Man Who Moved Next to Train Tracks Files Noise Complaint About Trains

Suburban homeowner Craig Crossing has filed formal noise complaints with the city, the railroad company, and the Federal Railroad Administration after discovering that the freight trains passing his property — which is located 80 feet from an active mainline rail corridor — produce noise. 'When the realtor showed us the house, she mentioned it was near the tracks,' Crossing said. 'She said it had charming railway views. She did not mention that a 12,000-ton coal train would be passing at 2 AM at 60 miles per hour sounding a horn loud enough to rattle the windows.' The property, located at the intersection of Maple Street and the BNSF Railway's transcontinental mainline, was listed with the description 'Peaceful suburban living with unique rail proximity' and was priced 40 percent below comparable homes in the neighborhood. Crossing described the discount as 'a great deal at the time.' Records show that the rail corridor has been in continuous operation since 1887 and currently carries approximately 45 freight trains per day, a fact noted in the property disclosure document that Crossing acknowledges he 'skimmed.' 'I assumed the trains would be small,' he said. 'Like the ones in movies. Friendly trains. Not mile-long freight convoys hauling petroleum at all hours.' The railroad company responded with a statement noting that 'the tracks were here 136 years before the complainant' and that 'federal law requires horn sounding at all grade crossings, including the one the complainant voluntarily chose to live next to.' Crossing's neighbors, who have lived in the area for decades, have been unsympathetic. 'We tried to tell him at the housewarming party,' said neighbor Ruth Easement. 'He couldn't hear us over the 7:45 grain train.'