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I live in Portland near the Brooklyn Yards. When my kids were small we could stand on the overpass bridge and watch freight and Amtrak passenger trains head up and down from Seattle. Also, the Ringling Bros Circus train used to park there, and we'd walk down to see that train all the time (I miss that.)

Finally, over the holidays, they run steamers up and down those tracks. I can hear it from the house.

  Not quite that close, but I can throw rocks and almost hit the old GT line here.  During the winter in the living room, I can see them between the neighbors houses as they pass behind them and FEEL the horns blow for the road crossing nearby if my windows are open. My vibrating feet tell me when switching is happening at the nearby steel shop. If they slam/bang at night, it wakes us... sometimes   "Is that the wind? A siren? A divebomber?"....

Nope..it's a hotbox

Augusta

Third Street in Augusta, Kentucky is the railroad track.  Back in college I dated a girl that lived in one of these houses. Every time a train would pass everything in the house would shake, sort of like the apartment did in the Blues Brothers movie when a subway would pass only louder. They even had a train derail in their front yard.

Scott Smith

 

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  • Augusta

The UP rail runs a mile from the house, I chose this as up north we lived 1/3 mile from BNSF tracks and the house shook 6-7 times a day and night from the heavy freights running through. I hear the horns as go through crossings but the ground is thankfully still. They have several scheduled runs  about 2 and 5 AM and if not sleeping well hear them roll through. The line runs for miles along the main road leading from the development.

On my current residence on a 85+ acre farm in West Portal New Jersey, the now Adandoned Central Railroad Of New Jersey Mainline between central jersey and Pennsylvania goes over my property. Along with the NS Lehigh Line Pattenburg Tunnel not even being a quartile from my house, more of walking distance. 

The picture below shows the main section I'm taking about inside of the red circle. 

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When I lived in Port Angeles, in the mid to late 70s, the apartment and house I lived in were within a mile of the Milwaukee Road tracks.  Used to see a train every once in awhile.  When I lived in South Aberdeen, in the late 70s and early 80s, my house was within 1000 ft. of the Milwaukee Road tracks.  I don’t recall seeing any their equipment but I do recall seeing UP engines a time or two.

 

Larry

Last edited by PSAP2010

The closest line to me is the old EJ&E, and its about a mile away. I can hear the trains, but can't feel them. Before we married, my wife lived literally two doors from a busy B&O line of the south side of Chicago. She said it was noisy as heck, and the trains literally shook items off the shelves. She said she got used to it, however. When we were looking for a new place 20 years ago, two places we looked at backed up to busy lines...one to the BNSF triple track in Downers Grove, and another to the C&NW in Wheaton. My wife said "no problem", since she had dealt with it before...I'm the one who was gun shy. So now, if I want to see trains, I have to drive a little, but that's fine.

I had a friend and neighbor who lived next to the Bessemer & Lake Erie mainline. there was a head on collision there and debris landed in their yard. The B&LE came in to remove the wreck and took it out through their yard.  Had to cut a very big tree in the process. they said they had the right to do it and they did pay damages. more cars crash in to homes today than trains.

When I was young and lived in Ambler, the Reading was less then a block from my grandparents house.  I used to sit on the porch and watch the trains go by.

My house was further up the block and I had to watch through the 2nd floor windows.

The school was across the street from the Ambler freight yard, so plenty of trains in my young life.

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