Does a railway line at the bottom of garden put you off buying a house?

[poppetmum]

I'd be interested to know views as we've seen a nice house, but this is what is making me unsure. It has 100 ft garden and would have 4-8 trains passing an hour (suburban). Most other houses in the street have large trees/shed at the end to help. I'm just worried it will be too noisy in the summer, or am I worrying too much??

We live near (not quite bottom-of-garden near, but near enough) the Berlin city-train line - it runs parallel to our street - and I like it. There are trains (more like glorified tubes really than 'proper' trains) at least every 10 mins until well into the night, and you do hear them, but it makes me feel all urban-in-a-nice-way. They start at 4am but I've never been woken by one, neither have the children.

OK if double glazed I have lived in both and the single glazed was v noisy.Do the trains run at night?That would bother me but not in teh day.

We lived close to the main London to Brighton line (ran behind the houses opposite) and tbh the noise wasn't really a problem. My mum lives about 200ft from a branch line running about 4 trains an hour, a few gardens down, and it is noiser with and more vibration.

someone i know has a station as part of their house! it's an old station masters house, so it goes right past their kitchen/living windows etc... and people are standing right there waiting for the trains. they've been there a couple of years, so mustn't mind it. but sounds better having it at the bottom of the garden rather than your house frontage.

I'd probably go for it, to get the extra garden space.

Stand there for a while, and in the house etc to see how bad the noise is. Unless it was shaking the house it wouldn't bother me, I quite like having some noise. Plus the house will probably be cheaper than a house exactly the same without the railway, so is noise free worth an extra £20,000 or so?(give or take, no idea of price difference ) You can obviously sheild it abit with bigger fences, tress, sheds, trellis etc. Our house in Windsor was under a flight path and I never noticed it - everyone viewing the house did though!

I'd want to know how many trains at night - afetr all i nthe summer you will be sleeping with your windows open.

But it wouldn't automaticly put me off - think trains are better than cars as you don't really get the revving, etc.

A friend of mine her house backs on a train line, she has lived there 30+ years and says it doesn't bother her in the slightest. Must admit last time I was there a train made me jump - because I saw it out the corner of my eye, hadn't heard it at all! You do get used to the noise.

My mum's house had a train line at the bottom of the garden. But it was near a station so not too fast. You do filter them out. However, we chose not to buy a house recently which had one since we counted 6 in teh 15 minutes we were there. A lot just crashing through, really noisy. But, if we'd loved the house may have chosen differently.

I've been woken up about 3 times by strange grinding noises in the night (in 6 years) - engineering works. And they do them about 3am.

We aren't near a station so they go through quickly, sometimes they stop at the bottom of the garden, so must be some points nearby.

And once a steam-train went through much to our excitement (it helps if your 3 yo is obsessed by Thomas the Tank Engine!)

We also have a busy road at the front, so being sandwiched between that and the railway line fills some people with horror. But, on the other side of the road is a common, so when you are inside you have a huge sense of space as you can see green front and back. There are few places in London where you aren't overlooked and have some open space. Its a compromise worth making in my book.

We have a railway line at the bottome of our garden. Our garden is about 120feet, and we have tall trees and a big shed.

TBH, we barely notice the trains. I think we have something like 8 trains an hour. The only ones we notice are the nice ones, eg the steam train on its way to Ascot.

The worst thing about having a railway line, is that there is probably a level crossing at the end of the street.

I used to share a flat in Putney that backed onto a trainline. It was very noisy at first, but after a while your brain blots it out (ditto the planes on the flightpath to HRW). It wouldn't put me off per se, but I would expect the price to reflect the railway line.

If it means you get more space for your dcs for your money then go for it.

Wouldn't put me off at all, and round here they are very sought after because of the long gardens and the fact there is no-one looking into your garden from that end.

Same here - lived in one with train line at bottom of 50ft garden and never noticed them. Mind you the line was at the bottom of a deep cutting. Round here there are houses that have a railway line at the same level as the houses with a 20 ft yard/mini garden and it doesn't seem to put anyone off paying half a million for them...!

we have a surburban line at the bottom of our garden which is only 40ft. Cos the station is only 5 min walk away the trains pulling in and out are slow and they are usually 2 - 4 carriage ones. So not noisy at all. Inside we can't hear them. And they start around 7am and stop around 11pm anyway.

I like living near a train line/station, grew up next to a really busy one London - Southampton, house used to shake there but got used to it really quick. But as I said it's quiet here and we are trying to sell our house and I worry that this factor is putting people off cos we've been on the market for 6 months now

There is a train line at the bottom of my Mum's house - 100 ft garden, stone wall, embankment down to railway line (handy for getting rid of hedge cuttings ;) )

We used to trainspot! 2 trains each way every hour and started at 6.30-11.30

Didnt notice it one bit even with my bedroom at the back of the house. there is something quite theraputic about hearing them even at 7am.

It also depends on your windows. We back onto a railway line at the bottom of our long garden. We have Victorian sash windows so we hear the trains but the neighbours have ugly UPVC ones and they don't. I wish I could bring myself to take out the sashes, because it does bother me at night. In fact I wear ear plugs every night because I am very sensitive to noise.

I love the wildlife outside though and there's a lot of leafiness in railway cuttings which can be hard to come by in urban settings.

Pros and cons. The house will definitely be cheaper as a result and there's probably no way we could have afforded a house this size without compromising on the railway.

You need to be there when the trains go by. Listen carefully (though I swear I don't even notice them in the daytime now.)

I'd rather have trains than cars.

i lived right by a railway sidings for years, in the end it did my head in. when the new buyers asked if it bothered me, i said no.

Not me.
I love the sound of a train.

We have a railway line at the bottom of our garden, it didn't put us off, although house had been on market for 3 mths, estate agents said it put some people off, although saying that, house needed a lot of work and had small garden relative to size of house due to extension, so I don't think it was just the trains.

We actually miss the trains when we go on hols .

Another person who had a railway line at the bottom of her garden from age 14 here. Didn't bother me then, although they can be a bit noisy if windows are open, and you would pause conversation for a moment if sitting in the garden.

Wouldn't choose to live with it with tiny children, as would fear them waking all the time, but with slightly older ones I would (at least I would have until I got spoiled by living in the total silence of the countryside).

trains have never woken up my 18 month dd, we don't hear them unless we are in gardens, someone pleeeease buy our house

Hi,
I wonder if you lovely people can give me some advice.
We are looking at renting a house for six months which has a train line that runs down the side of the house about 15ft if that from the house. It is a very busy train line which has one train probably every 10-15 mins.
My worry is i have a daughter currently doing her gcses and would like to know if the noise would affect her sleep and her studying or would we get used to it.
Also there is a electric junction for the train track that that apparantly so we have been told charges the train up each time a train passes. Can this cause radiation the same as the overhead power lines.
I know if in doubt don't rent it but we are re-locating and haven't found any decent houses to rent but this house ticked all the boxes apart from the train by the side of the house.
I did ask the landlord and he was evasive with his answers hence the reason I'm asking.
Thank You for your time.

Hi Friends4

You might be better off posting this as a new thread, as otherwise people will probably just reply to the original poster's question.

If I were you I'd try to speak to the current tenants or neighbours (if there are any), find out how much it disturbs them.

Our first house had a 140 ft garden at the bottom of which was one of the suburban train lines into London - the line itself was in a deep embankment, so the noise was much less bad than if it had been running at the same level/above the garden. I wouldn't have bought the house if were overlooked by the trains but because we couldn't see them and barely hear them, it was fine. Only time it was annoying was when they were doing night working on the rails - but that was only once or twice a year, so perfectly liveable with.