Just imaging what the Victorians thought, all that noise from these new fangled machines! Got a radical idea - give everyone who complains a set of ear plugs. If they're not satisfied with that, put some sellotape around their gobs. Problem solved.[/QUOTE
Not a well thought response. Ear plugs do not block the throbbing vibration sound emitted by these idling engines. Nor do they block the fumes.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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Not long ago, none of those flats and houses around the sidings were there. The railway made a quick buck selling off the land, and developers made a fortune selling tiny flats in one of the most expensive places to live in the country.
If you move into those flats, expect the noise. Those sidings are in use 24 hours per day, and freight and passengers trains belt through every few minutes even at 3am. There's around 600 trains per 24 hours at Oxford. This is nothing new, its been a busy 24hour line for well over 100 years.
Trains are normally left on if they are being shunted around, this tends to go on till 3am ready for the morning as they tend to be reformed and sent backwards and forwards to other depots for fuel and maintenance.
Rail is a tiny contributor to Co2 in the UK, around 0.7%, about the same as the 21 million domestic flight passengers, less than buses, and a fraction of that of cars and trucks.
Perhaps planning permission should never have been granted to build the flats, but the railway was there long before any of them, or the people who live in them were there. I'd suggest they live with it or move.
Some of your information is not quite correct here. Firstly many of the houses and flats (including mine) were already here before this noise problem started, although it is true that a lot more have been built since then.
It's not true that freight trains belt through every few minutes. The line is relatively quiet, and in any case that is not what is being complained about.
Trains are not being shunted around till 3am. There is in fact no movement on the sidings during the middle of the night. The noise comes from
stationary engines left idling in the same spot.
People should not have to live with
unnecessary noise or be forced out of their homes because of bad practice on the part of the employees.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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Anyone else notice the guards whistle at 01:48? *rolls eyes...*
I'm finding it really hilarious, the number of railway experts that can't tell the difference between a guard's whistle and a duck! Well actually it's probably a MOORHEN. Trying googling for the sound of the common moorhen and you'll see what I mean. This video was recorded beside a canal. (It does say canalside right near the beginning of the clip.) There is a canal and a small river in the foreground of this video, and you do get a lot of wildlife sounds as well as noisy engines.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPmSnYjBEHg
Just found this video. Some of the statements seem a bit extreme. Thoughts anyone?
And yes, you can't see the train that well.
Can you specify what you find "extreme" about these statements and then maybe I can explain things?
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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I think that might be overdubbed, there are whistles and other noises that don't sound right for sidings
There is no overdubbing on my video. It is exactly as it came off the camera, apart from the addition of titles. The sound has not been altered in any way. The "whistle" that you think you hear is actually the sound of a waterside bird, probably a MOORHEN. I'm amazed at you people that can't tell the difference.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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I believe that was a track been repeated - & recorded on a station whilst a DMU is Idling.
Yes there are whistles & I can make out a Door Closing Beep aswell.
My video was recorded outside my lounge door, which is opposite the railway sidings, with a canal and a river in between. I certainly wouldn't go to the bother of making a recording on a station when I can hear enough engine noise in my own home. The "whistle" that you think you can hear is probably a MOORHEN but certainly not a guard's whistle. I don't know what the bleep is (as I'm not a railway expert) but that came from the sidings.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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Are trains left on overnight?
Yes, trains at Jericho (Oxford) railway sidings are certainly left running ALL NIGHT. This has been occurring virtually every night (except Sat/Sun) for months on end during the last two winters. Although there has been an improvement during the last couple of weeks, with engines switching off at maybe around 1.15am.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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At one point I'm sure you can hear an EMU departing in the distance! What poor deluded fool has put this video together?
And yeah, I'm pretty sure they are left on overnight, though they make nowhere near that amount of noise.
Ah, so I am having delusions am I when I imagine I can hear all this noise from the sidings during the night? And all the other people who complain about it are having delusions too? A case of mass delusion perhaps? Or perhaps it is YOU who is deluded in thinking that I am just a poor fool? :roll:
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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Would appear so. I used to live near these sidings and remember them being on all night. I didn't suffer from asthma as a result though!
Not everyone suffers from asthma, and I don't myself. But I know of some people living near these sidings having to move because of it. There are certainly noxious fumes in the air, and I have on many occasions had to shut my back windows because my lounge has been flooded with the smell of diesel. Fortunately my bedroom is on the opposite side of the building, so I am able to have a window open on the other side. But when I've left my back windows open on a hot summer night, I've often been woken to the diesel stink at around 5am and had to dive under the duvet to get away from it.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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Always makes me laugh really.
Oxford City Council Councillors go on and on about vehicle "fumes" poisoning Oxford and place restrictions on new build properties from having parking in order to reduce the "fumes"... Yet the depot in the heart of the city pumps tonnes of CO2 into the air every year.
Oxford County Council could, of course, help the issue by co-sponsoring the extension of electricification from Reading to Oxford or even Banbury
Some Oxford City Councillors are aware of this problem and have had meetings with First Great Western, but to little effect. :cry:
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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We're having similar problems from local residents around Aylesbury South Sidings. The flats were only built recently but they seemingly have the law on their side in these matters. Now the trains have to be shut down after they've been cleaned at night so early morning passengers from Aylesbury can expect freezing cold trains and cancellations due to faults that would have been rectified had the trains been left running.
It seems anyone can build residential properties stupidly close to working railway yards and then the resulting residents can prevent the railway going about its legitimate business with the full force of the law. Crazy.
If the trains are cold, let the passengers wear jumpers. This was a residential area long before FGW started causing this problem, and I feel cold when I haven't had a proper amount of sleep.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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I did hear it,
I still can't see the train though..
More guard's whistle delusions! It is some kind of waterside bird, probably a MOORHEN. The reason that you can't see the train very well is because it is quite a long way off, where that bright light is shining. There is a canal and a river in the foreground, and a load of trees.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
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Apparently it's a duck. However I'm not totally convinced,
this is what whistling ducks sound like...
"Ducks" is what I call them, but probably a MOORHEN. Try googling for the sound of the common moorhen. There's a lot of them down here by the river and the canal.
(uploader of Oxford railway sidings video)
Could always construct a lovely 15 foot high concrete wall to act as a sound barrier; this would have the added advantage of ensuring residents overlooking the sidings are not having to put up with trains spoiling their views.
