Can you hear train whistles from your house?

[InternalDialogue]

And do you like it?

I live in a downtown Denver neighborhood, and mornings and evenings I can hear the trains at crossings as they enter or leave the center city. They come from two directions, but both are far enough away that the whistles sound lonely and distant, and especially at night I love the sound.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. yes, off in the distance, late at night. Mournful and inspires the

wanderlust in me.

[Orsino]

84. I hear 'em faintly, too...

...though it inspires only nostalgia in me.

[redqueen]

2. Yes and yes.

I live in a small town, near the center, and I can always hear the whistle. When it's late and quiet, I can hear the whistle from fairly far away, and I can hear the wheels too. It's nice. :)

[rurallib]

8. I too live in a small town a block from the tracks

I can hear the whistle and feel the rumble. And I always want to run down and hitch a ride.

[redqueen]

11. I live about a mile away.

So no rumble for me... but I do love the rumbley sound of the wheels. :)

[justabob]

3. yes

I didn't like it much when I lived so close to the tracks that my windows shook with every passing train, but I can hear them in the distance now and would be sad if I ever stopped hearing them.

[Tikki]

4. Yes and yes....We heard the Space Shuttle re-entry booming.....

through the atmosphere the other day....it is always an awesome experience.

The Tikkis

[XemaSab]

5. Yes and yes

:)

[graywarrior]

6. We have tourist trains in North Conway

I DESPISE them.

[RetroLounge]

58. But they may make me come visit you...

:hi:

RL

[Silver Swan]

7. Yes and yes

I live less than a mile from railroad tracks. and if the weather is right and the windows are open, I can hear one late night train for twenty minutes. It gives me a cozy feeling.

[soleft]

9. I grew up with North Jersey Coastline running thru my back yard

You'd be on the telephone and a train would go past and you'd be like, "Hold on a second." And have to wait for the train to pass. My sister's friend had a running gag where everytime a train would pass, she'd yell "Hold the dishes" and run to the kitchen cabinet.

Otherwise we grew kind of oblivious to it. We were close to the crossing, so we'd hear the train horn as well. Even the night owl didn't wake us up.

Then I lived in NYC for 27 years, and just recently moved back to the same area. Now every morning I ride that train past my hold house.

[InternalDialogue]

12. That sounds a little like a friend of mine in Chicago.

He lives in Morton Grove, with the Metra literally one block from his house and no houses or trees to act as sound barrier. Even on the phone I can hear the crossing whistle and the rumble as it passes -- a lot of times I'm the one who has to say, "Hold on, I can't hear."

[trackfan]

10. Yes to both. nt

[LeftinOH]

13. My backyard is up against the railyard; you get used to it...n/t

[MorningGlow]

14. Yes, and I like it--it's such a romantic sound

Of course, we're far enough away that it isn't loud enough to truly disturb us.

[KitchenWitch]

15. No

But when we lived in Minnesota we could. It was haunting and beautiful.

[treestar]

16. Yes

I like hearing them. At least, at the distance they are at!

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. Only when trains go by and blow their whistles. And yes, I love it.

I wish I lived a little closer to the tracks.

I used to live across a river from a factory, and they had lots of train stuff happening at night, which was wonderful.

But then, I love trains.

[MineralMan]

18. Our house is two blocks from the main rail line

running from Saint Paul to Duluth. There's a crossing nearby, and we hear the train horns frequently.

I thought it odd that the realtor who showed us the house didn't point out that the tracks were so close, and we never crossed them.

Never mind. I like the sound of the train going by.

[billyskank]

19. Not exactly

here they go "HONK HONK!" and rush past at 100mph. Not quite as romantic as your American trains. :)

The railway line runs right behind my house. But it is worth it to have the station >10 mins walk away.

[InternalDialogue]

21. "HONK" is romantic to geese, at least.

Do you run across many heartbroken fowl nearby?

[billyskank]

22. No geese near here.

No water near my house.

[RebelOne]

20. Yes, there is a train track about a mile from my house. n/t

[SidneyCarton]

23. Yes and yes, now.

When I was a child the train whistles always sounded lonely and mournful, it bothered me for some reason. I like it better now, maybe because it reminds me of my childhood.

[hobbit709]

24. Yes. Joe Ely singing Boxcars by Butch Hancock sums it up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-tnJNcFF8k&feature=related

[Rhythm]

25. Yeah, but from across the river, approximately 1/2 mile away as the crow flies...

When i lived in Charlotte, i lived across the street from a set of well-used tracks, including a train that ran by at about 2:30am. I got so used to it that the ONE TIME it didn't come in the middle of the night, i woke up. Watching the morning local news, i found out that the train had derailed about 20 miles before it got to my house!

[Crazy Dave]

26. Can hear the whistles and love to monitor their radio frequencies

All different stuff like the engineers talking to the yard and automated equipment that tells the driver what mile marker he just passed and how many axles he has total.

[Rosie1223]

27. The Amtrak whistles drive the coyotes insane

We can always tell when the Amtrak is coming before we can hear it because the coyotes start howling.

Regular freight trains don't seem to bother them. Weird.

[azmouse]

28. Occasionally.

It has to be a quiet day but sometimes we can hear train whistles. I like it.

[Blue_In_AK]

29. Yes and yes.

The Alaska Railroad runs about a mile from here. I only notice it at night, but I like it.

[Kali]

61. I rode that train from Anchorage to Fairbanks back in the winter of 76

oh god that sounds like some kind of geezer!

On the way back I spent the whole trip having a conversation with the son of friends of my parents. He was what we called in those days a Jesus Freak.

[Blue_In_AK]

62. That's a gorgeous trip.

I did it back in the late '70s, also. Were you riding in the dome cars? The scenery is just spectacular when you can see above and all around you.

[Kali]

67. I don't think they were dome cars.

It was winter (right around x-mas if I recall) and I know a fair amount of the trip was through snowfall. I remember lots of stops for locals to get on/off or to deliver packages.

We did another trip on the Anchorage to <where?> to Valdez ferry one day. Back and forth between <where?> and Valdez 5 or 6 times - that was, uh... a bit tedious. (We didn't have a car)

[malta blue]

30. it is not that far away, but the woods muffles the sound

between the tracks and my house.

I like the sound.

[MissMillie]

31. I have never lived more than .5 mile from train tracks

ever

[InternalDialogue]

37. So it's kind of a part of the family, then?

I don't know if there's any sort of environmental element I've always had around like that.

[Inchworm]

32. Not any more

I miss that sound.

:hi:

[zanne]

33. As Paul Simon says.....

"Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks it's true".

[datasuspect]

34. if by "train whistles" you mean "gunshots", then yes

[doc03]

35. Whistles? They went out with the steam engine

didn't they? I used to hear the train horn from about 3 miles away, they abandoned the track a few years ago don't hear them any more.

[BurtWorm]

36. Yes, Late at night I hear a train running under Riverside Park on the West Side of Manhattan.

I love that sound.

[PassingFair]

38. Yes. In the distance.

And I love them.

[yellowdogintexas]

39. yes and yes. nt

[GCP]

40. Yes and Yes - I find it very soothing to hear them go by at night

We recently stayed in Flagstaff AZ, however, and the trains were the noisiest I've ever heard - LOUD and FREQUENT - all through the night!

[mwooldri]

41. We live near train tracks...

... and yes we can hear their horns and their loud rumbling of the mile-long trains that come through. If we're late running for school and the train comes, we get to be even later - often takes 5+ minutes for the train to get through.

My sister in England though lives even closer to the train tracks than I do relatively speaking and doesn't hear the trains that much at all. Though admittedly they aren't a mile long.

Mark.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

42. Yes, just heard some

and can hear the rumble a little too, mainly since the heater isn't running at the moment.
Lots of train tracks about a mile east of us.

[LadyoftheRabbits]

43. I have the entire train

Tracks are about 200 feet from my apartment. It's not too bad, though. :P

[InternalDialogue]

48. Do you get the urge to go all hobo and hop onboard?

I think that's going to be a growth industry in the 2010's.

[lizziegrace]

49. If the economy keeps tanking

we may all be hopping trains. x(

[LadyoftheRabbits]

51. That'd actually be really cool

Probably would have been easier back on the farm we lived on, as there the train was ground-level. :P

[sniffa]

44. We live about 100' from the major terminal for the South Shore

It's trains every 5-7 minutes.

I've grown accustomed to it (even when sleeping) but I don't like it.

The constant sirens are also soothing noise.

[RetroLounge]

45. Not unless steam locomotive are still running

else what you (and I) hear are horns, usally 2 or 3 toned ones.

Nothing, I mean nothing, sounds like an actual steam whistle.

Oh, and I LOVE them, horns, whistles, whatever.

RL

[InternalDialogue]

46. Well, OK, Mr. Picky.

But what kind of a question is "Can you hear train horns from your house?"

And I know what you mean about a real whistle. I took a trip on the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge a few years back, and the steam whistle was untamed and beautiful.

:hi:

[RetroLounge]

55. the Durango-Silverton narrow gauge?

Jealous = me.

The Milwaukee Road 261 came thru Milwaukee this summer.



:hi:

RL

[likesmountains 52]

63. The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge is the one I hear from my house..

[InternalDialogue]

70. I've got a couple pictures to upload in a minute.

Check under RL's response for the DSNGRR shots.

[InternalDialogue]

71. It looks like there are a couple other train-watchers there with you, off the tracks to the right.

Here's how my friend (pictured) and I passed the time during the turnaround in Silverton.

[lizziegrace]

47. I love the sound

There was a single track running along the back of the property at the farm. I loved laying in bed at night and hearing the trains. Made the world seem a little safer and a little calmer, if that makes sense.

[RetroLounge]

57. It makes perfect sense.

and they did sound great from your bed...

(wait, that didn't come out right...)

:evilgrin:

RL

[lizziegrace]

65. let's further confuse the issue

you got a text to tell you the trains were going by...

;)


Gawd you're rotten.

[RetroLounge]

66. Like I couldn't hear them already...

:D

You gave me your bed because you just didn't want me to be able to say I slept in lelapin's bed...

:evilgrin:

RL

[lizziegrace]

68. Yep, that's it.

and I'm too tired to try and mentally keep up with you. ;)

...night

[elleng]

50. Me too,

and it seems to not matter where I live; they're always around, somewhere.

Love it for a few reasons; just the sound, and reminds me of several of my 'past' lives, one living in Aurora, Denver suburb, and later working and traveling on railroad related matters. Now hear them in DC and suburbs, and recently, heard them (and saw them) living/visiting in Palm Beach County, FL.

Thanks for the memory!

[bluedigger]

52. Nope

But sometimes I can hear steamboat whistles. And the organ is really cool!

[tigereye]

53. yes and yes

[peruban]

54. Yes.

I live about a quarter mile or so from the train station so I hear that and the highway late at night.

[Drunken Irishman]

56. Yes and yes.

I hear them at like 3 in the morning here in Salt Lake and LOVE IT.

[texanwitch]

60. I live across the street from a railroad yard.

I love the sound of the trains.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

59. Yep,

not too far away as the train goes under a tunnel to emerge on the waterfront here in little Everett Washington. I guess they gotta make sure no one is in there......... :)
I don't think it can go under a tunnel, can it? :party: I mean through the tunnel!
edited for the hell of it

[Kali]

64. there is a small mountain between the house and the tracks but as the crow flies

they are less than 2 miles away. Sometimes early in the morning you can hear them. More often you can feel the rumble.

Love trains.

[GRLMGC]

69. Yes and yes

It's comforting, somehow.

[whistler162]

72. Yes....

a short line during the day.

and CSX or Amtrak at different times.

[bluesbassman]

73. Sure can! Whenever we do Betty Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Billie Jo

scramble up the ladder of the water tower for a little skinny dipping! Then it's off to Hooterville for shots of tequila!



Actually, I can hear the train from my house. Love the sound.:)

[rockymountaindem]

74. Yes and yes

I can hear them from my place here in Boston and at home where I spend school breaks in CO. The ones in Colorado usually come around 12:30 AM once most people have gone to bed. I like them a great deal.

[krispos42]

75. I live less than 200 feet from an RR crossing

My building vibrates whenever a train goes by.



And it doesn't really bother me. I adapted pretty quickly. And I'm a fairly heavy sleeper.


But I have those big diesel horns blasting whenever a freight train rolls on past.

[Heidi]

76. We can hear 'em rolling along the track to and from Italy,

but I don't think passenger trains whistle -- or at least I've never heard it here.

We can also hear church bells ringing on the half hour in three surrounding villages. I never have to wonder what time it is. :hi:

[InternalDialogue]

78. Oh, the church bells, Heidi.

That's another great sound to hear on quiet mornings.

I only get a few, and mostly just on weekends, since the city noise obscures the noon chimes on weekdays.

But on Sunday, especially in summer when I have all the windows open, I can hear the hourly morning chimes from two or three cathedrals near my house -- or at least what sounds like chimes, since they're probably all recorded here these days.

It's almost enough to make me get religion, but mostly I just adore the feeling of being part of the community.

[Heidi]

79. That's what I like about it, too.

It gives me a sense of the world going on about its business. It's comforting. :)

[SeattleGirl]

77. No

But I can see Alaska from my house!

:P

:rofl:

[InternalDialogue]

80. I'll reword my question then, Ms. Palin.

Can you see the train whistles from your house?

:rofl:

[Mollis]

81. Yep.

One night...I had never heard it before, but suddenly I hear a train. It's pretty far away, too, maybe 15 miles.
I like it...especially that it came out of the blue one night :)

[Liberal_in_LA]

82. Yes, until recent move. Could feel the vibration also

[Enrique]

83. I don't think we have trains in Florida

I don't remember seeing any since I've been here. :shrug:

[City of Mills]

85. I have trains and trolleys in my city.

This restored steam train is a small museum:



And trolleys sound their whistle as they cross each intersection:



Commuter trains travel from Gallagher Terminal to North Station in Boston. I usually hear these every now and then:

[onlyadream]

86. Yes and a ferry whistle too.

I like them both since they are far off in the distance. If they were in my backyard, though, I'd probably hate it.