Noisy accessories, ways to calm them down

But...I thought you guys liked the noise, along with the smells, etc. 😁

Mark in Oregon

I do. The wife, not so much. She likes it because it makes me happy, not because she is a train or model train enthusiast.

Frank

What DC supply would be appropriate, if any, is totally dependent upon the electrical characteristics of the individual solenoid and a lot of YMMV. Running an AC accessory on DC will cause it to run much much much hotter and melt down - so you gotta look at the resistance, inductance, current et. al. electrical properties of the components of the accessory and engineer a specific solution. Many accessories rely on the AC oscillations to facilitate action. Generally, it is best and easiest to use them on AC as designed. Desire a quite running session, simply don't power the accessory bus

Normally activated by insulated rail, I have an old style solenoid based Lionel Crossing Gate that is VERY loud when operating.  I wired in a dedicated bypass switch just for it back to the control panel, so that all the other accessories powered by the same 12VAC transformer tap can still be used in relative quiet.  When visitors come, I can turn the noisemaker crossing gate back on for a few train passes and then back off again when the novelty wears thin.

would the operation of the accessories not be dependent on the AC voltage supplied to each accessory? Adjusting the VAC for each individual item would allow you to see where it wants to run, then you could group similar VAC accessories together, reducing noise and allowing the accessory to run at what looks like a normal speed and noise level.

There's a parallel thread running re DC vs AC powering of accessories...some additional thoughts on the matter.

Re your thread title...

Accessories at this time of year are noisy only if you don't have Bing Crosby, Burl Ives, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra,...or Mannheim Steamroller...et cetera, and et alia...dominating.  Turn their volume up!

As for the bringing of calm to the ambiance...  May I recommend a glass...or two...or three...of Harvey's or Bailey's Cream Sherry...for you and yours?  My own septuagenarian 'shakes' aren't of the 60~ variety of a Lionel accessory, but a bit of seasonal libation helps, regardless!

Buzzing solenoids, locomotive whistles and horns, lots of bright lights, smells of ozone and smoke pellets, clatter of logs, plastic coal, milk cans,and wooden barrels being deposited at their destination, steel wheels rushing by on steel rails,....it's all part of the O3R joyful cacophony....IMHO.

Of course, TEHO.

There's always N scale running slowly beneath the glass of a coffee table...

@Joe K posted:

would the operation of the accessories not be dependent on the AC voltage supplied to each accessory? Adjusting the VAC for each individual item would allow you to see where it wants to run, then you could group similar VAC accessories together,...

Yes, that's what I do.

@Joe K posted:

reducing noise and allowing the accessory to run at what looks like a normal speed and noise level.

With solenoids, reducing the AC voltage makes little difference in the loudness of the accessory, in my opinion. They still vibrate at 60Hz, often vibrating whatever surface they are resting upon.

Motors on the other hand will run faster with increased voltage, but this faster speed does not in and of itself increase the absolute noise level, it increases the frequency of the noise.  Different frequencies can cause sympathetic resonances of surrounding objects which can sometimes increase the overall noise level.

In either case, solenoids or motors, the vibrations they impart into whatever they are situated upon are amplified if they are secured by fasteners such as screws or nails.  Some sound attenuation can be achieved by decoupling them with something soft, pliable, and non-electrically conductive like open cell rubber foam.

And you may be thinking that DC power would be quieter, that's true, but there are many reasons why this is generally inadvisable.

And, if you buy an Atlas Oil Pump, and run it on either AC or DC, the only way you are going to quiet it down is throw a horse blanket over top of it.   :-)

Mannyrock