...at the end of the back garden to be exact.

The house we looked at on Saturday was perfect apart from this (big advantage being a walk to the station - I work in Sydney CBD).

Commuter trains aren't such a big deal, it's the miles-long freight trains late at night or early morning that I guess might be a problem.

If anyone's lived somewhere like this before would you say "never again", or did you get used to it?

Decisions decisions. Of course, I may be too late already and I may regret it when I see the "sold" sigh. Ho hum.

any thoughts?

thanks,

big.

We rent next to a train line now, has only been 2 weeks so far so too early to see if we get used to the bloody racket when the freight trains go by, hooting their horn for good measure!

Which station is it? I didn't think many freight trains use the suburban network. There's a special freight line that runs from Botany container terminal out to somewhere but Botany doesn't have a normal suburban station.

I guess if you back onto Central, Redfern or even Strathfield or Parramatta you might have a problem with a busy line but most stations wouldn't suffer from freight trains.

Nope, other end - on the North Shore line I've seen plenty of freight/container trains between Berowra and Hornsby. It was a house along this stretch. We were checking out the the back garden when an extremely long freight train went past heading towards Hornsby, where it either stopped or went down the main line towards Central via Epping. It was up on a high bank too. A bit off-putting really, which was a shame. There again, it would have been outside our price range otherwise, probably.

big.

You'd soon get used to it. My Brother's house is about 20 metres from the Bed Pan line in Herts. They didn't notice anything after a few months and their daughter's bedroom is at eye level to it.

We moved into an apartment years ago without really taking note of the train line at the bottom of the (very small) garden. The first night we slept there our furniture hadn't arrived so when a train went past the empty flat the whole place echoed and the old sash windows shook - we were horrified. After a couple of weeks (and once it was furnished) we didn't really notice it anymore, when we did it was quite soothing in a strange way! Unless trains are whizzing by every few minutes it might be worth accepting that that's why you can afford it and go for it.

I've got one about 30 foot away from my back garden (well I say garden but it's only 10 foot to the fence ), can honestly say I've never noticed the noise at all. Can hear a few go past but only if the doors are open and there's no TV or anything on.

Isn't it funny how your hearing filters things after a while. I used to live nr a busy road, when we moved to this rented last year the first couple of nights I found it too quiet to sleep

Look at it this way.

If you are the vendor, how will buyers view the property (just as you are now)?

No matter how much you do the house up, it will always be undervalued because of the train line.

WW

We lived in a house for a year were the train line was about 18ft from our house, it wasnt a problem for us and after a short time you dont really notice them, but like you say the frieght trains tend to be the ones you notice they used to make the house shake, the house was over 30 years old and was still standing . Get yourself a time table and see exactly how many trains will be going past in a day and how often, if you work during the day it shouldnt be a problem.

Good luck anyways.
Clairex

We had the Brisbane - Cleveland line running past our garden at the place we stayed at for the first 5 or 6 weeks. We got used to the noise after a few days to be honest.

A friend of mine bought close to a train line in Kent thinking that he'd get used to the noise, and he did for a while (around 6 months) ... until Network SouthEast (or whoever it was mis-managing the line at the time) changed their signalling protocols and the trains started to use their horns right outside his back garden.

He tried to get them to change but with predictable results ... I guess they were there first ...

Me? I can see getting used to it in time but I wouldn't take the chance of unforeseen changes, personally.

We have lived 10 metres from a train line for the past 7 years and to be honest we don't even notice it anymore. The first week or so we did. Even sat in the garden on rare occassions its hardly noticable.

Funny thing is it does sometimes keep our visitors awake the first night or 2 and then they eventually get used to it.

We do have freight trains go past and its the main line between Edinburgh and Glasgow so can be busy.

Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Andreaxx

When I was a kid, my parent's house was about 500 metres from a shunting yard. Not only did I get used to it, but I found the noise of the carriages being shunted about at night really soothing. To this day, the sound takes me right back to my childhood. Over here, my big sister lives close to a train line, which has long freight trains rattling up and down it and the noise hasn't woken any of us up when we've stayed there. I suppose the only real question is the impact the train line has on the viability of the house when you come to sell it on yourself.

I live about 100 metres from a train line at the moment, and I really like it.
The house doesn't have doubleglazing, so you can hear it, but like others have said I actually like the sound of trains! Plus it has never woken me up - I suppose I don't find it alarming so my unconscious brain just filters it out and I sleep on.
In terms of buying a house there, I would say definitely check the timetable to see exactly what you are taking on, and also make sure that the price reflects the locality, because when you come to sell you can be sure that prospective buyers will try to bargain you down because of it.
Have a look at similar houses that are 2 min away from the station but not next to the tracks and see what they are going for - you might be getting yourself an absolute bargain!