Freight Train Noises

Legolash2o · 26 Jun 2019

I live about 200m away from a freight line. Is it common/normal to hear it scraping along the track with the windows closed? I feel sorry for those who live 5m away from it.

RailUK Forums

Islineclear3_1 · 26 Jun 2019

In short... yes - especially if the freight line is on a curve whereupon you will also hear the squeal of wheel flanges against the rails

And they will also sound louder at night...

Legolash2o · 26 Jun 2019

It sounds like the flanges.

Just measured on Google Maps, it's 320m away and it's a curve. Apart from straightening the track, what are the options to reduce the noise?

Islineclear3_1 · 26 Jun 2019

Triple glazing in your home...?

Ask the freight operator to fit rubber tyres to its wagons...

TRAX · 26 Jun 2019

Not living near a railway line...?

Darandio · 26 Jun 2019

Legolash2o said:
It sounds like the flanges.

Just measured on Google Maps, it's 320m away and it's a curve. Apart from straightening the track, what are the options to reduce the noise?

Flange greasing if it isn't there already, sound absorbing fencing is useful in limited areas. This is a railway forum though, the stock answer will probably be to move away as the railway was there before you.

TRAX said:
Not living near a railway line...?

We have a winner already! :lol:

hexagon789 · 26 Jun 2019

I thought that most of the time it was the wheels slipping over the railhead when making the turn because of the nature of the fixed axles rather than the flanges themselves coming into contact with the rail, though the latter does of course occur.

edwin_m · 26 Jun 2019

hexagon789 said:
I thought that most of the time it was the wheels slipping over the railhead when making the turn because of the nature of the fixed axles rather than the flanges themselves coming into contact with the rail, though the latter does of course occur.

The two are related. At larger radii the conicity of the wheel profile allows both wheels to be in rolling contact - the axle moves sideways so that the wheel radii at the point of contact are proportional to the curve radii. This breaks down at smaller radii when the conicity isn't enough, and the wheel is guided by flange contact.

The above is a gross over-simplification!

Islineclear3_1 · 26 Jun 2019

Not to mention the noise of the brakes/wheels if the train is slowing down for a signal or speed restriction

hexagon789 · 26 Jun 2019

edwin_m said:
The two are related. At larger radii the conicity of the wheel profile allows both wheels to be in rolling contact - the axle moves sideways so that the wheel radii at the point of contact are proportional to the curve radii. This breaks down at smaller radii when the conicity isn't enough, and the wheel is guided by flange contact.

The above is a gross over-simplification!

Well that was all I knew really and even then only from what I recall of a posting in an old thread.

edwin_m · 26 Jun 2019

hexagon789 said:
Well that was all I knew really and even then only from what I recall of a posting in an old thread.

Apologies, I was referring to my text as a gross over-simplification not yours! There are all sorts of other things going on in wheel-rail interface that I didn't want to get into here.

hexagon789 · 26 Jun 2019

edwin_m said:
Apologies, I was referring to my text as a gross over-simplification not yours! There are all sorts of other things going on in wheel-rail interface that I didn't want to get into here.

Understand you now! Yes, it looks like there are considerable factors involved.

Mogster · 26 Jun 2019

I stand a couple of meters from a freight train most evenings waiting for my commuter train home from Manchester Oxford Road. I can only sympathise with the OP, compared to passenger trains the banging, squealing noise is horrendous.

PaxVobiscum · 26 Jun 2019

Rather off topic but I’ve been kept awake most of the night by banging and squealing noises from the next room in a hotel miles from the nearest railway.

I didn’t bring my coat.

Mogster · 26 Jun 2019

800002 · 26 Jun 2019

PaxVobiscum said:
Rather off topic but I’ve been kept awake most of the night by banging and squealing noises from the next room in a hotel miles from the nearest railway.

Can I reccomend the following site, where one is able to report to Network Rail such instances which keep you awake?

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/living-by-the-railway/

[EDIT: best use this link, actually,
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/communities/living-by-the-railway/noise-and-vibration/ ]

Darandio · 26 Jun 2019

PaxVobiscum said:
Rather off topic but I’ve been kept awake most of the night by banging and squealing noises from the next room in a hotel miles from the nearest railway.

I didn’t bring my coat.

Boris Johnson checked in the same night as you.

Harbornite · 26 Jun 2019

Legolash2o said:
I live about 200m away from a freight line. Is it common/normal to hear it scraping along the track with the windows closed? I feel sorry for those who live 5m away from it.

Is it common/normal to hear trains on an operational railway? Usually. The railway has been there longer in most cases so it's best to move if you don't like it.

Islineclear3_1 · 26 Jun 2019

Legolash2o said:
I live about 200m away from a freight line. Is it common/normal to hear it scraping along the track with the windows closed? I feel sorry for those who live 5m away from it.

Serious questions for Legolash:

Does the noise really bother you? Does it bother you so much that you would like to try and alleviate the problem? Do other people in your neighbourhood have an issue with it? Can you find ways in which to deaden the noise from within your home or reduce your annoyance to it? When do you notice the noise more (i.e. at what time of day - early morning, night time for example?)

Feeling tired or stressed can increase one's sensitivity to noise

Iskra · 26 Jun 2019

Planting some trees/shrubs between you and the noise could help (when they grow big enough).

Pete_uk · 27 Jun 2019

Put some vaseline on the top and inside of the rails

Legolash2o · 27 Jun 2019

Harbornite said:
Is it common/normal to hear trains on an operational railway? Usually. The railway has been there longer in most cases so it's best to move if you don't like it.

robert7111a said:
Serious questions for Legolash:

Does the noise really bother you? Does it bother you so much that you would like to try and alleviate the problem? Do other people in your neighbourhood have an issue with it? Can you find ways in which to deaden the noise from within your home or reduce your annoyance to it? When do you notice the noise more (i.e. at what time of day - early morning, night time for example?)

Feeling tired or stressed can increase one's sensitivity to noise

I'm not complaining. I like freight trains, enjoy watching them go past and want to know anything and everything about them.

The noise doesn't bother me, I was just curious if it was normal to hear it quite noticeably from 300 odd meters away. I was working from home one morning and thought "Is that the train or the bin men on the next street?", to then resume working. I just wasn't expecting to properly hear it from that distance, inside, with the windows closed and multiple rows of houses in between me and the track.

In regards to the fixes, again that was out of curiosity, part of increasing my knowledge of the railways and what equipment is used. My research is on rail (freight) so it comes partly with that.

Chris217 · 27 Jun 2019

Why do railway wagons have a rolling sound that sound like emu's?

Freight Train Noises

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