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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:
Yourteaisgettingcold · 02/02/2021 20:16

I'd go for it but keep in mind that I'd probably make my cas house cats and I would need to consider that if I were to sell in the future that it too could take time for the same reasons you aren't sure.

TwoLeftSocksWithHoles · 02/02/2021 20:17

If it's an electrified line, with just a couple of crocodile clips, you could probably get FREE electricity, assuming your kettle, toothbrush, fridge, etc runs on 750 volts.

FrostyChocolateMilkshake · 02/02/2021 20:26

There is a busy train line pretty much on my back garden. We got used to it very quickly, it really isn't an issue.

I'm so intrigued to see this house!

echt · 02/02/2021 20:31

Is it the house that Chris Donald, one the founders of Viz owns/ed?

mumda · 02/02/2021 20:43

If it's the one near belford they're looking at reopening the line for local trains.

Bloodhoundgang · 02/02/2021 20:54

Check for Japanese Knotweed.

It is fairly common round train lines. I lived backing onto a line for years and was very happy. Only thing that stopped me buying was the JK.
And rats.

monkeysox · 02/02/2021 20:56

Even if trains don't run during night engineering works and engineering trains do and can be quite loud. Best to know.

Wallyandasnog · 02/02/2021 21:02

@monkeysox

Even if trains don't run during night engineering works and engineering trains do and can be quite loud. Best to know.
I was going to say about engineering works... they can be quite loud. I quite like the sound, sort if like a giant washing machine. It can lull me to sleep, but I can see it could disturb some people. Definitely something to think about if you are a light sleeper.
PeterPandemic · 02/02/2021 21:03

If you type in Google
site: rightmove.co.uk "former station masters house"

Or
site: zoopla.co.uk "old station"

Then you can find loads. This one looks lovely, only 7 trains a day www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85295731#/ but it's actually on a platform that is used still, it's the old station which is now unmanned. I like the ticket booth inside, but fancy having everyone looking in your windows all day Shock

Luke423 · 02/02/2021 21:19

A couple of points that have already been touched on;

  • There's a definite subculture of people (usually men) who are into railway architecture and like to photograph it. Harmless enough but some people might get annoyed by it. More of this at www.disused-stations.org.uk/sites.shtml if you're interested.
  • If it's on the way to any of our remaining industry then chances are you'll have heavy freight going past at funny hours. I once stayed in a hotel near the Llanwern steel works in Newport and I honestly thought we were being bombed at one point.

Other than that it sounds mega. I assume that trains don't dump toilet waste on the track any more though?

Celestine70 · 02/02/2021 21:47

I live next to a track and you honestly don't notice after a while. In the night I find the sound quite comforting if I hear one go buy.

SeaSunandSand · 02/02/2021 21:48

My sister has train tracks running at the bottom of her garden. Fast, slow and even steam trains at times. The cargo trains run 24hrs. It took her a matter of months to get used to it.

I live in the Middle East I have speeding cars with horns blaring 24/7. My sister doesn’t even notice it when she visits! I don’t hear it now unless there is a screech of tyres followed by a bang. That is more common than you would think... Sad

SeaSunandSand · 02/02/2021 21:51

@ PeterPandemic only me that thinks the hall feels like a train carriage?! Awesome house! I would not like people standing outside it though...

BotanyBetty · 02/02/2021 21:52

I used to live behind a railway station and I had no issue with it. I find all the associated noises very soothing (but I'm from a very train obsessed family! It's in the blood)

Usernamerequired · 02/02/2021 22:27

Sounds lovely!! 😊 If you are worried about the cats a ‘catio’ would give them safe outdoor access and peace of mind for you.

LadyofMisrule · 02/02/2021 22:43

I'd love it.

HurricaneBitch · 02/02/2021 22:46

I grew up in a house which was over a wall from a railway station on the main east coast mainline, I never noticed the noise until the absence of the noise when we moved house, I couldn't sleep in such silence. Lol

Mamanyt · 03/02/2021 00:17

I live under the main runway for a Marine Air Base, and have done so for 12 years now. And I mean, not 1/4 mile off of the end of the runway! Those planes pass over so low that I can wave to the pilots, and they wave back! After the first year or so, both the cat and I pretty much ignored them, and the sound isn't a bother at all anymore, unless I'm outside carrying on a conversation. Then everything simply pauses for a couple of minutes.

My only concern would be the cats. And that could be a major issue, as I know that cats in the UK generally roam at will. Think about that one long and hard. If they are accustomed to busy streets, it may not be an issue.

Ddot · 03/02/2021 04:47

I have a cat and she uses the railway as a play ground. Overgrown mass of foliage is very tempting. Unless your cat is deaf I'm sure it'll be fine. Neighbour's cats are over there too. No issues 🤞

EachandEveryone · 03/02/2021 08:44

Well I know of two that have been lost to the tracks so i wouldnt say its not an issue

SlopesOff · 03/02/2021 09:03

@EachandEveryone

Well I know of two that have been lost to the tracks so i wouldnt say its not an issue
I have known of more than two.

If a cat is in a strange place or is freaked by something they will often run towards danger rather than away from it. Same reaction as those that are let out of cars on roads and dumped at the side. They don't wander off into the countryside as (presumably) the person dumping them assumes, they go the opposite way, into the traffic. Same with railway lines. Not all, but far too many for me to ever take a chance with a little life that I cared about.

FreddieMercurysCat · 03/02/2021 09:04

I live next to a main line not far out of Crewe, so you can imagine it’s busy. You don’t notice any noise after a month or two. I seriously don’t notice the trains at all. And some of those station house conversions are fabulous.

PrawnCorset · 03/02/2021 09:08

I spent a lot of student weekends staying with a friend who lived in a beautiful Victorian station master’s house because her dad was the station master of a small town station on a branch line.

No one in the family appeared to notice the noise of stopping trains any more, though I remember finding it quite surreal how everything in the kitchen vibrated and people stopped talking for a minute and then resumed. It was right adjacent to the platform of a functioning station, though, and anyone standing on the benches of the waiting area could see in the downstairs windows, including the bathroom, and the private drive ran along the access to the car park — small garden on the non-track side only — so it very much felt like living in a working station.

The other thing was one of the bedrooms, where I used to sleep when I visited, was over the arched passageway that gave access to the platform, and was the coldest I have ever been indoors in winter!

Cupoftea25 · 03/02/2021 09:43

I bought a house with a lovely garden that has tracks over the back fence...and we all love it!! It's nice to see trains go by, my 4 year old watches the tops go by past the fence and the noise is a fraction of what road traffic is. I also like not being overlooked and the security that someone won't be hopping over to nab our lovely outdoor items any time soon if they don't fancy being electrocuted! Having moved from a previous place that also backs onto tracks, this was one of the things that we found as a positive for the new house so go for it!!

cyclecamper · 03/02/2021 13:14

I grew up next door to the London to Dover mainline. It was brilliant. I would love to live in an old station. Unlike roads, there is very little noise at night, there are big quiet gaps and after a short time you don't notice the trains unless you are standing on the doorstep talking, and usually only then if the person you are talking to suddenly stops talking. Trains are friendly. Downsides: can be hard to sell; glasses in the cabinet need not to touch or they can chip.

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