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Couple who live near railway are upset by noisy Class 37's.

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Raul_Duke

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http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/barro...ution-e634de11-1b6e-40b9-ab12-e0183cfcb3be-ds


A COUPLE fear for their health due to plumes of smoke and "roaring" out-of-date trains disturbing them in the early hours of the morning.

June and Stewart Goodsir say they "literally can taste the diesel" from the 1960s Class 37 trains which park up on the rail tracks at night which are around 100 yards from the back of their home in Pennine Gardens, Barrow.

The Goodsirs have lived in their flat for just over two years and say things got worse for them and their neighbours from May 2015.

Mrs Goodsir, 67, who has written to trains operator Northern, the railway ombudsman and others, said: "We have concerns for our health. You sometimes feel a bit sick and you can literally taste the diesel, it sits on your stomach.

"They can be starting up at 4am, but recently it has been 2.30am, since October or November. It's awful. There were no trains on Christmas Day and it was brilliant.

"In the summer we had to shut the windows when we had visitors because of the noise and fumes and it got up to 30C inside."

The couple were frustrated to learn that Sprinter trains that had been in Barrow went sent to Chiltern - meaning they had to put up with the 1960 Class 37 diesel units.

Mrs Goodsir said: "We live next to the railway line, but we lived in Ulverston in Lund Terrace next to the rail embankment and there were steam and diesel trains going up and down and we never heard them or had a problem."

Mr Goodsir, 69, said: "Sometimes these trains are starting up between 2.30am and 3.30am.

"There are no problems with the Sprinter trains, but these things just roar. When they start them up sometimes it's like an Apache uprising and there is a plume of black smoke.

"In the summer you can't have your windows open because of the noise and the fumes. It's great that Bill McEwan and the council and supporting us."

The couple's daughter, Sandra Goodsir-West, also has problems with noise and fumes from the old trains at her home in Hibbert Road, Barrow, which is also next to the tracks.

Mrs Goodsir-West said: "It's just a nightmare, you can taste diesel. We have these 60s diesel trains and it beggars belief."


Apparently you can taste the diesel, I don't know if they mentioned it.
 
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rebmcr

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I can sympathise a little, given that they were OK with 150s, the clag from 37s is reasonably excessive in comparison.

My neighbour a few years back contracted a gardener who regularly used an ill-maintained petrol-powered leaf blower, the fumes were pervasive and very unpleasant.
 

fishquinn

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No sympathy. If you buy a house next to the railway line then expect noise and fumes. Anyway, you wouldn't want your windows open in summer until the 37s have left the sidings and what house doesn't have AC nowadays ;)?

Anyway, being pedantic, the sprinters weren't sent to Chiltern - TPE's 170s were - and TPE needed sprinters from Northern to keep their full service running when they lost them ;).
 
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XCTurbostar

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I presume the response they'll get will something short of "New trains are on order and a cascade will cause the situation to get better".
I agree with Fishquinn. How you can expect to NOT get noise from the railway is unrealistic. They knew that they were getting into.
I think there was a case similar to this about a signalling gantry which the LeD signals reflecting? (Watford maybe?)
Thanks,
Ross
 

cuccir

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what house doesn't have AC nowadays? .

Is that a joke? I really can't tell. I'm not sure I've ever been in a house with AC? I can safely say that most terraced houses in Barrow don't have it.

I think the title of the thread is misleading a little; the issue is clearly related to the introduction of the class 37 services since May 2015, and not rail noise in general. I think it's reasonable to be upset by this change, and I do wonder if there are alternative options with those night-time movements, specifically the 05:46 from Barrow - maybe stock could be shifted about to avoid having that one run by a class 37?

What I would say against the couple is that there are 8 services a day which are run by class 37s: this is not a lot and I struggle to see how that ruins a full day.
 

Wivenswold

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A couple in my village live next to a pub that's been there for 450 years. You can guess the rest.
 

trainmania100

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Im sure anyone here would love to buy that house instead
I certainly would, id risk my health for it. Its anyones dream im sure to live that close to a railway line that sees diesel traction every day
 

chorleyjeff

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No sympathy. If you buy a house next to the railway line then expect noise and fumes. Anyway, you wouldn't want your windows open in summer until the 37s have left the sidings and what house doesn't have AC nowadays?

Anyway, being pedantic, the sprinters weren't sent to Chiltern - TPE's 170s were - and TPE needed sprinters from Northern to keep their full service running when they lost them ;).

Not much call for AC in Barrow in Furness.
Or anywhere else in England.
And why or why are those geriatric class 37s still staggering around the outer reaches of the railway system pouring poisons into the air ?
 

fredk

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God I wish there were 37s in BR large logo livery roaring outside my house. All I see from my flat overlooking the NLL is 66s, 59s, and more 66s.
 
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Darandio

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And why or why are those geriatric class 37s still staggering around the outer reaches of the railway system pouring poisons into the air ?

Yet hundreds of other trains all over our network are pouring an even greater amount of poison (as you put it) into the air. Why are those out and about as well?
 

QueensCurve

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http://www.nwemail.co.uk/news/barro...ution-e634de11-1b6e-40b9-ab12-e0183cfcb3be-ds

Apparently you can taste the diesel, I don't know if they mentioned it.

Yes, they knew they were next to the railway and the Class 37 locos were still apart of the operational railway.

I have a limited amount of sympathy because the Class 37s are particularly noisy and do emit a lot of fumes by modern standards.

When you stand on the platform at Whitehaven (Bransty) you can hear the train set off from Corkickle. When the train leaves the tunnel, the fumes aren't cleared until the next train passes.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
God I wish there were 37s in BR large logo livery roaring outside my house. All I see from my flat overlooking the NLL is 66s, 59s, and more 66s.

They are very Popular with gricers. Not so with everyone else.
 

Phil.

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No sympathy. If you buy a house next to the railway line then expect noise and fumes. Anyway, you wouldn't want your windows open in summer until the 37s have left the sidings and what house doesn't have AC nowadays?

Anyway, being pedantic, the sprinters weren't sent to Chiltern - TPE's 170s were - and TPE needed sprinters from Northern to keep their full service running when they lost them ;).

Yes you do expect noise and fumes but the noise and fumes from a DMU is very much less than an old 37 gasping away whilst it's idling. They should have been scrapped years ago given the amount of exhaust pollutants that they chuck out. I'm nor surprised that the complainant states that he can taste it. As for what house doesn't have AC nowadays the only houses that have AC as a matter of course is when AC refers to Alternating Current as in electrickery.
 

sk688

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I can feel a little sympathy , as my house is around 1/4 mile from the WCML at Hatch End , and the noise ( particularly of the 390s , 221s and freight engines , LM not so bad ) , so I can understand what it must be like to have trains flying by , with a hell of a lot of wind noise , and engine noise ( for diesels ) .
 

SWTH

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And why or why are those geriatric class 37s still staggering around the outer reaches of the railway system pouring poisons into the air ?

Because there's never been a replacement built with similar characteristics. Nothing built since has managed to combine the TE and RA of a 37, which is why they remain popular machines for this sort of work.
 

pompeyfan

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I too can understand the difference. I was at Fratton the other day and a GWR 158 left with a bit of a roar, certainly it seemed like the driver opened her up. There was a slight smell of diesel but nothing excessive. About 10 minutes later a top and tailed 37 test train passed through (I would guess at idle) and the smell stuck around.
 

fredk

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37s may emit a relatively high amount of local pollution, but overall they are incredibly efficient compared to the alternative. Over their 50+ year lifespan they have saved thousands of lives from pollution related deaths by taking a significant number of lorries and cars of the roads.

If you dislike trains then don't buy a house next to a diesel railway that has been there 150 years prior to you.
 

anme

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I hope the Goodsirs do not own a car. That would be the height of hypocrisy.
 

tony_mac

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No sympathy whatsoever.
If you buy a house next to a railway, then you expect to deal with the effects of doing so.
Do you live anywhere near a road?
Would you object to people parking an HGV outside and leaving it running all night, every night?
Because most people would, even if the road was there when they moved in.


Small-minded, cretinous NIMBYism of the highest order on show here. Only in the UK would this happen.

If you don't want to hear trains, don't buy a house next to a railway. Simples.
It's easy to belittle someone else's problem when you don't have to deal with it. But as it's not in your back yard, you don't care. (in fact, I would almost say, Small-minded, cretinous NIMBYism )
 

Oxfordblues

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I suspect the subtext of any anti-rail objection like this is the hope of compensation: the louder you shout the more money you get!
 

Bromley boy

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Do you live anywhere near a road?
Would you object to people parking an HGV outside and leaving it running all night, every night?
Because most people would, even if the road was there when they moved in.



It's easy to belittle someone else's problem when you don't have to deal with it. But as it's not in your back yard, you don't care.

Quite right, I don't care!

If I'd chosen to buy a house with a railway "in my backyard", I'd look pretty silly if I then complained about it. Surely that's just common sense?
 
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Johncleesefan

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I can sympathise a little as they say they were ok with other unita. The only thing is: This should be part of the research you do when buying a house. Presumably there is a siding and any type of train can stable. Lets hope a steam doesn't get put there
 

fowler9

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I simply have no sympathy for them. They bought a house with a railway at the bottom of the garden as did my family. You don't have to be a brain surgeon to guess that things might change. I trust they never drive or catch a plane for fear of offending anyone living near ever busier roads and airports. What kind of idiot buys a house by a railway and thinks it will not get noisy.
 

najaB

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They should have been scrapped years ago given the amount of exhaust pollutants that they chuck out.
The particulate matter you can see is of little long-lasting risk to health. It's the stuff you can't see that kills you.
 
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