Would you buy a house that backs onto a railway line?

Cheeselady

Viewing a house this afternoon, it needs work but is a great size with 3 double bedrooms, it has a 100ft garden, which has a railway embankment at the end of it, it's not visible as there are trees in front of it, so nothing unslightly, but of course will have to see how loud the trains are and if they can be heard (or felt!) in the house!

Would just like folk's opinions on whether they would buy a house backing onto a railway line, considering the garden is 100ft long.

The line is local trains only, 2-3 coaches long, and run about every half hour.

Just wondering how hard it would be to sell when the time came for us to move on. Thanks

djheath

We looked at two house that sound exactly like what you describe. We were viewing the properties at times when trains went by and actually found we didn't hear anything in the houses.

As they were local trains outside the sound was of a gentle swoosh, which was actually better than cars which revved up and down the road.

We ended up putting offers on the house, but they fell through, but were more than happy to live there.

However, my friend lives in a flat right next to a fast train line and the whole block shakes when trains go past, plus they are so loud, the tv is completely drowned out by the sound for a good 5 seconds which is actually very annoying!

So, advice is, just make sure you;'re then when trains go past and see what impact thay have!

Southend1

Cheeselady wrote: »

Viewing a house this afternoon, it needs work but is a great size with 3 double bedrooms, it has a 100ft garden, which has a railway embankment at the end of it, it's not visible as there are trees in front of it, so nothing unslightly, but of course will have to see how loud the trains are and if they can be heard (or felt!) in the house!

Would just like folk's opinions on whether they would buy a house backing onto a railway line, considering the garden is 100ft long.

The line is local trains only, 2-3 coaches long, and run about every half hour.

Just wondering how hard it would be to sell when the time came for us to move on. Thanks

Wouldn't bother me at all. The sound of the trains is quite comforting after a while and you notice them more when they aren't running like on Christmas day.

ukcarper

This question comes up quite a bit if you do a search you should find something. I live next to a railway similar to the one you describe and it doesn’t bother me in fact it's the second house I have owned that backs onto a railway.

LandyAndy

The S&DJR ran past the end of our garden when I was a boy. It was on an embankment well above the level of the house and about 200ft away. I thought it was great:D. It was never a problem.

More recently we had friends who had a modern house with a railway running behind a fence no more than 100ft away. Even if you were in their garden in the summer it was just a few seconds noise that didn't cause concern.

casper_g

I viewed a house with a railway at the foot of the garden. I expected that it wouldn't be a problem, as I'd checked the timetable and found it was a quiet line with only a couple of small trains an hour. I hadn't realised it was also a very busy freight route, running from Southampton up to the Great Western main line. When looking round it was obvious that the railway would be a problem, as vast long freight trains slowly clanked and squeaked their way past all the time we were there. For my money it would have been better if they'd gone past a bit more quickly as at least the noise would be over and done with! I also searched and found a report on the National Rail website which talked about large proposed increases in freight traffic.

I would still view a property with a railway nearby, but I'd check carefully to find out what sort of traffic used the line, and whether there was any prospect of the use changing.

klolav

I lived right next to a railway line as a child, and didn't cause any problems, you don't even notice them after a short while. But agree with casper, check the line.

Mrs_Z

Yes, if I liked the location, house and garden. Just having a railway line at the end of the garden would not bother me too much (especially with 100ft garden) - i'd get used to the noise pretty quickly. Having a house on a busy main road would be much more of a put-off.

System

I had a school friend whose garden backed onto a railway line. We used to creep down onto the track at night and put pennies and things on the rail. When we retrieved them after a train had passed, they had been hammered into beautiful shiny discs.
Probably contrary to H&S guidelines.

nick5648

From a planning point of view. You will know what is at the foot of the garden. Those with a 'nice open field' at the bottom of their garden may at some point see houses being built - or worse - a traveller's camp site suddenly appearing.......(topical). The future may be even better........I live near several disused railway lines which have been turned into fantastic walking routes or cycle ways.....

Gwhiz

I wouldn't buy it, but that's just me. Any house will have some element about it that would put some people off.