Evaluating train noise (decibel measuring device?)
January 27, 2020 6:50 AM Subscribe
How can we know how much louder and more frequent train horns will be if we move closer to a train crossing? We've spoken to a neighbor, but I wish for something less subjective.
We currently live close-ish to a train crossing. (950' to the crossing, 900' shortest distance to the tracks.) It is fairly loud, 0-2 times a day, occasionally at 9-10pm, with several rows of buildings between us and the crossing. When sitting outside, it stops your conversation for 15-30 seconds or so.
The new place is a bit closer to a different crossing, with a direct line of site to it. (880' to the crossing, only 510' shortest distance to the tracks.) Neighbors who moved in a month ago say it happens 3-4 times a day, and also occasionally at 9-10pm. It is loud but they have become accustomed to it.
We'd be spending a lot of money on this place. I would be really disappointed it it interrupt conversations inside the house even with windows and doors closed. Or if the noise was downright painful outside the house. I'm worried about it. My wife is not. I'm not looking for a reason to bail. I really want to live there, too.
I wish I could get a non-subjective answer to the question: How much louder and more frequent would it be there? Is there some kind of device I could stick on the empty lot and have it measure sound levels for a day or two? Is there some kind of web site that records how often trains pass by? Any other ideas?
We currently live close-ish to a train crossing. (950' to the crossing, 900' shortest distance to the tracks.) It is fairly loud, 0-2 times a day, occasionally at 9-10pm, with several rows of buildings between us and the crossing. When sitting outside, it stops your conversation for 15-30 seconds or so.
The new place is a bit closer to a different crossing, with a direct line of site to it. (880' to the crossing, only 510' shortest distance to the tracks.) Neighbors who moved in a month ago say it happens 3-4 times a day, and also occasionally at 9-10pm. It is loud but they have become accustomed to it.
We'd be spending a lot of money on this place. I would be really disappointed it it interrupt conversations inside the house even with windows and doors closed. Or if the noise was downright painful outside the house. I'm worried about it. My wife is not. I'm not looking for a reason to bail. I really want to live there, too.
I wish I could get a non-subjective answer to the question: How much louder and more frequent would it be there? Is there some kind of device I could stick on the empty lot and have it measure sound levels for a day or two? Is there some kind of web site that records how often trains pass by? Any other ideas?
The cheapest solution would be a dB meter on a smart phone. I've used Decibel (iOS) with good results. It gives you peak and real-time readings. If you wanted to leave a meter there, drive away and come back later there are stand-alone dB meters. They're not theft- or weatherproof, though.
posted by dr. boludo at 7:40 AM on January 27, 2020
posted by dr. boludo at 7:40 AM on January 27, 2020
I'm not sure how to go about measuring it, besides loitering around to experience it yourself. I right now live within eyeshot of the train tracks, if I stand in the road I can see it straight ahead. I'm not good at distances, but it is less than 12 houses away. I wouldn't say I have gotten used to it in the year or so I've lived this close to them. Trains are relatively frequent, many times a day, random times as far as I can tell and they go through the night. I'm usually up till 2-4 and AFAIK there's never a dead zone where no trains ever come.
Our house is old, the windows are shit, nothing is sealed, so I can hear that shit next to my paper windows almost as loud as if I stepped outside. It could def interrupt convos a little bit depending on where you are in the house. I know I sometimes need to turn my computer speakers up or pause it if it's a quiet and serious moment that I don't neeBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN - ugh don't need a goddamn train horn to interrupt.
If you live within eyeshot of the tracks, like, you got a road providing a sonic pathway directly from the tracks to your casa, it's going to be loud, my friend.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:16 AM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Our house is old, the windows are shit, nothing is sealed, so I can hear that shit next to my paper windows almost as loud as if I stepped outside. It could def interrupt convos a little bit depending on where you are in the house. I know I sometimes need to turn my computer speakers up or pause it if it's a quiet and serious moment that I don't neeBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNN - ugh don't need a goddamn train horn to interrupt.
If you live within eyeshot of the tracks, like, you got a road providing a sonic pathway directly from the tracks to your casa, it's going to be loud, my friend.
posted by GoblinHoney at 8:16 AM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'd ask a couple real estate professionals for opinions on resale value.
posted by theora55 at 8:21 AM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by theora55 at 8:21 AM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
It's been awhile, but I lived in a house for years right next to tracks-literally in our back yard-170 feet normal to the tracks, and 520 feet to the crossing. Outside, you could not converse easily while the train was passing, and basically impossible while the horn was blaring. I covered my ears for the horn, but no one else ever did. Wasn’t loud enough to be painful, but I did not like it. Inside was never a problem; conversations were never interrupted, unless you mean making a comment about the train :) ...though, I do remember it being annoying inside if the windows were open.
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 8:28 AM on January 27, 2020
posted by Pig Tail Orchestra at 8:28 AM on January 27, 2020
Survey the neighborhood to see how many more double / triple pane windows there are than your current location?
posted by nickggully at 8:51 AM on January 27, 2020
posted by nickggully at 8:51 AM on January 27, 2020
The thing to remember with sound is that it dissipates quickly over distance, following the inverse square law.
Looking at your distances, ~925' currently (averaged) and ~695' in the new place (averaged) and throwing those distances into a calculator it looks like just based on distance you'd experience a ~2.5Db increase in loudness.
Of course trees, houses, etc in the way of the sound is going to have a huge impact.
In any case, picking up a decibel meter might be helpful. Don't trust the decibel readings you get from an app on your phone.
posted by gregr at 8:52 AM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
Looking at your distances, ~925' currently (averaged) and ~695' in the new place (averaged) and throwing those distances into a calculator it looks like just based on distance you'd experience a ~2.5Db increase in loudness.
Of course trees, houses, etc in the way of the sound is going to have a huge impact.
In any case, picking up a decibel meter might be helpful. Don't trust the decibel readings you get from an app on your phone.
posted by gregr at 8:52 AM on January 27, 2020 [1 favorite]
non-subjective answers to noise problems aren't possible: people have different sensitivities and external factors (wind, humidity, freight type, train speed) all make a difference. Also, while outdoor meters exist, they don't work terribly well when it's below freezing.
For where I live (~ 50m from a freight line that has occasional night traffic) the seismic rumbling through the building is an issue.
posted by scruss at 10:22 AM on January 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
For where I live (~ 50m from a freight line that has occasional night traffic) the seismic rumbling through the building is an issue.
posted by scruss at 10:22 AM on January 27, 2020 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Is the crossing at the new house on the same line as the crossing at your current house? If so, and there aren't any junctions between the two, then you already have a feel for the number of trains. (This may require some exploring via online maps.)
Assuming you live in the USA, I addressed a similar question previously that may have relevant information. If you have issues getting the DOT number from the map, it's posted on the blue emergency contact sign at the crossing (and likely stenciled on the door of the bungalow/case with the crossing electronics), so you can get it from a visit to the crossing, or sometimes even pick it up on streetview.
posted by yuwtze at 11:40 AM on January 27, 2020
Assuming you live in the USA, I addressed a similar question previously that may have relevant information. If you have issues getting the DOT number from the map, it's posted on the blue emergency contact sign at the crossing (and likely stenciled on the door of the bungalow/case with the crossing electronics), so you can get it from a visit to the crossing, or sometimes even pick it up on streetview.
posted by yuwtze at 11:40 AM on January 27, 2020
So, this is super complicated, as others have said. Your best bet would be to try and figure out what time the train comes by and sit at the new house and see your impression of it. That is going to be more meaningful than a number.
Sound intensity doubles when distance is halved (inverse square law). So assuming the same train and everything else being equal, a moving from 900' to 500' from the tracks would just about double the intensity of the sound - an increase of 6 dB. That said, that doesn't necessarily correlate to a doubling in perceived loudness - which typically requires closer to 10 dB. If I had to spitball you a rough answer to a complicated question, I would say it will definitely be louder, but probably not twice as loud.
Is there some kind of device I could stick on the empty lot and have it measure sound levels for a day or two?
Dosimeters were built for this purpose. You could buy one and assuming you could set it up in the house and it wouldn't get stolen, it would probably be able to give you peak levels and times.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2020
Sound intensity doubles when distance is halved (inverse square law). So assuming the same train and everything else being equal, a moving from 900' to 500' from the tracks would just about double the intensity of the sound - an increase of 6 dB. That said, that doesn't necessarily correlate to a doubling in perceived loudness - which typically requires closer to 10 dB. If I had to spitball you a rough answer to a complicated question, I would say it will definitely be louder, but probably not twice as loud.
Is there some kind of device I could stick on the empty lot and have it measure sound levels for a day or two?
Dosimeters were built for this purpose. You could buy one and assuming you could set it up in the house and it wouldn't get stolen, it would probably be able to give you peak levels and times.
posted by Lutoslawski at 12:54 PM on January 27, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by scottatdrake at 6:56 AM on January 27, 2020