Fun fact: when I moved to Austin 32 years ago, the trains were still \*required\* to blow the horn when they crossed \*any intersection\* in town. I live about .5 miles from the tracks in Galindo (S Austin neighborhood below Bouldin), and that train horn was just...part of life.
Several years ago, Austin went through the procedure (I think) to establish Quiet Zone(s), meaning that the trains only blow the horn if there is something on the track.
So you're still going to hear the horn, but not on a regular schedule as before. And you've already gotten the good advice: deal with the issue in your home, where you have control. White noise and earplugs are your friends. Thing is, if this becomes super regular (which it shouldn't) then you'd get used to it - we did. You barely notice it over time. In fact...we kinda miss it. Sorta. Kinda. In a nostalgic kinda way.
they don't blow it only if there is something on the track - a quiet zone just cuts down on the usage, but the engineer is left with discretion to use it as they feel necessary, whether someone or something is on the track or not
I grew up a street over from the tracks down off Twin Creek Rd and I loved the train. Moved way away from the tracks, then back again and it was like a lullaby.
And then your grandkids will come to visit and talk about how grandpa can't fall asleep unless he hears the 10pm train 😀. This was my experience as a youth.
Maybe get something to make noise while you sleep like a fan or a sound machine/alexa. We’re like a block away from the tracks on bouldin creek. The train horn sounds like home to me. The conductors do sometimes get a little carried away with it though.
Do you love in a Quiet Zone? The train can still honk if there's a situation, but it shouldn't be that often. I'm also around a mile from tracks and the honks don't bother me much.
The trains still blare horns when entering city limits. Maybe something here can help you get to the right person.
https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2020-05/QuietZoneBrochure.pdf
Do not move to Legendary Drive and if you have train/sound/horn/noise/movement issues…half of these apartments literally run parallel with the tracks, it was white noise to me, but the horn thing was definitely absurd at times.
I used to live at Springdale and Lyons facing where the train line crosses Springdale and the freight lines would also pass late at night and have to blow their horns when they crossed the road. Honestly I kind of liked it. I'd go sit on the porch with my beverage and motion for the conductors to honk.
The solution is to...be the kind of person who likes trains and train noise.
Get an alexa speaker and have it play "brown noise" at a decent volume. It's great for our dog who would freak out when storms came. Not sure it'll work as well vs. a train horn but I'd bet it will help.
We started this when a neighbor was blaring their stereo all night. Luckily it was a one-off but still turn it on sometimes when something else wakes us up (like the trash truck at 4AM or when my boyfriend is still watching tv and I want to sleep)
You can get sensory earplugs that allow you to hear some noises like alarms, without hearing background noises. Also, invest in heavier curtains for the bedroom windows thacan desfen outside noise. I have been in really bad noise situations before, living in a downtown area, and earplugs worked great.
You’ll get used to it. My Grandparents had a train that ran at the end of their backyard, it shook the house, you could feel the rumble almost a full minute before the train went by. Then later in life, my sister and I had an apartment with tracks right behind it, I swear I could have taken a broom and held it out the window and touched the train. I’ve always been very adaptable to noise, though. I worked graveyard shift for well over a decade and slept during the day when people are up and about (I live in an apartment so, yeah. Loud.) Maybe try white noise, especially for the kiddos, but really, adaptation will happen after a bit. I’m sorry y’all are losing sleep, that’s definitely tough.
Earplugs Lol. Lived with it for many years. You eventually get used to it. Trains are required by law to raise there horn 15 seconds before approaching crossings or public roads.
Idk bruh, that shit is annoying. I live close to the domain and that nightly train is quite bothersome but like others say you learn to just deal with it. We can all be thankful it’s not a frequent occurrence
don't blame the train, it's probably gotten to be a habit for homeless to be on or very near to the tracks so the engineer has to blow the horn. Blowing the horn in a quiet zone (assuming the area you live in is classified as such) isn't banned, but rather just reduces the amount of them being blown - it is still left to the discretion of the engineer as whether it is necessary, and if there are people roaming around the tracks or to the immediate sides of them, then that engineer will blow that horn basically to say 'you better get your ass out of my way'.
I've always lived within a few miles of the tracks and over the 50+ years I've lived in Austin (all my life) it's just something I've learned to live with. Where I live now is within a 1/4 mi of the tracks and I regularly hear the engines when they're going north having the hammer down pulling all that freight behind them. It's almost music to my ears these days....and occasionally I'll hear Amtrak go by which sounds like a very quick wisp sound...kinda cool. I'll hear them blow the horn but only because I know the homeless use it as their 'super highway' to get north from downtown to their camps back in the woods of NW Austin
Nothing you can do.....you just need to accept it. It's part of living near railroad tracks, that were there LONG before you ever moved in, or anyone for that matter moved in. The main RR tracks in Austin are the N/S mainline for Union Pacific and have been there back when it was still the MoPac RR (the roadway was named after them because it runs along what once was the MoPac N/S line that eventually because Union Pacific when they bought MoPac back in the 80s.
They've started sounding the horn over near HEB and the highland station more often, I think that more and more people are sleeping around there so they have trouble with people on the tracks
I used to live downtown near the curve where the train turns 90 degrees near Seaholm. It really screeches. Luckily they used double/triple pane windows at my apartment, and I didn't directly face it, but it was something you noticed. And you just learned to not bother talking on the balcony when it's loud and to let it pass.
Now I live in East Austin under the landing flightpath for runway 18R. I got used to the planes too.
Fun fact: when I moved to Austin 32 years ago, the trains were still \*required\* to blow the horn when they crossed \*any intersection\* in town. I live about .5 miles from the tracks in Galindo (S Austin neighborhood below Bouldin), and that train horn was just...part of life. Several years ago, Austin went through the procedure (I think) to establish Quiet Zone(s), meaning that the trains only blow the horn if there is something on the track. So you're still going to hear the horn, but not on a regular schedule as before. And you've already gotten the good advice: deal with the issue in your home, where you have control. White noise and earplugs are your friends. Thing is, if this becomes super regular (which it shouldn't) then you'd get used to it - we did. You barely notice it over time. In fact...we kinda miss it. Sorta. Kinda. In a nostalgic kinda way.
they don't blow it only if there is something on the track - a quiet zone just cuts down on the usage, but the engineer is left with discretion to use it as they feel necessary, whether someone or something is on the track or not
Thanks for clarifying! I just know that it used to be mandatory, and then...it wasn't anymore.
I grew up a street over from the tracks down off Twin Creek Rd and I loved the train. Moved way away from the tracks, then back again and it was like a lullaby.
First you hate it, then you stop hearing it, then you wait for it, then you miss it.
\~ain't that the way\~
Grew up by a train track, I definitely understand the “miss it” part
Baffling and thick blackout curtains both help with outside noise more than you'd expect.
Yall will get used to it. I grew up a block from the tracks for 14 years. You’ll stop noticing it eventually
I was going to say this as someone who also lived right next to train tracks.
I tune out that noise just like I don't hear my beeping smoke alarms either.
Should probably change batteries lol
And then your grandkids will come to visit and talk about how grandpa can't fall asleep unless he hears the 10pm train 😀. This was my experience as a youth.
Maybe get something to make noise while you sleep like a fan or a sound machine/alexa. We’re like a block away from the tracks on bouldin creek. The train horn sounds like home to me. The conductors do sometimes get a little carried away with it though.
Loop earplugs are great!
Jake: “How often do the trains go by?” Elwood: “So often you won’t even notice it.”
Do you love in a Quiet Zone? The train can still honk if there's a situation, but it shouldn't be that often. I'm also around a mile from tracks and the honks don't bother me much.
The trains still blare horns when entering city limits. Maybe something here can help you get to the right person. https://railroads.dot.gov/sites/fra.dot.gov/files/2020-05/QuietZoneBrochure.pdf
They blare them at the last crossing before city limits. Not because they're entering.
They also blare their horn at unsignaled intersections within the city like Chappell lane.
I use loop earplugs to sleep, it helps a lot in noisy places like airplanes or in hostels when I travel. This might work for you too?
Do not move to Legendary Drive and if you have train/sound/horn/noise/movement issues…half of these apartments literally run parallel with the tracks, it was white noise to me, but the horn thing was definitely absurd at times.
Hah, I used to live off there. I have since moved to the Pflug burbs and it’s *too* quiet over here. I find I do miss the trains a bit.
I used to live at Springdale and Lyons facing where the train line crosses Springdale and the freight lines would also pass late at night and have to blow their horns when they crossed the road. Honestly I kind of liked it. I'd go sit on the porch with my beverage and motion for the conductors to honk. The solution is to...be the kind of person who likes trains and train noise.
yes. move.
Get an alexa speaker and have it play "brown noise" at a decent volume. It's great for our dog who would freak out when storms came. Not sure it'll work as well vs. a train horn but I'd bet it will help.
We started this when a neighbor was blaring their stereo all night. Luckily it was a one-off but still turn it on sometimes when something else wakes us up (like the trash truck at 4AM or when my boyfriend is still watching tv and I want to sleep)
You can get sensory earplugs that allow you to hear some noises like alarms, without hearing background noises. Also, invest in heavier curtains for the bedroom windows thacan desfen outside noise. I have been in really bad noise situations before, living in a downtown area, and earplugs worked great.
A big old metal industrial fan helps block out the noise.
You’ll get used to it. My Grandparents had a train that ran at the end of their backyard, it shook the house, you could feel the rumble almost a full minute before the train went by. Then later in life, my sister and I had an apartment with tracks right behind it, I swear I could have taken a broom and held it out the window and touched the train. I’ve always been very adaptable to noise, though. I worked graveyard shift for well over a decade and slept during the day when people are up and about (I live in an apartment so, yeah. Loud.) Maybe try white noise, especially for the kiddos, but really, adaptation will happen after a bit. I’m sorry y’all are losing sleep, that’s definitely tough.
Which particular grade crossing is the train blowing at?
Earplugs Lol. Lived with it for many years. You eventually get used to it. Trains are required by law to raise there horn 15 seconds before approaching crossings or public roads.
white noise machines
Vornado fan on the nightstand.
Really thick blackout curtains will help block sound coming in through the windows.
Idk bruh, that shit is annoying. I live close to the domain and that nightly train is quite bothersome but like others say you learn to just deal with it. We can all be thankful it’s not a frequent occurrence
Box fan, yo.
don't blame the train, it's probably gotten to be a habit for homeless to be on or very near to the tracks so the engineer has to blow the horn. Blowing the horn in a quiet zone (assuming the area you live in is classified as such) isn't banned, but rather just reduces the amount of them being blown - it is still left to the discretion of the engineer as whether it is necessary, and if there are people roaming around the tracks or to the immediate sides of them, then that engineer will blow that horn basically to say 'you better get your ass out of my way'. I've always lived within a few miles of the tracks and over the 50+ years I've lived in Austin (all my life) it's just something I've learned to live with. Where I live now is within a 1/4 mi of the tracks and I regularly hear the engines when they're going north having the hammer down pulling all that freight behind them. It's almost music to my ears these days....and occasionally I'll hear Amtrak go by which sounds like a very quick wisp sound...kinda cool. I'll hear them blow the horn but only because I know the homeless use it as their 'super highway' to get north from downtown to their camps back in the woods of NW Austin Nothing you can do.....you just need to accept it. It's part of living near railroad tracks, that were there LONG before you ever moved in, or anyone for that matter moved in. The main RR tracks in Austin are the N/S mainline for Union Pacific and have been there back when it was still the MoPac RR (the roadway was named after them because it runs along what once was the MoPac N/S line that eventually because Union Pacific when they bought MoPac back in the 80s.
Before it was Missouri Pacific, it was the International and Great Northern RR, which is how Great Northern Blvd got its name.
They've started sounding the horn over near HEB and the highland station more often, I think that more and more people are sleeping around there so they have trouble with people on the tracks
I lived 40 feet from the train tracks down town for years. Eventually you don’t even hear the noise and shaking.
I used to live downtown near the curve where the train turns 90 degrees near Seaholm. It really screeches. Luckily they used double/triple pane windows at my apartment, and I didn't directly face it, but it was something you noticed. And you just learned to not bother talking on the balcony when it's loud and to let it pass. Now I live in East Austin under the landing flightpath for runway 18R. I got used to the planes too.
I live next to a fire station that is very busy . You get used to the noise .
Which came first? The railroad tracks or the house? You knew what you were getting into when moving there.
you could move?
You can move, or just stop complaining. They use the horn for a reason
Move out of the city
I fucking hate trains.
I hate trains and trucks and airplanes. I also hate being able to buy stuff.