'm sure all of the train crews who have come across this story are complying with the horn rule for grade crossings. After all, you can never be too safe, espcially with trespassers in the area.

This fellow might consider moving to Fort Collins, Colorado where the BNSF goes right down one of the major streets with probably 5 -8 long, long freights daily/nightly moving at 20+ mph and blowing the required horns at every block. Possibly, ten thousand people live within hearing of those crossings including the CSU students dorms and many condos and apartments buildings. I grew up in Connecticut next to the 4 track main line of the NYNH&H RR when freight dominated with about equal express and local passenger trains 24/7, and I always slept very well, in fact I long to hear that whistle blow. Thank heaven we are all different, the poor fellow just doesn't know what he is missing in life.

We live one block from the Mojave UP yard, which has been there since just after Custer was scalped, and we rarely hear any trains.
Good solid ex-SP house, double glazing. etc, etc....

Bill Deaver
Tehachapi, CA

It may be American journalistic style, but am I the only one who doesn’t like the final edit about Connecticut Department of Transportation stating that trespassing is illegal and dangerous. Written like it is it implies someone else might state that it isn’t ie there is an argument both ways. It is illegal and is dangerous; these are facts and should not be stated as opinions.

cricketer8for9 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It may be American journalistic style, but am I
> the only one who doesn’t like the final edit
> about Connecticut Department of Transportation
> stating that trespassing is illegal and dangerous.
> Written like it is it implies someone else might
> state that it isn’t ie there is an argument both
> ways. It is illegal and is dangerous; these are
> facts and should not be stated as opinions.

Some newspapers will treat any point of view as credible, so it receives "equal time".  Alternate facts and that nonsense.

We see it occasionally in reports of trespassers being struck while walking in the gauge of an active railroad.  One NJ newspaper, in particular, always changes the company press release which says "a trespasser was killed" to "an unauthorized person in the track area was killed" or "a pedestrian was killed". Or change "suspected suicide" to something more generic.