WCML Northamton Loop - How Busy?

[48k]

Looking at buying a house near Long Buckby which backs on to the West Coast Main Line Northampton Loop. We had a couple of viewings and the train noise wasn't a particular problem. I was just wondering how busy the line is? It looks like four trains per hour at peak plus freight. Does anyone "in the know" know roughly how many movements per hour in total go along there an how often there is overnight maintenance on that stretch of line?

[alangla]

This is a good starting point. Change the date to see how busy it is on different days, ignore the “runs as required” or anything that doesn’t show a time as it won’t have run, or, if it says “NR” it’s probably been diverted via Weedon. Basically 2 trains an hour during the night by the looks of it

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/g...

[eliot]

in theory it only ever has the chuggabug local trains running on it - not the noiser intercity fast trains

[essayer]

Only thing may be diesel freight trains passing - the Avanti/LNR ones you see in the day are electric and relatively quiet, overnight a lot of the freight will be diesel, possibly double headed so could be noisy. Maybe time a visit with the passing of one of those in each direction.

Also expect a few nights each year where they do heavy maintenance overnight - track renewal etc

[demic]

Expect night time maintenance to be noisy. Tamping, rail grinding, heavy plant, maybe a cl66 ying yinging outside all night plus the inevitable shouting snd swearing from the work gangs.

Don’t assume because it’s a quiet line now it always will be. Don’t be one of those people who buy/rent a house next a railway line because it’s substantially cheaper than the one a few streets away and then continually moan about the noise.

[essayer]

demic said:

cl66 ying yinging

this would get annoying if you had windows open on a summer's night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srmGF1AwacI

[surveyor]

demic said:

Expect night time maintenance to be noisy. Tamping, rail grinding, heavy plant, maybe a cl66 ying yinging outside all night plus the inevitable shouting snd swearing from the work gangs.

Don’t assume because it’s a quiet line now it always will be. Don’t be one of those people who buy/rent a house next a railway line because it’s substantially cheaper than the one a few streets away and then continually moan about the noise.

'Tis true.

Also don't ever expect any consideration from Network Rail staff. Some are worse than others, but health and safety is all about the railway and nothing about anything else....

Obviously train noise is inevitable, alongside some maintenance which may be noisy works on consecutive nights.

[ZymoTech]

You could have a look on West Midlands Railways website. They're the TOC who run the chuggabug local trains as referred to above. You can look on there for planned engineering works:

https://www.westmidlandsrailway.co.uk/travel-infor...

[bergclimber34]

Chap I looked at buying in Weedon not far from there, line was about 100 yards away made me say no, Buckby has a station so will probably be noisy but also stopping pulling away, depends if you can get on with it, the issue is stuff not stopping I guess.

[duff]

I don’t think passenger trains or engineering work should be too much of a consideration, freight would be the main issue. Long Buckby is on a long uphill out of Northampton which means diesel engines thrashing past at full power (it’s not just the noise but smell)
You’ll get regular freight services passing throughout the day and night as it’s a major route connecting South and North. There may be slightly less traffic at night as they get routed via Weedon more regularly, however you have DIRFT just up the road and a new rail freight terminal just outside Northampton under construction.

[48k]

Thanks all. We're not going for it so doesn't matter but appreciate the responses.

[the-norseman]

essayer said:

this would get annoying if you had windows open on a summer's night

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srmGF1AwacI

When you have been stood next to one for 12 hours, you get home and try to sleep and its all you can hear.