How far away can you hear a train (in good conditions)?

[trainmania100]

Heard a class 37 test train leaving Brighton once. Heard it from Preston park, so a few miles away. I can hear horns over in hollingbury some times, a good 3 4 miles away

 

[jj1314]

I can regularly hear trains on the Welsh Marches line from the Long Mynd, often at distances in excess of 2.5 miles.

 

[MikeWM]

I'm about 1.2 miles from the railway (I think the closest point is somewhere just north-east of Ely station) and can hear pretty much everything that goes through at night. Which I find reassuring, for some reason.

I lived a similar distance from the railway in Cambridge for some years. There I couldn't hear any trains! Cambridge is significantly noisier than Ely though.

 

[cnjb8]

And you can hear trains in Eastwood working the Nottingham to Clay Cross line about a mile away

 

[faltskog36abba]

When I lived in Crumpsall Manchester about ten years ago- I could hear a train trundling along, The only heavy rail route nearby was the Miles platting incline about 2/half miles away. Where I work in Prestwich Manc, I often hear trains passing at Agecroft 1/half miles away- Its usuallly sunny and quiet when I hear these.

 

[2HAP]

On a still summer night, you used to be able to hear the Hastings Units climbing out of Tonbridge southbound at Headcorn, fully 16 miles away.

 

[peteb]

A few weeks ago I could hear class 68 hauled trains leaving Malton North Yorkshire from a point 3.2 miles away at Bulmer Farm.

On a still evening you can hear the ECS Chiltern 68 shoved train powering away from Kidderminster for ages. A slight dip in sound indicates it has gone under the A456 bridge at Blakedown, about 3 miles away then it subsides.

 

[MP393]

I live right next to the railway at Walkden, and every month we have 1Q44 pass through around 1am with a pair of 37s. Can always hear them on full pelt powering away from Moorside, possibly even Swinton, around 2 miles away.

Opposite end of the country but whilst waiting for trains at Lympstone Village on the Exmouth line at night you I’ve heard horns & rumbles from trains on the riviera line too. Not sure how far that is across the water?

 

[Kilopylae]

I lived a similar distance from the railway in Cambridge for some years. There I couldn't hear any trains! Cambridge is significantly noisier than Ely though.

I live about 0.8 miles from the South Devon Main Line in Exeter and the most I ever hear is horns, and even then only at night.

Equally, I knew one person in Bradley Stokes who claimed they could hear trains at Bristol Parkway, about 1.5 miles away, and I knew a second person on their street who could not. So maybe I just have bad hearing!

 

[gka472l]

I'm about a mile from the Merseyrail Wirral line and can sometimes hear 507/8's passing between Port Sunlight & Spital, but only when there's little other noise.....

 

[Peter0124]

Was able to hear a Class 92 hauling the sleeper around 1 to 2 miles away around midnight

EDIT: I wonder if anyone living in places like Tollcross/Shettleston/Garrowhill would be able to hear/see the WCML south of the Clyde

 

[gimmea50anyday]

As a kid I could hear CEPs entering the south portal of Wadhurst Tunnel from Mayfield lane but I don't think the distance is all that much.

Certainly from Ferryhill Town Centre it was possible to hear 185s passing through Ferryhill Station, which was a good mile or so and on a much lower elevation. Ferryhill Station iis also in a cutting.

Nearby Kirk Merrington which is on the same hill (and the new home of a 142) you can see trains on the ECML as far away as Aycliffe which is several miles away. The land to the south is very flat so it should be possible to hear trains as well as see them if the wind conditions are favourable

 

[PeterC]

In still conditions at night the whistles from the whistle board at Burley-in-Wharfedale can be heard roughly 2.5 miles away from where I live.

I can also remember how I could here both the sound of the traction motors from a Class 321, as well as the run sound from every train travelling along the GEML at Harold Wood, roughly 2/3 mile away from a relatives house at night with the window open, and that’s with the A12 in between.

In the 60s I could often hear the GEML from Rise Park, which would be at a point between Romford and Gidea Park over a mile away across the A12. With modern traffic I don't recall being able to hear the railway when visiting my mother in the noughties.

 

[McRhu]

Rhu, high up on the Gare Loch-side on a sunny, still, summer's afternoon with only the peewits for company. Could hear 27s coming out of Helensburgh or passing Faslane Junction. Probably audible from 3 miles or more (possibly helped by sound reflecting off the water?).

 

[Scotrail314209]

I can hear the 380s at Saltcoats traversing the sea wall at night or when it's quiet, due to there being barely any sound protection.

Even when sitting in bed at night, I can hear the empties noisily traversing some points.

I'm sure an obvious one is on the Inverclyde line around the area of Langbank, which runs more or less paralell to the North Clyde Line on the other side. It's a given you can hear the horns before you can even see them pass in the distance.

 

[D6975]

From Rosslare Strand station, you could clearly hear an 071 departing from Wexford. That's roughly 5 miles as the crow flies.
(unless it was 087, you'd probably have heard that leaving Enniscorthy!)

 

[norbitonflyer]

When I first walked the West Highland Way, near Ba Bridge on the crossing of Rannoch Moor, I could see and hear a Class 37 on the climb from Bridge of Orchy to Rannoch summit, a good seven miles away on the other side of the moor.

Trains crossing the Forth Bridge can be heard from some distance away, (certainly from the other side of the bridge, which is over a mile long) although most of the noise is coming from the bridge rather than the train

 

[DBS92042]

On one occasion (the wind must've been blowing in the right direction) I very clearly heard 390s passing on the WCML from 2.3ish miles away, as the crow flies. In between where I was and the WCML were many buildings, trees, fields and the M1!

On a more regular basis I often hear 37s, 68s, & 70s from about a mile away, again over the noise of the M1 traffic

 

[Taunton]

Having been at the Poplar end of Canary Wharf in the late 1980s, in the after-midnight quiet only on Saturday nights I could hear what was undoubtedly a Sulzer at full power in the distance, which I always took was a Class 47 climbing out of Liverpool Street to Stratford. Later, by chance, I discovered it was actually a Class 33 over on the line through Greenwich, with the Sunday newspapers train from Blackfriars to North Kent which sometimes ran this way.

 

[Sm5]

According to Googlemaps measuring tool I live exactly 2.6 miles from Stoats Nest Junction.

When in the garden at night, I hear everything going over it very clearly.

 

[NSE]

I’m about 2km from Raynes Park station and I can hear trains. During the day depends on the background noise, (buses go past the end of the garden etc) you might get the occasional horn. During the night though you can hear the fasts going through over the junctions and you can hear all horn action.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

From where I am now, I can occasionally hear the horns of trains as they enter Cumberworth Tunnel which is about a mile away as the crow flies, but generally only if there's no traffic on the B6116. Much closer I can hear the little steam trains as they whistle for the foot crossing in Skelmanthorpe.

When at my own flat in Batley I'm closer to the big railway but only rarely do I hear anything as there's too many buildings in the way, and usually too much ambient noise.

 

[Sunset route]

Sure it wasn't a set of empties going to or from Uckfield?
The first one down in the morning was 04.43 from Selhurst Depot, unless it was a deicing or sandite
Just because there's no passenger trains scheduled, the branch is still open!

Don’t forget that the Selhurst to Eastbourne ECS for the Marshlink service runs down the BML just after 04:00 in the morning.

 

[Surreytraveller]

Don’t forget that the Selhurst to Eastbourne ECS for the Marshlink service runs down the BML just after 04:00 in the morning.

And its uphill, so will be powering away!

 

[mike57]

A few weeks ago I could hear class 68 hauled trains leaving Malton North Yorkshire from a point 3.2 miles away at Bulmer Farm

And sat on Malton Station you can hear them accelarating away from Huttons Ambo bridge, thats about 2.5 miles, and it doesn't need particularly favourable conditions. You can also hear them leaving Scarborough when sat waiting at Seamer if its quiet and still, e.g. early morning.

 

[stut]

In my current house, I can hear trains a mile and a half away, across town. It's a quiet place, and dependent on the wind direction.

In my old house, a hundred metres from the railway line, there was an odd acoustic effect where, in the right weather conditions, the trains sounded like they were on the opposite side of the house to the one where they actually were!

 

[TheSeeker]

Growing up in Porthcawl I could hear steel trains climbing Stormy Bank from my bedroom. I guess it was 2 x Class 37 going very slowly, the sound is quite distinctive. I'd guess three or four miles away.

I don't know the distances involved, but I've noticed when waiting at a quiet local station you often hear the rails start to "sing" before you hear the train itself.

Yes, the OLE starts to make a quiet whistling sound at my local station before the train is in sight.

 

[Sm5]

where I grew up, I was 1.3m from a tunnel, and regularly heard the sounds of 40’s working up hill and sounding their horns as they entered the tunnel, going down hill the other way was just wheel / rail joint noise, but the sound of a 37, 40 or a 25 was very clear, enough to tell the difference. 47’s were a bit more muffled.

I heard a few preserved steam locos making that journey too, the only one I identifed definitely from school (same distance) was 4498, as its whistle gave it away, in those days of SLOA it was the only chime whistle working on the mainline.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

You can hear fast trains on the Brighton line clattering over the points as far away as on Clapham Common. Which is strange because on the other side of Clapham Common you can see them on their approaches to Victoria! Owing to the BML sweeping in a long arc through Wandsworth to avoid Clapham.

There are probably many other examples I've not bothered remembering, although I'm vaguely sure you can hear the Midland Mainline if your in the right part of Hatfield.

 

[Meyrick]

I live 1 mile from SOT, near the old Etruria station. I can hear voyagers engines from my back garden on a quiet day.