Model Railroading > Sound or not?

I am curious to the general feeling about sound equipped locomotives. I have taken part in several operating sessions on layouts with sound. To me it is very interesting at first but after a while it seems to become boring, especially diesels.

I believe sound adds another dimension to our experience, so it is not just purely a visual experience. The sound must be adjusted, because if the horn is too loud, the engine rumble too intrusive and the bell too shrill, it gets to be a real pain. I also believe sound goes beyond just locomotives. I like the new products our there that provide ambient city sounds, or night time sounds, or some other scene appropriate sounds.

If you're using Soundtraxx, all you have to do it press F8.

+1 Sound, no discussion. Yes you have to adjust it, but bells, whistles, makes operating more realistic by leaps and bounds!

Every bridge, tunnel, grade crossing, yard, etc. Lots of required sounds from the real RR's.

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO

Personally...I find that sound in locomotives is an annoyance. I wear hearing aids and the high frequency sound that comes from the tiny little speakers tends to create some problems.

That being said, the operators of my railroad like sound. Therefore, I have close to half of my fleet equipped with sound now. They like it, and happy operators keep coming back.

MOAR

Modern sound is incredible, the right set up adds all sorts of literal bells and whistles, coupler sounds, braking sounds which are really impressive. It can add all sorts of tasks to the job of starting a switching move which can easily be sensory overload when you're trying to do something simple.

Down side being a consist of engines doesn't really sound right, there is no doppler effect for example, so it quickly becomes paradise lost. The sound isn't quite right although pretty amazing. To me it becomes something that gets old really quick. Something to be tried a few times but don't blindly mortgage the house to make sure everything is sound equipped. I'm thinking a couple prized examples or maybe a few would be plenty.

YouTube has a quite a few Video clips of switching moves with extensive sound. Try checking those out and see if the magic keeps it's hold for all 20 minutes.

To me; diesel sound is cheesy; especially the horns. Steam locomotives sound really good.

Posted from iPhone

I have heard some steam whistle sounds that are just awful.

well for me I have a hearing problem kind of have good hearing days and bad .. so do have hum a total of 7 sound locomotives I do like them but nah will stick to non sound . only because I'm half deaf to each our own I guess

Don

I tend to agree that steam sound is better than diesel, but its getting better. While I don't own any yet the Scaletrain 40-2 I think does a good job of replicating the EMD. I have or had, we are moving but will have a good size ho layout that since I operate mostly alone will have a continuous running loop that I treat as rolling staging fom trains that come up from actual staging, point is for continuous running sound is just not right for me it drones on to annoying levels and I cannot hear the train running as clearly. So while trains run continuous I work the yard or branches, the tell tail sound of wheels on the ground is far more important to me than that of recording emanating from road trains. So finally in answer to your question no sound yet!

I feel scale matters in the debate on sound. I model O scale 2 rail, and the physical size can accommodate larger components (speakers) that go a long ways to improving the sound actually heard. There is no debate, a scale model does not sound like the prototype, but in O scale (and larger scales) the effect is better, and it seem reasonable to assume size matters. The size effect may not be totally the result of the speaker physics, but also possibly linked to a visual stimulus. Even without sound the mass of O scale models can be very noticeable, especially when viewed near eye level and up close. Adding appropriate volume sounds can enhance the experience.

All of this aside, I am glad that all sound decoders have a silence function. Especially during an open house when operators and guest are talking. I also believe that if an operating session becomes so prototypical as to require ear plug, we might have gone too far!

All in all, I'm not a die hard sound guy, but it can be fun when done right.

Rick Bacon
Windsor, CO

I went DCC sound when Atlas first came out with its HO-scale Gold Series F-M Trainmaster in CNJ colors. That was in 2004. Since then I have purchased RTR DCC sound models and modified more than several non-sound models to DCC sound. Most of the DIY conversions are awaiting the time when I can make them right. Most recent purchases have been Atlas Gold Series ALCO RS-3s and a Rapido RDC-1. I also have three more RDCs on order from Rapido. Best sounding locomotive is an Athearn ALCO RS-3 (New York Central RS-3) that has had the motor and drive train removed and uses Stanton self-powered trucks. Under the locomotive shell is a large bass reflex speaker, Tsunami ALCO 244 sound decoder and associated electronics.

John

I find that sound is fun and has added a new dimension to operating that I won't be without. That being said, I use mute a lot. All my loco's are set to start silent when I power up the layout. One feature that I love is mute but with the bell and horn still operable. There are times I want sound and times I don't. Mute works great for the times I don't but it's hard to get a non sound loco to make choo- choo sounds unless you just like to walk around going woo-woo. So it's sound equipped for me as long as I can still afford it.

I currently have an On30 layout that features narrow gauge steam. All of the steam engines have/will have sound. Only one gas mechanical critter and a rail truck comprise the non-steam roster today with neither of these having sound (yet!)

That being said, on my former HO scale pike I thought sound might be cool, but as of now I don't think the diesel sounds have progressed far enough for me to have invested $60-90 per diesel locomotive. That layout and it's soon to be constructed successor, are built for operating. With a diesel fleet at over 90 engines, that put's the roster well into $7500 range (sound decoders & speakers only) just to hear some tired EMDs, lumbering Alcos and the oddball Baldwin rumble around the train room.

So for now I will stick to sound in my larger O scale steamers (and the occasional combustion powered critter!) and skip hearing sound out of my HO scale diesels...At least until the sounds improve with better speaker designs or the price point drops to make it feasible/reasonable. I already have close to $2K in sound decoders/speakers invested in the O scale steamers and that is where I will direct my attention for now.

SV

At first I hated sound; thought it was the worst thing to happen to model railroading. Now I tolerate it and have some sound locos since that was the only option other than foregoing the model I wanted.

Having said that, the sounds are getting better. I think the biggest thing which pissed me off in the first instance is the people who do not know how to control their sound level and have it turned up so >>>>ing loud they need to hear it on the other side of the room. I am speaking from the perspective of a club environment.

In other cases, I feel that the excitement (mass hysteria) of sound has made manufacturers put more effort into sound and less into prototypical accuracy. [This is the basis for me making the statement in the first sentence.] I do have some sound and enjoy hearing the soft gurgle of an Alco/MLW. I was recently shown a trick of adjusting the pitch a little in one loco to another so there is some difference and that helps with that monotony mentioned earlier.

For those of us who hit the model railroading hobby because we liked, chased and photographed the prototype and looked at the whole train and not just the loco - diesel or steam - model sound will not replicate feel and realism of being near a whole train. The best model video I have ever seen comes from one of our own here on TO. The fellow is "CNW" IIRC and he has done some magnificent dubbing of real train passing by onto the video he took of his excellent models. If we could get that in a model railroad, I will get more excited about sound.

The hobby started out and has always been a visual hobby. A bad layout or bad model is not corrected by sound but it does seem that way for some. A good layout with sound is an enhancement provided it is correct and scaled to the model (ie. not overwhelmed with excessive volume).

This is my opinion and I do my best to change and accept the interest from my friends. However, there are times when an unadjusted loco goes by at full ridiculous volume that I wish I had a hammer - a terminal form of F8. My wish here is that people stop feeling that everyone will enjoy your excessive volume and bring it down about 50%.

Rick



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/17 21:51 by rschonfelder.

Check out this short video.

The locomotive is an O scale model of Little River #126 made by Ajin for NJCB which has been modernized with new stack, headlights and oil tank tender. Sound is by QSI Titan. There are speakers in the smokebox and tender. I say YES to sound!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuFtif8UL_w

Peter

Sound, all the way. After movjng from MA to OH, all my stuff is in boxes, but once I get a layout built, the non sound to sound conversion will resume!

Sound equipped locomotives are fine if not too many on the layout at one time. They can be annoying if too loud.

SantaFeRuss

My two cents,

Sound in Steam = Yes
Sound in a single diesel = Yes Multiply diesel consist = at least one

The key factor is volume control.

After a short time diesels do get annoying when they are at idle.



sphauler