Some Escalon residents say they're fed up with sound, vibrations from train engines left idling for days
ESCALON - Residents in an Escalon neighborhood say they are fed up with the trains parked near their homes. They say trains are left there for days at a time making loud noises at all hours of the day.
CBS13's Brady Halbleib is there and spoke with neighbors and has a response from the rail company.
Lance Fraser has lived in a neighborhood in Escalon for more than 10 years. He says he doesn't mind trains coming through the area, but he's frustrated when they leave them on the tracks for an extended period of time.
BNSF Railway says they are aware of their frustration.
"And that's what it sounds like outside my bedroom window," said Fraser.
Fraser is among several neighbors who live within 100 yards of the railroad tracks.
"It's the noise and the not caring," he said. "Every day they're just off the chain here."
Both BNSF and Amtrak use the tracks near this Escalon neighborhood on a daily basis. But Fraser says that's not the major issue.
"It's them parking here for days on end on top of the city of Escalon," he said.
The same message is echoed by neighbor Scott Kelechenyi.
"They leave them for days weeks at a time and they just leave them running and they just leave them through and the constant vibration is one of the things that wakes you up in the middle of the night," said neighbor Scott Kelechenyi.
BNSF Railway tells CBS13 they are aware of Fraser's frustration but that each train has an idle reduction control device that limits idling. The train must also start and stop to charge the air brake system, which is one of the reasons for the noise.
Officials with BNSF also say they try to stage the trains further from neighborhoods - but it's not always possible. Meanwhile, Fraser also believes the rumbling sounds have damaged his home and hopes the trains can be stationed elsewhere.
"We understand they own the tracks, but they don't own my home in the neighborhood and they're destroying my home," he said.
CBS13 has not verified that the trains caused any of the damage to Fraser's home.
I've reached out to the City of Escalon to see if they are aware of this issue for these neighbors, but so far, I haven't heard back.
