Trivia: railway lines you can see from your home

[Jimini]

It occurred to me the other day that - in my 42 years so far on this Earth - I've lived in three properties with a direct view of a railway line:

• From the front of our current house in the south of Coventry, between the houses on the other side of the road, I can see the Coventry <> Leamington line. So on a regular day I can see 2x XC services per hour, 2x WMT services per hour, and a fairly decent collection of freight thrown in too
• Back in 2006, I lived on Longley Road in Tooting, and the Thameslink Wimbledon loop was at the bottom of the garden
• Way back in 1999, I lived in south Sutton just off Brighton Road in a third floor flat, which had views over the Epsom Downs branch

So, for a bit of idle trivia, what can / could you see from your homes in terms of railway infrastructure?

Cheers,

Jim.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

My garden backs on to the line between Ewell West and Epsom.

 

[FrodshamJnct]

It occurred to me the other day that - in my 42 years so far on this Earth - I've lived in three properties with a direct view of a railway line:

• From the front of our current house in the south of Coventry, between the houses on the other side of the road, I can see the Coventry <> Leamington line. So on a regular day I can see 2x XC services per hour, 2x WMT services per hour, and a fairly decent collection of freight thrown in too
• Back in 2006, I lived on Longley Road in Tooting, and the Thameslink Wimbledon loop was at the bottom of the garden
• Way back in 1999, I lived in south Sutton just off Brighton Road in a third floor flat, which had views over the Epsom Downs branch

So, for a bit of idle trivia, what can / could you see from your homes in terms of railway infrastructure?

Cheers,

Jim.

I can see the Chester - Warrington line from my bedroom, kitchen and garden. I’ve got some great photos from standing on the upper level of my back garden over the years.

 

[RichJF]

From my windows I can see both the platforms of East Grinstead station & also the column of steam when Bluebell trains are in the station.

 

[S&CLER]

Nothing now but back in 1971-72 I rented a room in a house in Orsett Terrace, overlooking the approaches to Paddington, which made for fascinating viewing.

 

[jfollows]

I grew up with a view of the Macclesfield-Cheadle Hulme line, south of Poynton, out of my bedroom window. From 1961 to 1976, so I will have seen electrification and the demise of steam.
However, I now note that I can't see my former house from the railway line because of all the vegetation that has grown up since the house was built, so it would no longer be possible for me to see the railway line in the other direction either.

 

[Ash Bridge]

I still live in the house I grew up in (subsequently purchased from my parents) located in the Heaton Chapel district of Stockport. The rear garden backs directly onto an embankment that carries the Heaton Norris Junc. - Guide Bridge Line (aka. Stockport- Stalybridge Line). Similarly to @jfollows above increasing vegetation has over the years slowly been spoiling the view here also sadly.

 

[Acey]

My rear garden overlooks the line between Bromley South and Bickley,get the odd steam and used to get the Eurostars

 

[madannie77]

Back in 1985 I lived on Old Liverpool Road in Warrington for six months and my room had an excellent view of the line from Warrington Arpley to Fiddlers Ferry. Plenty of coal trains back then.

From my current house I can see the Tyne Valley line and in winter I can also see the Settle & Carlisle. When I moved here over 20 years ago I could see the S & C clearly all year, but the trees have grown much taller since then and the foliage is now too dense in summer .

 

[alxndr]

Nothing now, although I can hear and see the West Coast Mainline, being just 200 yards or so away.

Previously I've been able to see just east of Cumbernauld Station and had a flat backing onto the Great Western Mainline in Swindon.

 

[D6968]

Parents house overlooks the SVR in Bewdley, from the hill behind my childhood house you could see both the Stour Valley line and then moving 6ft in the other direction you could see the ex GW mainline from Birmingham to Worcester.
My current place of work is right next to the line to Ely and Kings Lynn, have my own private vantage point should anything interesting go past

 

[zero]

I've lived alongside the District Line, the Wimbledon-West Croydon tram line and currently live along the Barnes-Hounslow loop.

When I lived in Hong Kong I lived on top of the Island line though it was a long way down. When I lived in Australia I lived next to the Rogans Hill line though it was a long way in the past. From my relatives' house in Canada it is possible to see the Scarborough Rapid Transit.

Also of note is that many of my homes have been under or nearly under the flight path to the nearby large airport, so I've often lived with loud planes going past every 5-10 minutes.

 

[gg1]

Sadly none, although part of our back garden is on top of the track bed of the Halesowen Joint Railway.

 

[Falcon1200]

I very nearly bought a house overlooking Uddingston Junction, but thanks to a useless Solicitor the deal fell through. Probably not a bad thing in the end however as the house was also very close to the M74!

There is a picture in a railway book of EMUs stabled in sidings right behind my present house in Neilston, however by the time we moved here the sidings had gone.

 

[androdas]

I can see the Blyth and Tyne or Northumberland line as it is known now, not many trains though at the minute but that will hopefully change soon

 

[westv]

Wen I lived in Stamford, the back bedroom overlooked the Peterborough to Birmingham line.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I've never lived anywhere where I can actually see trains... though whenever there's a post on here from someone grumbling about noise, I'm tempted to offer a swap!

 

[D6130]

At this time of the year we can catch a brief glimpse of trains entering and leaving Weasel Hall tunnel, half a mile West of Hebden Bridge, but in Summer the foliage is too dense....although we can clearly hear their horns, especially at night. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, my family lived in three different houses close to the Gareloch in the West of Scotland....from the first we could see trains on the West Highland line on the hillside across the loch and the other two were within 200 yards of the same line, with the loco numbers (including D6130!) clearly visible from the back windows and gardens. Meanwhile my paternal grandparents lived in a farm alongside the West Coast Main Line about mid-way between Gretna Junction and Lockerbie from 1959 to 1967, so I could spot trains - including many steam locos - from the dining room and bedroom windows while staying there during school holidays....and my maternal grandparents' back garden adjoined the 'Leeds Northern' line just South of Eaglescliffe station from 1961 until 1968. I didn't really stand a chance in life, did I?

P.S. I was given my first Ian Allan combined volume by my paternal grandfather for my fourth birthday present in 1961, much to the dismay of my father. I think I had memorised most of it by my fifth!

 

[OhNoAPacer]

When staying in Northampton i I can see the Northampton loop near Dallington crossing.
The property sits right beside the former Northampton to Market Harborough line.

 

[Bevan Price]

Nothing for many years, but when I was little, I lived not far from Moss Bank station, and you could see the long-closed St. Helens to Rainford branch between gaps in the houses on the opposite side of the road.

 

[32475]

- When I was 6 we moved to a house in Burgess Hill where my bedroom had a clear view of the line from Keymer Junction to Lewes (still had green liveried EMUs and loco hauled boat trains back then).
- My student digs at Chartham had a view of the line from Ashford if you stood on a chair on the upstairs landing.
- The top of our garden near Sandwich gives the slightest distant view of the Minster - Dover line but only when there are no leaves on the trees!

 

[johnnychips]

I can see Sheffield station from my window on Park Hill, and sometimes can see if my train is in.

 

[telstarbox]

I can see Sheffield station from my window on Park Hill, and sometimes can see if my train is in.

Nice - are you in the refurbished flats?

From both my previous flat and current house I can hear (but not directly see) different sections of the South East Main Line. The flat before was wedged between the SEML and Lewisham station loop so I could spot both from the balcony, and the DLR.

 

[Lloyds siding]

If I go to my front gate I can see trains on the Southport line of Merseyrail...and in the other direction: ships sailing into and out of Liverpool!

 

[D6968]

I've never lived anywhere where I can actually see trains... though whenever there's a post on here from someone grumbling about noise, I'm tempted to offer a swap!

You need to have a chat with one of our neighbours then, buying a house outside Coldhams Lane Carriage Sidings not only has he complained about noise from our taproom, he’s also complained to the council about the noise of the trains!
Dread to think what he’d say if he lived there about 40 years ago with 37’s and 47’s idling all night long!

 

[DelayRepay]

From an upstairs window of my house between Milton Keynes and Northampton, I can just about see the WCML. I don't really hear the trains during the day but I hear them passing by at night.

I could see the MML from my previous home in St Albans, and from the home before that in Sheffield. I don't choose homes based on views of railways though, it's just coincidental

 

[Iskra]

I can see Sheffield station from my window on Park Hill, and sometimes can see if my train is in.

Do you get noise issues?

 

[Essan]

My garden backs on to Evesham station - can easily see anything passing through from my bedroom window. However, with most trains passing through now 900s I barely hear anything. If they reinstated the old Midland line through to Ashchurch, though, I'd be able to watch the trains pass through my living room

When I was young we lived in Putney for a short while, in a place that backed on to the mainline into Victoria. That was quite noisy, as I recall.

And as noted elsewhere, my bothy in Scotland, Essan, looks out on the Mallaig line.

Think they are the only places I've lived with direct line of sight to a railway line.

 

[MonsooN]

Not my current house, but my mam's house (the house I grew up in) overlooks the Durham Coast line just near Hall Dene crossing.

 

[DarloRich]

I can see none, despite living almost adjacent, but hear 2:

Bedford > Bletchley
WCML