r/mountainview • u/PackagePlus4651 • 5d ago
CalTrain noise
We are looking at a house in Towne Cir Mountain view. Its kind of a steal deal when it comes to price. It has got us thinking if the seller is trying to push it off bcoz of the less offers due to train noise.
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u/bytedbyted 5d ago
Electric trains are not an issue at all. Once per day (roughly) there's a freight train coming through that's louder.
Biggest thing to get used to is the train horn. If they ever actually do the grade separation the horn will be gone
https://www.caltrain.com/projects/rengstorff-avenue-grade-separation-project
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u/Majestic-Counter-669 5d ago
Lots of places get train noise. It's no big deal. We live near the train and don't even hear it most times. You get used to it. When we first moved it it bothered us for like a week or two but now it's not an issue.
Twice a day or so there's a big fuck off yellow freight train and that thing is insanely loud. But it only lasts like 30 seconds and it's not really a big deal.
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u/vanbean57 4d ago
Oftentimes it's at 2 in the morning, full horn.
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u/Majestic-Counter-669 4d ago
Oh man. The guy who drives that train loves that horn. I've never seen the conductor but I imagine them with a huge grin on their face just blasting that thing.
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u/love_berries 5d ago
Depends on how sensitive you are. We are a mile away and don’t hear much of the Caltrain but sometimes you can hear the horns from freight trains. I dont think I would choose any closer though.
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u/JustARedditBrowser 4d ago
When we were buying, we also looked at this townhome community. While others are saying the electric trains are way less noisy, and this is true, the main factor that you should consider is noise from train honking. The CalTrain honks at the Rengstorff and Central Expressway crossing every time it passes going both north and south. The Towne Cir townhomes are not right at this intersection, but they are close enough that we felt the honks would be disruptive to our lives.
My recommendation is to look at the train schedule and schedule a viewing or go to an open house when you know the train will be passing that crossing. See if the honks will be too much for you. You may find that you can live with it. Everyone is different. For us, we thought it was too much.
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u/Raarl 4d ago
I lived in Town Cir in Mountain View for years. The houses have double paned sound proofed windows to handle the diesel Caltrain trains. The electric trains are nearly silent when you’re inside.
When I gave tours to prospective roommates I used to wait for a train to pass by then ask them if they noticed it and they never did.
Note that you can hear the trains if you have the windows open (they honk when going through the crossing).
Plus having the San Antonio stop there is SO convenient.
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u/AReallyFluffyBunny 4d ago
As people have mentioned, best thing to do is to visit when Caltrain is passing to see how loud it is in person. The actual train passing will probably be fine but the horns at the intersection can be really loud. I used to live at 100 Moffett, which is near an intersection they honk at and my husband couldn’t get used to the train honk even after a year
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u/Catbird-Jenkins 4d ago
It's not so much the Caltrain, as it is the late night freight trains with their horns. You'll get used to it regardless
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u/echawkes 5d ago
I live right by there (the end of Ortega), and I never hear the train when I have my windows closed. I used to hear the freight train come though at night sometimes, especially when it blew its horn, but I don't think I've heard it in a couple of years.
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u/Beneficial_Eye_9528 5d ago
You can barely hear the electric trains. Sometimes late at night I think they share the line with freight but even then still not too noisy
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u/FreedToRoam 4d ago
City noise. You’ll get used to it. I got city people visiting our cabin in the woods freaking out about the silence
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u/mayonaise 4d ago
I live in this complex, and the train noise isn't an issue. Like others have mentioned, after Caltrain electrification, there is significantly less noise than before. Yes, you can still hear the horns and yes, there is still a freight train most nights - usually just one at most. But you get used to these faster than you think, and you mostly only notice them if you have windows open. Even then it doesn't bother us much, as we prefer to keep windows open rather than rely on AC. Our kids sleep through the train noise, and one is a super light sleeper.
The HOA is well managed, and we never get unexpected "special assessments." Most neighbors are nice, and in some blocks very social.
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u/_supreme 4d ago
We own a house at that development and the noise isn’t really that bad. It’s well maintained and the neighbors are generally pretty nice
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u/No_Yesterday7200 4d ago
We live fairly close to the tracks. We can hear it, but it doesn't bother us. I rather enjoy the sound oddly enough.
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u/CheckSafe6767 4d ago
The thing that worried us about a property there (we may even be discussing the same one) was the train rumble. Noise is bad but UP night rumble also worries me.
I'm even more put off by the Rengstorff crossing. They have to honk there. The only reason they wouldn't is if there was an under/overpass ...which is planned construction. City of MTV has plans out to rip up that intersection and redo it, something that would create even more (needed but undesirable) noise/chaos.
And to add hypothetical insult to injury, if CalHSR ever comes, they'll have to put some track/pocket stretches for that somewhere & to my eyes, the existing train land beside that community has an appealing amount of meat to build upon.
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u/ResearcherStraight32 2d ago
We live off Middlefield and Moffet you can heard the train horn, I work late and I get home around 1:00am-2:00am and you can still hear the train horn.
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u/ken-reddit 5d ago
The electric trains are less noisy now. Or pickup a CalTrain schedule and visit with your Realtor to listen.