Step up the Crew Talk

My personal opinion is, it should be eliminated on SCALE steam locomotive models. Diesel models are a different story.

My personal opinion is that it is very hokey and toylike and should be eliminated from all serious models.   

I like the feature but the voices and dialog don't cut it. 

There was a post about this last week

To those that don't like Crewtalk......DON'T PUSH THE BUTTON!

 

 

THANK YOU

Crew talk sounds do need to be different for steam and Diesels, the files are laready different so why not make the crew talk different too. Easy to do once you invest in the program once.

 

I would also like them to increase the crew talk scenarios.

 

As long as we have the option to turn on/off these features; smoke, sounds, lites and so on, it is my opinion that the manufacturers are best to keep offering these features for a wider customer base.

I agree with BigBoy4014.  It would be nice if there was a way to turn off the crew talk if you did not want it.  I would also like to see more variety with the crew talk from engine to engine.  A few days ago I heard Rich Melvin’s voice being used on new Legacy UP ES44.  It made me laugh!  There is nothing wrong with Rich’s voice, but in my opinion it should have only been used on 765 which is most appropriate and not on all the other Legacy engines.  I have Southern 4-6-2 that has Northern voice used for crew talk which is another example where the wrong voice was used. 

 

I dont understand it in the steam engines, but I do enjoy it in the diesels. Some are better then others. I just turn the feature off on the more generic sounding cheesy ones.  I myself have thought it would be cool to have a defect detector to chime off from time to time.

Ok, I'm about to invoke the most powerful sentence in the English language, and bear with me because it doesn't happen all too often in my noggin.

 

I have an idea!

 

It would be really neat to be able to interface with the engine sound chip and add different sound profiles to an engine.  For instance, if you wanted "true to life" chatter you could download that sound file online from Lionel or MTH (for a fee???), then address your engine's sound chip via program mode and update (overwrite) it.  There theoretically could be several sound sets that you could choose from for different runs or adventures.  I'm thinking out loud here… stock sounds, real chatter, long haul, river run, urgent freight, passenger service with multi stops, coal drag, etc.  Depending upon how many sound sets you buy, you could keep a library of them on your computer or iPad and change them out as you see fit.

 

That is all.  

 

© 2015 All rights reserved.  Have a nice day.

 

 

I think there is a post about this same subject every other week, same for "What should I lube my trains with"!

If you don't like them, don't use them, but a lot more people would use them if they were decent. I just don't get why they're so bad. If you take the time to do something, why not do it right? Making realistic sounds wouldn't be hard.

I fill my gear case with sand for more realism.  

The trouble is, the vast majority of "toy train buyers" think it is "neat" because they have no idea about the radio conversations on real trains.

How about for steam engines, the crew talk is replaced by a set/cycle of sounds like drivers slipping, brakes squealing, grade crossing sounds.   I would much prefer these kinds of sounds over the dialog, and would enjoy using them in combination with the bell and whistle:   blow the whistle on approach to a grade crossing, then hear the crossing bell.

 

Does this idea appeal to anyone else?

 

I suppose that for those with Legacy or DCS, you can already call up those sounds?   So this would only apply to conventional with railsounds or the LionChief steamers.   Excepting the Polar Express locos with sounds related to the movie.

Gentlemen,

   I am a toy train kind of guy, I like the chatter and wish they would add a lot more of it, with even a little more realism, especially on the military trains, "you girls all be seated now."  I heard that one for real, on the run to Ft Dix.

PCRR/Dave

MTH is decent, Lionel got lazy and instead of saying the engine name and number, they just say Engineer and dispatcher. I like the Lionel Crew talk when they say the railroad name and number. MTH needs to do something about the Proto station stops in trolleys, and Galloping Gooses. I would like them to be able to set it up for how they ran them in the old days.  

The crew/dispatcher talk on my scale 2005 Lionel J 611 is not realistic at all... I activate it for layout visitors who seem to like it ..... however, I cringe whenever I hear it ... and I choose not to use it when I'm by myself running it.    I think Lionel could offer much better for their top of the line locomotives.   And yes on steam locomotives perhaps crew talk ( within the cab only between engineer and fireman) and no talk between engineer and dispatcher.

 

I find my MTH locomotive crew talk to be more to my liking.  

 

 

Please...Please...Please don't give me radio talk on steam engines!  

I really don't care one way or another but after thinking about this I realized that I never use it. I've never tried it on any of my MTH engines.

I only use Crew Talk on the Lionel operating crane/boom. I get a kick out of those guys.

I agree.

I agree that a change would be good with more variety and closer to actual sounds. The main people this sound is attractive to is the younger generation and if we want to get them interested in trains then we must offer something that will peak their interest. When I have kids over to run the trains they really enjoy the crew talk, whistles, horn, steam and lights. If you don't want to use it you don't have to.

Stay tuned for my upcoming sound effects board, you can install it in a boxcar right behind the locomotive and trigger your personalized crew talk.   I have a prototype working, but I want to expand the number of sound clips for the final version.

Amazing how the manufacturers will produce a scale model down to the finest details, but when it comes to the crew/tower talk, resort to something so silly and kiddy-like. The sound reminds me of the Mattel toys were kids would dial up an object, pull a string and get a squicky sound effect of the object.

I kind of like it...even if it isn't prototypical

Actually I wouldn't mind if I could tune in my local talk radio show on cab chatter, so I could catch up on the news when I'm running trains

 

Put a radio next to the transformer.

That doesn't work, the txfrm won't sing along; it just sits there and hums

MTH used the same sound board for years no matter what engine it was in. However they did put in the correct station stops.

Some new chatter would be nice and as always to those that don't like it, keep your finger off the chat button.

Can it carry a tune?

 

I would pay good money for a new sound chip for my passenger engines that didn't have crew talk. TMCC has a cool sequence where you can keep pushing one button and the train will start up and the StationSounds diner will give the appropriate passenger announcements. However, the crew talk sounds off at the same time, ruining the effect! This imbecility is actually noted in the instructions for the StationSounds diner. I understand you can work around this if you have a Legacy controller, but I don't have one and the one time I tried to order one they were out of stock. You don't have this problem with MTH because the passenger announcements are built into the engine, not a separate car. 

 

As Hot Water and numerous others have pointed out, crew talk on a steam locomotive is inherently ridiculous and should be eliminated. 

I have found the crew talk features to be entertaining to visitors at home and when participating in display layouts.

 

 

Every time  we  get  into this debate we never get what we want...except a higher priced engine for some added crew talk feature?

I like the more sound features the better.  the crew talk is cheesy, but its better than  nothing at this  point.

Bah, humbug! Tinny, annoying noises!

As I muttered before, maybe with a Bluetooth link to a sound system in the train room, but locomotive-mounted sound is terrible in my book. And why radio on steam engines??

Rant over; as you were.

Lionel only "decided" it wasn't cost effective within the last few years.  There were many models (I forget the boundaries, but probably at least RS 4 into 5 and probably early Legacy) with engine specific crew-talk and tower-com. I will admit to the fact that there are probably a lot more different items offered more recently than in previous years when the tower-com was engine specific, so it could be costing more based on more engines offered in any given catalog.

 

There was a convoluted (being polite here) announcement declaring that people claimed they did not want the feature (which may be true from some posts above, but not all), but then they declared the high end Vision Line would include it??  Why would you specifically go out of your way to include a feature "the people" don't want in your prime product?

 

I think a lot of us saw through that as an attempt to attract those interested in the feature into the "buy one of each Vision Line engine" club.

 

Or even higher priced engines for just the current more generic crew-talk feature....

 

-Dave

Geez! You'd do better making it "Hobo Talk" since it is back there in a box car!

 

Any crew talk on steamers should only be between crew members in the cab or on the ground. 

 

But, I am afraid we are just lost on Ron White's road of "You can't fix stupid!"

Put the talk into cabooses and it may be more realistic for some trains and consist. As to sound effects, I would rather hear squelling wheels, cattle mooing, cooling systems humming on fridge cars, and caboose chatter, if steam, talk between engineer and fireman.

But the present chatter is "cheesy" sounding. But a nice feature, if realistic.

Gunrunner may have a good thing, if one can add realist railroad sounds. I would be in for 1/2 dozen to fill cars.

I don't see it as trouble.   I know it's wrong and cheesy, but I still like activating it on my Vision Line Hudson, and other scale steam locos I have.

 

You should hear what I have broadcasting from my MTH proto 2 and 3 premier stuff

 

Kids and visitors like it and it's not my job nor desire to educate them about real trains when I'm playing with my toys, scale or not.

Here, here!!

 

I have no idea how this...'thing'...ended up being such a hot item!!  How many of you have stood within, say, even 50' of a steam or diesel engine and actually heard distinguishable 'crew talk'???....and at the same volume level as the engine's whistle/horn or bell??...... 

 

I mean, the least one could do is add some diecast/plastic loudspeakers to the cab roof to lend credibility to the audio being broadcast to the environment!!  Sorta like.... 

 

 

Talk about a bunch of hooey from hokey-ville!!....

 

But, hey, that's just MHO...

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...