For a long time, I had read about a record album called "Rail Dynamics: Recorded on Rainy Nights Along the New York Central."
A couple of years ago I found that a CDR copy was available from Smithsonian Folkways, the record label of the Smithsonian Institute. I ordered and received it and was immediately disappointed.
The record had been improperly transferred to CD. It must have been put through a line input instead of a phono pre-amp input. Phonograph albums incorporated an equalization curve, and a pre-amp with the reverse of that curve is required on playback to restore the equalization of the original sound. If you play a record back without the curve you hear a very tinny sound with virtually no bass. This is what I was hearing.
The first step to remedy that was to play the CD on a CD player with variable output, plugged into the phono jacks on my receiver. The need for a variable volume output was so that I could turn the volume way down so as not to overload the phono input. Phono cartridges operate at very low signal voltages, relative to CD players, tape decks etc.
OK, now I had a properly EQ'd recording to work with, however parts of it didn't seem to make sense sonically. Instead of the typical right-to-left or left-to-right passages, typical of train recordings, I could not understand how these recordings were made. Also the two long passages on Side Two (of the original album), purported to be the only recordings of on board train sounds of NYC Hudsons ever made, sounded totally weird and foreign.
A short time ago I stumbled across a contemporaneous article about the albums creator, a fellow by the name of Emory Cook. In the article it says that he liked to experiment with sound, especially to demonstrate his pioneering system of stereo recording and playback. It mentioned that on a number of passages on the "Rail Dynamics" album he placed the microphones on either side of the track (with the wires running underneath the rails, of course) thereby achieving an audio perspective that could not be attained naturally by the listener. The train runs "between your ears".
That solved issue number one, but the second problem with the on board recording was still vexing. One day while listening and being frustrated for the umpteenth time, it suddenly dawned on me what I was hearing. The two passages, and only the two passages from on board the train were reversed. I don't know if this was how the original recording was released or if someone was playing games on the transfer but it was definitely playing backwards like some John Lennon experimental track from the White Album.
Fortunately, in the digital domain that is easily remedied. Using Sony Sound Forge, my digital audio workstation (DAW), I copied the two passages, reversed them and pasted them back in their original place in the album sequence. Viola, I finally have the sound restored to how the mics picked it up back in 1950. Despite the hype, you don't hear much of the Hudson as it sounds like the mics were located considerably back in the train and the car noise drowns out the engine sound at speed. There is no whistling as there are very few at grade crossings on the Hudson River line. Also, Ringo Starr is not playing drums on those two tracks. (Kidding.)
One more problem existed, The right channel was an average 3 decibels louder than the left, throwing off the balance and soundstage. Again that was easily remedied in the software.
All-in-all it was a lousy production job from the folks at Smithsonian. I have a few other recordings from them and they do not share the same maladies.
Frustrations aside, this was actually a fun exercise in detective work and reverse-engineering.
I'm still not a fan of the weird sonic stage, but it is what it is. The sparse liner notes of the original should have been a clue that this was an audiophile's demonstration record, rather that an attempt at documenting the sounds of the New York Central at work.
PS: The bulk of the album was recorded in and around the Peekskill station, but one track features station announcements from, ironically, Pennsylvania Station. You hear an announcement for the Lehigh Valley's "Maple Leaf" as as well as for a few PRR trains including one advising a change at Harrisburg for Sunbury, Williamsport, Lock Haven, Renovo, Emporium and Buffalo.
Also, all of the locomotives bear the New York Central's standard passenger 6-Chimes and freight 5-Chimes except for one Hancock 3-Chime. The Hancock's were used on Pacifics, regularly assigned to the Harlem, Putnam and West Shore Divisions, out of deference to people living along those lines. The Hancocks were far less shrill than the higher pitched 6 and 5 chime whistles and probably disturbed people less in the wee hours.
