Train Noise From Alt 90 Into New Territory

[chuckie]

Does anyone know what the status of the effort to make the train horns quieter on US90? This affects many neighborhoods such as New Territory. I got a flyer from the City of Sugar Land talking about some sort of noise solution and it did get quieter for a few months.

But the train horns are loud again. The horns go off all hours of the night and occasionally wake me up. I am pretty far away. I can't imaging how loud it is for folks closer to the tracks.

Edited November 9, 2007 by chuckie

[dmizzle]

I used to stay close to that first NT entrance (Ellis Creek Blvd.) The train would literally make the house shake a bit. The train horns at night have been a problem for years and years, and I doubt it will go away before the community is annexed by SL, if that ever happens.

[editor]

While researching something for another train thread, I came across this:

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Train Horn Rule Fact Sheet (PDF , 24Kb)

Purpose: The goal of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in developing the train horn rule is to ensure safety for motorists at highway-rail grade crossings while allowing communities the opportunity to preserve or enhance quality of life for their residents by establishing areas/times in which train horns are silenced.

Historical Background: Since their inception, railroads have sounded locomotive horns or whistles in advance of grade crossings and under other circumstances as a universal safety precaution. During the 20th century, nearly every state in the nation enacted laws requiring railroads to do so. Some states allowed local communities to create whistle bans where the train horn was not routinely sounded.

In the early 1990

[Jeebus]

Does anyone know what the status of the effort to make the train horns quieter on US90? This affects many neighborhoods such as New Territory. I got a flyer from the City of Sugar Land talking about some sort of noise solution and it did get quieter for a few months.

But the train horns are loud again. The horns go off all hours of the night and occasionally wake me up. I am pretty far away. I can't imaging how loud it is for folks closer to the tracks.

I have to wonder.. Who was there first? The railroad or the neighborhood?

On a personal note, I've never understood these arguements. I grew up across the street (literally less than 100 yards) from the UP main line. At least a dozen trains ran past my house daily - and we had no complaints. In fact, I would catch my father on the front porch sometimes very late at night. I would ask him what he was doing and he would reply: "It's too quiet. The train hasn't come through all night - something must be wrong.."

[plumber2]

I have to wonder.. Who was there first? The railroad or the neighborhood?

On a personal note, I've never understood these arguements. I grew up across the street (literally less than 100 yards) from the UP main line. At least a dozen trains ran past my house daily - and we had no complaints. In fact, I would catch my father on the front porch sometimes very late at night. I would ask him what he was doing and he would reply: "It's too quiet. The train hasn't come through all night - something must be wrong.."

I wonder if earlier residents of Sugarland used to ask each other. "What's that smell?" "It's like sweet smelling, almost like sugar."

"Who can we complain to about it?"

[IronTiger]

Well, last time I was in Houston, I stayed at this motel here:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&...mp;t=h&z=18

...the one with the red roof. Our room faced the railroad tracks. No train ever woke me up or kept me from a good night's sleep.

[jrc]

Wayside horns have been installed at most of the crossings between U.S. 59 and Highway 6. I spend a lot of time in Venetian Estates and the noise reduction is amazing. Haven't heard of any plans to go beyond Highway 6, but that could be because Sugar Land's city limits (south of the tracks) currently end at Circle Drive, just past the airport.

[jrc]

I have to wonder.. Who was there first? The railroad or the neighborhood?

Of course, the railroad was there first. But from what I've heard, train traffic has increased dramatically in recent years ...

[JLWM8609]

Riverside and Riverside Terrace were often compared to River Oaks in their early days, yet dozens of homes in the area had backyards facing the old Columbia Tap ROW. Older residents have told me that the train would come by around 4:30am and sometimes shake residences. That somehow didn't deter folks from building and living in homes in the area though.

[TheNiche]

Riverside and Riverside Terrace were often compared to River Oaks in their early days, yet dozens of homes in the area had backyards facing the old Columbia Tap ROW. Older residents have told me that the train would come by around 4:30am and sometimes shake residences. That somehow didn't deter folks from building and living in homes in the area though.

And let's not forget that even River Oaks backed up to very active freight rail trackage when it was developed (and still does).

Houston was built as a railroad hub. It is easy to forget just how much freight rail trackage existed at one time. Living within earshot of it was just about unavoidable for early residents, regardless of social class.

[readam]

Increased rail traffic is the key. We've been in Sugar Land since '83 near Eldridge and 90 and the noise level is down considerably since the directionals have been installed. Remember the rail line along I-10 Katy FWY and the line along Westpark all the way to Fulshear were torn up and done away with for construction of the Tollway and I-10 expansion. Where did it all go---to the UP US 90 line into Houston and running North into Bellaire/West University and points further North. Increased train traffic = many more noise possibilities

Edited November 11, 2008 by readam

[Jeebus]

Of course, the railroad was there first. But from what I've heard, train traffic has increased dramatically in recent years ...

As has the population, which has increased the need for commodities - which is is what the rail is shipping.

[Topaz]

I live in the northeastern part of New Territory in Robinson's Landing and the train noise here is rather horrible. It has been increasingly loud lately.

I emailed the manager of New Territory and he says that funding for the noise reduction wayside horns is unlikely to be available until some time after Sugar Land annexes New Territory in 2017.

That was not the news I wanted to hear!