How important is the sound of your engines?

The "natural" sounds of the engines and the wheels going over the rails are very appealing to me.  An occasional air whistle is nice to hear now and then too.  I like the "noise" of conventional O and standard gauge trains.  The quiet "natural" sounds of HO or N don't appeal to me nor do any of the electronic sounds.

I like the sounds, though only for short periods of time. I like the crew talk. I like it all... for short periods of time.

 

But I have a question: How true to prototype are the locomotive sounds, e.g., Do Alco diesel models sound like Alco diesels? Do EMD diesel models sound like EMD diesels? etc.

 

Do sounds differ with different Alco models, etc.

Scrappy,

So true, so very true. Oh for the benefit of running electric profile power. The one viewing does not have to grab a butt cheek in each hand and hold on. At the same time wonder where they are. Surely there are those among us who have grown tired of all the pretend sounds emitted from their toy train. Which leads to my point. It is then when the shake, rattle and roll sounds are the most refreshing above all others.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Think without engine sounds it would be a dying hobby.

I remember buying the little Lionel shanty just to get a bell and whistle on the layout.

I suppose I'm in the big minority here, but I enjoy the sounds, ESPECIALLY the cab talk that the MTH Protosound 2 files have.

 

I've since stopped running trains, and sadly, I'm beginning to sell off my stuff, but one very fond memory I'll carry with me are the nights I was building my layout and trying to figure out my track plan, but got caught up in the need to have something running.  So I laid out a very large, basic loop (which I later change very little and set into permanence) and set the UP 844 Northern on a trip around.  After running it a few loops, I stopped it and just let the cab sounds play, as I laid more track.  I worked another 2 hours and enjoyed listening to the engine crew go through the checks and maintenance chatter, along with the accompanying sounds, with the occasional "We've got to get to Green River".....I've enjoyed the chatter/talk sounds ever since.

I'm also one of those who would not be in the hobby if it were not for sound.  Sound from my father-in-law's engines drew me to the hobby, then command control hooked me.  I do run my engines at a low volume.

 

Another thing, at least for me, is to have sound in every engine.  I can really tell when a dummy engine passes me; it has no sound and sounds dead.  So, I have no dummies on my layout.  All engines in my AA, AB, and ABA consists that I run on my layout have sound and power.  I'm looking at a F3 ABBA freight consist where one of the B units may not have power, but it will have sound.

 

Ron

Sound is what brought me back into 3-rail O gauge.  I run without smoke, but can not without sounds.  Diesel sounds, especially MU'ed together are fantastic.  Crew talk is OK, but not a big deal.

 

Art

I like noise, any noise. It could be the sounds of a new steam engine, an air whistle, the banging and slamming of a tinplate set, or even the mighty sounds of steam!

If it has great sound... it goes on the bucket list.

Same here. I like the sounds to be a good as possible as well as the smoke but I also like the fact I can turn them all off.

 

Pete

Not at all. The first thing I do is turn the volume down to the lowest setting. I don't turn it all the way off, because it helps me know where the train is on the layout. I would go crazy if I had to listen to 10 engines at a time.

I like ALL the sounds, engine, horn/whistle, bell, crew talk, freight/passenger sounds, everything. Kids like it too, I think it adds fun to running the trains.

I enjoy the steam chuff, diesel rumble, the creaks and groans the engines make when at idle, plus the occasional bell/horn/whistle (which I rarely use), but don't care for the others (a dog barking, really MTH, can't you think of another sound to use besides that?).

 

We've asked for so many things (opening doors, swinging bells, etc) to be added to these engines, no wonder they're so expensive, all that stuff takes R&D which WE pay for.  I'd rather have them spend that on better scale detail than moving parts that break or don't work.

I thank it is very important because of to make it more realistic and a lot more fun for people visiting your layout or just you so it is not just quite. - Matt 

My worst sound experience was a few years ago.   A young guy in our group brought a new passenger steamer to an operating session.   the owner let him put it on a passenger train worked it into the schedule.   Well this guy had the volume cranked up and he rang the bell and blew the whistle continuously as he took it around the layout.   It was loud to the point of interfering with talking and figuring out to switch out the yard.   

So true. It's even prevelant in many youtube videos.  IT just shows amatures at play. But when the loco comes to a crossing or a yard limit, those same people "can't Handle it" and properly use the bell/ horn/whistle sequence.

 

But I have a question: How true to prototype are the locomotive sounds, e.g., Do Alco diesel models sound like Alco diesels? Do EMD diesel models sound like EMD diesels? etc.

For the most part, the lionel Rs4 and LEgacy railsounds for first generation f's, geeps,  & ALCo's are on or near the mark. Second generation can be dicy with the exception of the sd40-2 which is also on the mark. All other minoriy builders it's very debatable since many of those models are not around or not running.

 

 

Very important.  Don't like the crew talk.  

Modern sounds is what really drew me into the hobby. I built my current layout to play trains with my children and they love the sounds. We love the crew talk and towercom on the Lionel locos and the passenger announcements on our one MTH Proto3 loco. Other children and visitors really love the sounds as well.

 

The best part about all of the modern offerings is that you get to pick and choose what sounds play and the volume. Since sounds really are all about personal preference the ability to control them is important. It's better to have the sounds and not need them, than to need the sounds and not have them!

 

Jay in Ottawa

I love the sounds, it's a very important part of the picture.  I attempt to put sounds in any of my upgrades that they'll fit, and I'm disappointed when I can't squeeze them in.

 

Oh yes, sound is great, an exciting part of running the trains.

Although I did get tired of MTHs same sound in every engine it was still sound.

And MPCs scratchy static SOS was at least some noise from the engine. Right up there with their needle point axle.

Jim

 

 

Count me as another one who came back to the hobby after 15 years (HO to O) because of the sounds and scale details.

 

Occasionally, I turn off the sounds for trouble shooting, such as the MTH Big Boy over Ross switches, and it just doesn’t cut it to see the BB running silently – reminds me of my old HO version.

 

Yes, sounds are great, and as Jim posted earlier, the TMCC Crane-Car workers talk is fun to listen to.

 

Alex

My little Marx 999 wobbles down the tracks like a drunk and sounds like a tin can full of rocks, and I love it.  Might add a whistle and bell in a building someday, but I like it the way it is.

 

It makes me feel 10 years old again.

I wouldn't be in O gauge without it.  That combination of sight and sound is what makes model railroading fun again for me.  The better the sound, the happier I am.  Don't care at all for the MTH cab chatter guys and the stupid train wreck, but the operational sounds of the engine are exceptional.

 

Mike   

The more realistic it is, the better I like it.

I like the sounds.  Sometimes I start up a bunch of engines and let them sit still while I run others.  It's kinda like techno music, to some random noise, but to me a wonderful melody.

I am a big kid so I have fun with the cab chatter too.

I like the sound so much I crank up CD's on our stereo system where 14 speakers and a sub woofer surround the layout. You would think a real train is coming through.

I run a FM wireless transmitter off my  MTH ps3 speaker [EMD GP35 prime mover one of 5 engines in a MU ]and play it through a powered subwoofer which plays only the low frequencies while the host loco still maintains normal sounds out its 2 inch speaker and it sounds incredible...you can feel as well as hear it.  Changes the whole running my trains experience. Every one that has heard is awed.

Sounds are very important to me...the louder the better! After all the real 1:1 trains are very loud! I've been asked to turn my engines sounds down when displaying at train shows...by the promoters!! Said the dealers didn't like it??!! Then again my #1 Gauge PS2 equipped engines are using 12 watt audio amplifiers driving 4" speakers.  

 

Next question thrown out there will be something like "are your sounds in scale"?? 

I love the sounds of the engines, especially when the diesels are just starting up. The crew chatter can go (which seems to be the consensus in this post). I don't care if the sound isn't correct for that particular engine, I just love the sounds. My most favorite

sound is my MTH's GP-9 w/PS3 horn. It sounds just like the horns I used to hear when I was a kid in bed at night dreaming of being on that train going to far away places! 

I LIKE sound in scale 3 rail O.   But for sure it has to be accurate to what it's supposed to be.  The JLC N&W Y6b is a terrific example of good sound, in spite of the reversed simple / compound function and two chugs.  PRR J1 from 2001 is in the same class. The new PRR J1 is sadly lacking here, with generic sounds from a Rio Grande narrow gauge Mike.  Diesel sound is equally critical. I like my EMD 567 to sound like the real thing in all eight notches. This is one place where MTH really has it together with their PS2 chip.   My big B&O SD7 (9) has just the right sound !  I mean it's really awesome !   Same with his FM sound, although, it's really an H16-66 being installed in a TM.    

Forty-Rod said:  "My little Marx 999 wobbles down the tracks like a drunk and sounds like a tin can full of rocks, and I love it.  Might add a whistle and bell in a building someday, but I like it the way it is.

 

It makes me feel 10 years old again."

 

Sweet!  "wobbles down the tracks like a drunk and sounds like a tin can full of rocks"  Poetic description, paints a wonderful image.

Love the sounds especially the cab chatter.

The older trains (postwar) have their own sounds; e-unit buzz, air whistle, single-blat buzzer-horn, and ozone. That's mostly what got me hooked years ago. It is what it is.

 

The first generation of sound was novel...and awful...not worth the salesman's hype. It only sounded like a train because he said it did. 

 

I'll agree with jaygee. With locos running close to (and over) a grand, for that kind of money the sound better be dead on, 2-cycle in the GMs, 4-cycle in the FMs and Alcos; all with proper horns. Steamers need FOUR chuffs a revolution, not one or two and a GOOD sounding quillable whistle.

 

Others have said it and I agree; turn down the volume when running with others in the room! Getting two or three of them puppies running at the same time, you'll wind up daft in short order. Willgee's idea of an FM transmitter to a sub-wolfer sounds like a really neat idea.

 

Often, just the sound of the wheels on the track going over the joints is satisfying enough for me. 

Sound is very important to me.  I love the engine sound, but can do without crew chatter.  In fact, since I got sound in my newer O-Gauge locos and one On30 locos, the other two On30 locos are expendable.  Both run very nice, but I only need one, so it isn't worth it to me to upgrade.  One is spoken for and the other one will be up for sale.

 

I still like my two post war engines without sound, and run them a bit for old time sake, but the modern sound systems, lighting, smoke, really make the models impressive to me.  Don't know how I did without it for so many years.

I like the high quality sounds in RailSounds/Legacy as well as select MTH PS2/PS3 locomotives.

 

However, the richness/fullness of sounds is only part of the picture.  I also want the sounds to be accurate for that prototype, and for the most part, both MTH and Lionel accomplish this, with some noted exceptions where deviations to what the actual prototype sounds or sounded like, the quilling whistle feature, while neat, is not accurate for all engines.  And as for the TowerCom and PFE chatter effects, like others have posted I don't particularly care for it.

 

But even in spite of the desire for accurate sounds, that is a very distant second in my consideration when compared to detail & accuracy in the appearance of scale-sized models.   In other words, if given the choice between a very accurate scale model with low quality or incorrect sounds and a less accurate model with high-quality sounds, I'll pick the one with the better details over the better sounds every time.

I love it all and I will miss The Mighty Sound of Steam as I slowly replace them with modern equipment.

  I would, too, although rather than "less accurate," in my case it is more correct to say "less detailed." Frankly, I often do not know exactly what was correct for a loco, and I also know that often over their lifetime any one loco was modified/equipmd with this or that so what is accurate varied - so I don't try too hard to determine what was right for a loco.  But I know extraordinary detail when I see it, and I want it . . . .   The recent MTH ATSF Hudson is an example, just incredible detail that all seems to match all the photos I have of it way back when, but who knows?  Still, the sound, while loud, is second class - maybe a close second, but just noticeably below current Legacy standards - like its a generation behind.  But I thought so much of the MTH model because of the detail, that I bought all three roadnumbers - the only loco I have done that with so far.  

 

 

WBB are making sound cards with these features now. These are the 'True Blast Plus' cards that are intended to be a simple replacement for the 'True Blast II' cards.

The 2014 WBB catalogue lists these for 3 diesel types at present (GP30, RS-3 and SD90) and I would expect more to follow (Both steam & diesel.) in the future. 

 

I am like most of the people that think it is important and love the engine sounds. A little of the chatter goes a long way.

 

 

In case my last post isn't posted I still think there are better and cheaper

systems for Williams