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Railroad Tracks Along FM 521


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I bought a house in Shadow Creek Ranch. It's quite close to the FM 2234 and FM 521 intersection. I've been there numerous times but I haven't seen any trains pass by the railroad crossing in that area yet. Anyway, I'm somewhat concerned about train noises (whistles & track rumblings). Does anyone know how frequent does the train runs at night? Thanks.

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I bought a house in Shadow Creek Ranch. It's quite close to the FM 2234 and FM 521 intersection. I've been there numerous times but I haven't seen any trains pass by the railroad crossing in that area yet. Anyway, I'm somewhat concerned about train noises (whistles & track rumblings). Does anyone know how frequent does the train runs at night? Thanks.

I live near the South Loop and Almeda (FM 521). I'm not sure that this applies to you, but I only hear horns very late at night and very early in the morning. If I had to guesstimate the frequency of the horns (I stopped paying attention to them long ago), I'd put it at about two or three trains per night...but then you're further down the line, where I wouldn't be surprised if traffic was heavier.

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I'm right across 288 from you, Niche, and I hear the same trains. Actually, to be more precise, I USED to hear the same trains. I honestly can't tell you when the last time I heard the train was, as my brain long ago learned to filter that noise out. The trains still go by every night, but they don't register with me.

I think you'll also learn to filter the noise out, even if it takes a few weeks or months.

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I'm a light sleeper. I'm a bit paranoid about the noises at night. I'm moving into Shadow Creek Ranch this weekend. I've checked with a few neighbors and they said they didn't hear anything at night. I've also checked with the store clerks working in the Chevron gas station (FM 521 & FM2234). They claimed the trains only pass that railroad crossing during the day (8 AM to 6 PM). My house is about 1.4 mile from the gas station. I hope they're right.

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I'm a light sleeper. I'm a bit paranoid about the noises at night. I'm moving into Shadow Creek Ranch this weekend. I've checked with a few neighbors and they said they didn't hear anything at night. I've also checked with the store clerks working in the Chevron gas station (FM 521 & FM2234). They claimed the trains only pass that railroad crossing during the day (8 AM to 6 PM). My house is about 1.4 mile from the gas station. I hope they're right.

I think I'm pretty close to where you are moving. I'm in SCR right off of Kinglsey and I've never heard a train pass by. In fact I don't think I've ever seen a train actually pass through the intersection at 521 & 2234.

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I hope you are right and you're not a heavy sleeper. Are you in the Perry 50' section? I'm moving into the Perry subdivision.

I'm in the Regents Glen section for Hallmark Designs. Actually I sleep like the dead, but my mom visited me and she is a very light sleep. No problems for her and she never heard the trains or any other noises.

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Thanks for the info. I'm moving into Silver Leaf Glen subdivision. It's a bit closer to the railroad track. Anyway, I'm glad that you and your mom haven't heard any train noises at night. BTW, I work in downtown. How's the traffic on 288 between 6 and 6:30 am?

I live near the South Loop and Almeda (FM 521). I'm not sure that this applies to you, but I only hear horns very late at night and very early in the morning. If I had to guesstimate the frequency of the horns (I stopped paying attention to them long ago), I'd put it at about two or three trains per night...but then you're further down the line, where I wouldn't be surprised if traffic was heavier.

Thanks for the info. However, I believe there are two sets of tracks in your area. One is from 90 and the other one is along FM 521. I used to live in Sugar Land, fairly close to the track along 90. I used to hear the trains twice or three times a night as well. Anyway, I'm just wondering about the source of the noise. Could it come from the trains coming from 90 or FM 521?

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Thanks for the info. I'm moving into Silver Leaf Glen subdivision. It's a bit closer to the railroad track. Anyway, I'm glad that you and your mom haven't heard any train noises at night. BTW, I work in downtown. How's the traffic on 288 between 6 and 6:30 am?

6-6:30 am is okay. The traffic really picks up around 7:00 and is bad until about 8:30am. It's best to be out of there by 6:45 am

Coming home traffic picks up at about 5:00 pm and is bad until about 6:30.

Also, Friday's tend to have signficantly lighter traffic in the morning and Monday's are the worst. Probably typical for most areas. When you do sit in traffic in the morning it will probably be from FM 2234 to W. Orem. That little section is probably half my drive time. In the evenings the high congestion area is from 610 or Holly Hall to W. Orem. Also traffic buckles when you are merging into 45 N in the am (I haven't noticed 59 since I don't go that way in the morning). At least it's only about 16 miles from SCR to my job on Allen Parkway.

Another option if you want to avoid 288 and FM 2234 is taking FM 521/Almeda North and crossing over to 288 on W. Airport or Reed Rd or just driving up to 610. But if you are leaving that early this is probably not necessary.

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rem78, when do you typically leave SCR and how long does it take to get downtown? I'm moving next month to SCR (Brookglenn) and my fiance will be making the drive downtown from there. She's not the biggest fan of driving in Houston - she took the bus up 45 the last two summers from Clear Lake. I'm trying to get her the best plan of action. My guess is she'll be getting on the road around 7am and probably leaving downtown at 6:30 pm. As for me, I'm just hoping they'll finish the Kingsley and Kirby extensions soon so I can hop on the Beltway and head east to my job more easily.

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rem78, when do you typically leave SCR and how long does it take to get downtown? I'm moving next month to SCR (Brookglenn) and my fiance will be making the drive downtown from there. She's not the biggest fan of driving in Houston - she took the bus up 45 the last two summers from Clear Lake. I'm trying to get her the best plan of action. My guess is she'll be getting on the road around 7am and probably leaving downtown at 6:30 pm. As for me, I'm just hoping they'll finish the Kingsley and Kirby extensions soon so I can hop on the Beltway and head east to my job more easily.

You two are in the same situation as my husband and I are in. I head toward downtown and he takes BW8 to Clear Lake. And yes, he is eagerly awaiting the Kirby and Kingsley extensions to BW8.

My goal is to leave by 6:45 in which case I can usually make it to downtown in about 25-30 minutes. If I leave at 7:00 to 7:15 it's a 35-45 minute trip. You see the trend here. Better to leave early or leave after 8:30.

If she's leaving downtown at 6:30 then she's probably pretty clear to head home. The traffic starts to thin out after 6:30ish. It probably takes about 30 minutes to get home if you leave downtown before 5 pm and after 6:30.

Of course there are a lot more people moving out here which is going to make those high congestion areas even worse (in the am FM 518 to W. Orem, in the pm Holly Hall/610 to W. Orem) and I haven't seen any definite plans to widen 288 or make bw8/288 interchanges. I know it was on some of the Pearland city council platforms and there have been some feasibility studies, but haven't seen any news. In fact I have a call in to the 288 txdot project person to find out what the plans are, if any, and when that might happen.

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  • 2 weeks later...
You two are in the same situation as my husband and I are in. I head toward downtown and he takes BW8 to Clear Lake. And yes, he is eagerly awaiting the Kirby and Kingsley extensions to BW8.

My goal is to leave by 6:45 in which case I can usually make it to downtown in about 25-30 minutes. If I leave at 7:00 to 7:15 it's a 35-45 minute trip. You see the trend here. Better to leave early or leave after 8:30.

If she's leaving downtown at 6:30 then she's probably pretty clear to head home. The traffic starts to thin out after 6:30ish. It probably takes about 30 minutes to get home if you leave downtown before 5 pm and after 6:30.

Of course there are a lot more people moving out here which is going to make those high congestion areas even worse (in the am FM 518 to W. Orem, in the pm Holly Hall/610 to W. Orem) and I haven't seen any definite plans to widen 288 or make bw8/288 interchanges. I know it was on some of the Pearland city council platforms and there have been some feasibility studies, but haven't seen any news. In fact I have a call in to the 288 txdot project person to find out what the plans are, if any, and when that might happen.

Thanks Rem. The Kingsley and Kirby extensions to B8 will help some, but as far as I know, they won't have entrance ramps to the mainlains of B8 so you husband and I will still be stuck going through the stoplight at 288/B8 which is annoying. Just a product of the feeder road/toll road system.

I'll pass on that information to her. I figure that we'll have very similar commute times; I have a longer distance than she does but her traffic will be slower.

If you ever find plans for widening 288 or making the B8/288 connectors, definitely post it on this site, especially because it sounds like you've already started asking questions.

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No, they're from FM 521...I've seen them before, and its usually just a few rail cars at a time headed up toward the Grocer's Supply Company distribution center.

I have moved into my house in SCR for over a week. I am so glad train noise is a non-issue. It has been so quiet at night.

I work in downtown. It takes about 20 - 25 minutes to get from Shadow Creek Ranch to downtown if I leave the house around 6 AM. In the afternoon (I leave around 4 PM), it'd take about the same time for me to reach home. I am somewhat surprised by the amount of traffic on 288 in the morning. There are a lot more cars on 288 than I had expected.

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