One of Marina's concerns is with vibration. The representative said he lives 200 feet from the tracks. In 1995 Monterey County and Amtrak California brought a demonstration train through Marina to the Monterey Peninsula. The train had one F59PH Amtrak California locomotive and five or six different passenger cars, including one Caltrain car, one California Car, a Superliner, an old dome car, and one or two others.

According to this representative, the train rattled his house so badly that dishes were shaking on the shelves. From what he described it sounded like it was comparable to a modest earthquake. From that moment on he was convinced that no trains should ever pass through Marina. He said "It was a demonstration train. We had our demonstration, and we don't want it."

From my limited experience near railroad tracks, I have not experienced any significant vibration from a passing train, certainly not of the magnitude he described. Quite the contrary, I have found the sound to be rather soothing. Assuming he is not exaggerating his experience, what might have caused such horrible vibration? The tracks there have not been used in 30 years, save for that one train, so poor roadbed conditions might have been to blame. Can anyone further enlighten me?

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

However, when I was a kid I used to live very close to the Santa Fe (now BNSF) main line in La Mirada in an apartment complex along Stage Road which parallels the tracks. BNSF's mainline is very well maintained, but freight trains would rumble the house, rattle the windows and vibrate the floor. Later, my family moved to a house around the corner, but still within view of the tracks. Freight trains still rattled the windows, to the tune of thirty or more a day. I always enjoyed this, and I never heard any neighbors complain either, since the same things happened to their houses too. I suppose this was because the railroad had been there all along. I recently visited a friend who lived for a time in the Stage Road Apartments, and they still vigorously rattle whenever a freight train passes.

Those in attendance at events like this should be prepared to speak up and ask the
questions which will expose these protestors
who probably do not have a clue about what they are saying, but expect to be heard as
ligitmate.

Now, if Amtrak and Caltrans had been so stupid as to let a moderately bad flat wheel go with the demo ... that can make a chunka noise.

Finally, if the guy lives right on the W for whistle post to a grade crossing ...

Toy, if you want that line to go through, you and your friends need to pack the Marina City Council with rail-friendly folk.

My $0.015 (inflation, you understand).
Your mileage may vary.
Warranties only good in the lower 48 states.

John

Konstantin, In the days when the Sunset did pass by, how did it compare to the freight traffic?

Personally I'd prefer to listen to an occasional passing train than the constant traffic noise I have outside now. I lived under the approach to the Monterey airport for 14 years and that was preferable, too. I don't know why anyone would get upset about a handful of passenger trains passing four to six times a day. I think it all boils down to a fear of the unknown.

The new Downeaster runs through areas that hadn't seen trains in decades. How are people handling that up there?

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

You asked me a good question. I did not explain myself well. I started working there after the Sunset Limited had already moved, so I don't have an answer for you.

To add some of my opinion to your story above:

It seems that if the track was built after the homeowners lived there, I might understand their frustrations. But I would guess that the track has been there long before most of those people bought their homes. Anybody who buys a home next to a railroad track should be willing to expect some noise and vibration.

Yes, the tracks predate the houses by at least 50 years. Problem is the tracks haven't been used for over 30 years, save for the one time I mentioned. Most of the homeowners bought their property long after the last train came by, so they are not accustomed to trains, hence the opposition.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

As a kid I used to camp down the coast at Refugio Beach in Santa Barbara County.

We had, in my littler youth, the Daylight, the Lark, and a bunch of freight working the Coast Line. Trust me, you could hear a freight train working its way up from El Capitan State Beach. The pasenger runs, though, generally were there before you knew it, and gone just as fast.

Passenger trains tend to have well maintained locomotives. That matters more than a little bit. Listen sometime to a SD-70 or later unit, one in coal train (or even in sugar beet) service. Compare that to a properly maintained E unit, F unit, F40, or Genesis. World of difference.

Next, flat wheels. Nothing is louder, IMHO, than a flat wheel at speed. You can hear the bloody thing a mile away.

Third comes slow orders, either for urban density or poor track. A slow train means a longer exposure to noise at any given point.

At the end of the day, well maintained track means faster operating speeds, and a shorter dwell time for the noise.

John

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr. Toy:

Thanks for the replies. I'm not quite clear on how bad roadbed would transmit vibration worse than good roadbed. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

---snip---

Konstantin, In the days when the Sunset did pass by, how did it compare to the freight traffic?

---big snip---

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John

quote:

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Originally posted by RRCHINA:
Perhaps the best way to obtain answers, and to have documentation for presentation at any meetings, would be to actually measure the decibles and vibrations under differing conditions, ie. freight vs. passenger; slow speed vs. fast and whatever additional criteria you may deem appropriate.
Measurements should be obtained at a location beyond the ROW line so that you are not trespassing on RR property and at a distance that would simulate where a residence may be located.
Good luck.

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