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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to consider buying a house that used to be a railway station?

233 replies

LookingUpIn21 · 01/02/2021 11:02

I'm not linking it!

But it's a beautiful Victorian building that used to be the station master's house and the railway station.

The train tracks are still in use - about every 40 minutes a train goes past.

The house is to-die for gorgeous, the garden is on all sides and the view is magnificent.

The house has been on the market for about 6 months now, so I think it must be off-putting.

Would you consider it? I think I could probably get used to the noise, myself. And the fence looks sturdy so I wouldn't worry about DC, although we do have cats. But I wonder if I'm blinded by the interior and would regret it in the end...

OP posts:
sharond101 · 01/02/2021 14:35

We looked onto the railway. DIdn't bother us until works were scheduled overnight for a few days running and we got no sleep at all. This happened 2-3 times per year for 2-3 days at a time.

singingsoprano · 01/02/2021 14:39

Our garden backs onto the main trainline from Bedford to Brighton and Nottingham to London St. Pancras. Lived here for 30+ years, no real issues with double glazing and you vey quickly get used to it.

ButtonMoonLoon · 01/02/2021 14:40

Ohhh a facebook friend linked to a property sounding very much like this one but I can’t remember which friend and can’t find the property!
But it’s not all that far from us.
But it looked amazing and I remember thinking it would be snapped up quickly- so don’t hang around if you like it- it’s a once in a lifetime sort of opportunity I’d imagine.

Fink · 01/02/2021 14:40

When you say it was the station master's house, is there still a station there? Because a train stopping and people getting on and off would be a lot more off-putting to me than them just going past.

We have a family member whose house backs on to a railway line. It's fine in the winter with double glazing and the doors closed, but annoying in the summer with the windows open and we all hate sitting in the garden so it's pretty much completely wasted. They only have about one train an hour, so it's not a lot, but it does mean you are periodically deafened.

I've also lived near a London Underground line (an overground bit of it) and that was a nightmare. It sounded permanently like there was a storm. I hated it.

LH1987 · 01/02/2021 14:41

I live next to a train line,with good double glazing you won’t notice it after a while. It wouldn’t put me off at all.

ElspethFlashman · 01/02/2021 14:42

@CeibaTree

If it was something like this one and I had the money I'd buy it in a heartbeat!
Oooh that ones amazing - they've made the platform into a verandah! Lovely.
singingsoprano · 01/02/2021 14:43

We have always had cats as well, never been an issue and we live on a quiet road. A busy main road would be much more of an issue for us.

Megan2018 · 01/02/2021 14:49

Absolutely not, that’s my idea of hell-we don’t do noise. Plus I’d be terrified for my cats. Big fat No from me!
My aunt lived right by a railway line in the 80’s and I thought it was hilarious when I was 5 that the bath water slopped out when the fast trains went past. As an adult that would drive me insane.

Lovemusic33 · 01/02/2021 15:09

@Megan2018

Absolutely not, that’s my idea of hell-we don’t do noise. Plus I’d be terrified for my cats. Big fat No from me! My aunt lived right by a railway line in the 80’s and I thought it was hilarious when I was 5 that the bath water slopped out when the fast trains went past. As an adult that would drive me insane.
Same, for me it wouldn’t matter how lovely the house was, I would have nightmares about my kids or the cat getting hit by a train. I also hate noise. The house we are in at the moment is the first house I have lived in that is close to a main road, it’s taken me years to get used to traffic noise even though it’s not a big main road.
BigusBumus · 01/02/2021 15:11

Is it the Hexham one?

I'd buy it, yes.

Pumpkinstace · 01/02/2021 15:12

An ex station masters house is my dream house op

glassacorn · 01/02/2021 15:16

See if you can visit at a time when trains will be going past and have a listen from different rooms.

If it doesn't bother you, go ahead! We should all be so lucky to live in a home we love. 🙂

Iqqq · 01/02/2021 15:24

@TakeTheCuntOutOfScunthorpe

Is the train traffic 24 hours? That would be the deal breaker for me. Also, it might be haunted because there is a lot of energy both positive and negative at rail stations.
Wtf?
funnelfanjo · 01/02/2021 15:33

As pp have said, watch out for goods trains through the night. I used to have a line at the bottom of my garden in SE England, I never noticed the passenger trains but the rumble of a goods train at night would shake the house. Good job I'm a heavy sleeper. Grin

Oh, and the cat was never bothered and never went near the line.

murbblurb · 01/02/2021 15:37

beaten to it on the Blues Brothers reference!! Grin

DipSwimSwoosh · 01/02/2021 15:39

I love trains and train noise. It sounds wonderful.

lockeddownandcrazy · 01/02/2021 15:48

Wouldnt bother me at all - but it might put off potential buyers if you ever want to sell.

ABigFatCrow · 01/02/2021 15:54

The houses across the road from me have a train line along their back gardens, its a local line into the city centre so a couple of trains per hour and stops about midnight. I barely hear it, unless I'm getting kids into their car seats and I stop and close my door over waiting for a car to pass, then realise its actually the train. Its no louder than a car driving at 20/30 on a wet road.

MotherExtraordinaire · 01/02/2021 16:27

It's quirky butbbotnasb"nice" as I'd hope for...

...to consider buying a house that used to be a railway station?
...to consider buying a house that used to be a railway station?
...to consider buying a house that used to be a railway station?
MaggieFS · 01/02/2021 16:31

I had no idea so many former station houses were available! I love the one near Hawick!

This one is gorgeous looking and seems really cheap? I think for me though, proximity to the road across the front of the house and traffic queueing for the level crossing in front of your windows would put me off, where the railway wouldn't. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/99150212#/

Londonmummy66 · 01/02/2021 18:15

Did the estate agent describe the live rail line as "passing interest"?

VintageStitchers · 01/02/2021 19:03

If you buy it, I would re-home the cats as they’re likely to get killed on the tracks making a dash for it. I grew up with a garden that backed into a railway line.

In my 30’s we bought a house near somewhere quite noisy because the house was fabulous with a huge garden and perfect for a growing family. Whilst the noise didn’t bother us, it took us 18 months to sell because further development after we moved in meant the noise was greater and it seriously put off prospective buyers. In fact, it was a partially deaf couple who bought the house in the end as they really loved our big garden and their dogs were quite noisy anyway!

TravellingTilbury · 01/02/2021 19:10

Depends on the trains. I live within 100 yards of a trainline and love it - v private and lots of trees (that I can enjoy without the upkeep of) and wildlife. The trains are few. There are a couple of two carriage trains a few times a day which are really quiet. Twice a day there is a goods train - one is about 9.30am. But we are strangely fond of it!

I am under no illusion though that selling a house that backs onto a trainline could be harder than selling a house in a 'normal' location.

That said, I've stayed in places next to high speed lines and I found those trains very noisy. And frequent.

Sounds exciting though. Good luck!

bloodyhairy · 01/02/2021 21:07

Wish people would stop asking the OP if they've found the one. It's annoying and intrusive, and why would the OP want it to be identified on here??Confused

Pumpkinstace · 01/02/2021 21:49

Plus OP said it was the old station masters house but people keep linking converted actual stations.

As beautiful as they are that isn't what the OP was even on about.