I want to buy a house by a busy mainline

sd80mac wrote:Also there is another one I know of... but minor... a gonadala came off the rail on the street ( not sure if its grade crossing or some sort of street running) and it rolled into automobile shop if I recall correct business type recently (within a year)

That happened at a downtown crossing in Johnstown, Pa. on June 19 last year when CSX was making a local delivery. It was a transmission shop/ auto repair garage they ran into. Shoulda looked where they were going... some buildings have a tendency to just dart out in front of trains when you least expect them to. The guy working inside had his pickup truck totally demolished when the gondolas sandwiched it against the shop.

Flat-Wheeler wrote:

sd80mac wrote:Also there is another one I know of... but minor... a gonadala came off the rail on the street ( not sure if its grade crossing or some sort of street running) and it rolled into automobile shop if I recall correct business type recently (within a year)

That happened at a downtown crossing in Johnstown, Pa. on June 19 last year when CSX was making a local delivery. It was a transmission shop/ auto repair garage they ran into. Shoulda looked where they were going... some buildings have a tendency to just dart out in front of trains when you least expect them to. The guy working inside had his pickup truck totally demolished when the gondolas sandwiched it against the shop.

wow time flew fast!! I thought that I saw these photos, like last fall!!! June 19 is obviously over a year! LOL

thanks for adding more information on that situation!

Just my "point oh two"....

I live by the tracks....I'll take my chances. I used to live by the Rochester airport in the 19th ward on the final approach to the runway...where the last thing the planes flew over prior to landing was a fuel storage farm. The folks along 104 by Kodak Park had a gasoline truck tip over and the ensuing inferno destroyed or damaged a number of houses, but people still live there as well....How many hazmat trucks do you pass or pass you on the expressways of life? My existence on earth is full of risks. In the meantime, I like living with the tracks in my backyard........BTW the house on Hinchey Rd is still for sale at last check.


Uh oh...I here Otto's footsteps approaching with lock and key.....

Really it's no different than living in a place that's close to a highway or an airport, the odds are about the same of a train wreck as a highway crash spilling the same chemicals etc., or an airplane falling out of the sky on your house. Which has happened not all that long ago, but people still live close to airports... in fact they tend to complain more about the noise than anything.

lvrr325 wrote: in fact they tend to complain more about the noise than anything.

Yeah but these same idiots move into these locaions after the fact and then b**** about it. They could can sound proof the house but are to lazy to do it and most often win when there case when it comes down to trains not being allowed to blow the horn at the crossings.

MP366 wrote:Uh oh...I hear Otto's footsteps approaching with lock and key.....

Be careful, or you'll be locked away inside the F-M!

My daughter lived just outside the evacuation zone during the Graniteville disaster.
I was pulling out my hair until I found out she was alright. I've even read of worst case scenerios where trains derailed and went THRU peoples' homes, killing the occupants. As has been suggested, there are many disadvantages to living near a RoW that outweigh ones "love" of trains from outright danger to loss of resale value.

Gadfly

some times its nice to live near the Railroad so it traffic is really bad you can just get an authority and hi-rail home

Arrestmespi wrote:some times its nice to live near the Railroad so it traffic is really bad you can just get an authority and hi-rail home

Some one was doing that on an unused section of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad Railroad for a while many years ago till they were told that they were trespassing and ordered to stop by the railroad?? I think the people who were doing this were ordered to build a drive way to the nearest road.

uh ok
but I'm a qualified engineering employee
so this doesn't matter to me

Arrestmespi wrote:some times its nice to live near the Railroad so it traffic is really bad you can just get an authority and hi-rail home... I'm a qualified engineering employee so this doesn't matter to me

huh... must be nice. Do they give you a "form D" and allow you to scootle home from whatever crossing ? Do you have an area of track along your property where you can get off the rails ? Interesting.

no, I am not under NORAC rules. I get an authority and when I reach a crossing near my house retract wheels and drive about 2 blocks home.
I thought about having the dispatcher stop a train at the old station last winter after some inclement weather but my boss told me not to bother coming in till it cleared up.

Let's get back to topic, please... A railfan looking to purchase a house by a busy mainline.

-otto-

While not presently listed, You never know when

I know the family who own and resides there; be assured they would be happier without "the view".

Incidentially, #5 immediately to the North has been sold to a builder; maybe for $1.2 you could have a custom built McMansion with a "widow's walk" atop of such.

Can't offer too much advice about purchasing, but I've had no trouble renting places within sight of my local "high iron" (NS Reading Line) for the past two and one half years. I'm in agreement that proximity to a heavily-trafficked main is seldom viewed as a selling point.

I live in an area with a number of small communities -- seldom more than 5000 people with the exception of Emmaus, PA which is currently so "trendy" that even the national media have taken some notice. If you can find a similar area, my advice would be to pay a visit, make a trip down a few side streets, visit the local watering hole (unless it's an absolute dive) and make a few discrete inquiries.

One final sidelight: while my current digs have a nice view of about 20-30 moves per day. I hadn't expected the noise from air horns to be quite so loud when the windows are open in warm weather.