Train sounds

[usher42]

What train sounds  can i use for non sound layout or what can of kind of sound can i make.

[richg]

What train sounds  can i use for non sound layout or what can of kind of sound can i make.

When I started with my Lionel trains many years ago, I said choo choo and toot toot. It sounded ok to me.

Now be more specific. Do you want sound equiped locos, a DCC system to control them or using a power pack to run sound eauipped locos?
Do you wnat CDs with sounds?
SoundTraxx will be soon selling a SurroundTraxx system for a few hundred dollars where you place speakers under the layout.

http://www.soundtraxx.com/surround/surroundtraxx%20data%20sheet.pdf

Rich

[usher42]

I want cd with sounds

[richg]

I want cd with sounds

You sure do not provide much info.
Like what sounds would you like, steam, diesel, couplers clanking, etc.
Check Walther's train catalog and also do a Google search for train sounds CD.
With the power of your PC, you should be able to find the answers quite easily.

Rich

[Doneldon]

ush-

I have to agree with rich: we need to know just what you want. "CD sounds" could be a CD with recorded train sounds which you can listen to on your stereo, but not in a way which would make any sense for an perating model railroad. Try to tell us exactly what you are trying to produce and we'll try to help you get there.
                                           -- D

[Joe323]

MRC makes aunit called the symphony 77 whuch produces train sounds on demand sell for about $50.  It Ok for asmall layout like mine.

[usher42]

I cd train sounds to use for my layouts

[Jim Banner]

Search for 'train sounds' at iTunes Store.

Jim

[richg]

You still do not want to provide any specifics. You are not making this easy for us.

Look at the below site. Might find something.

http://www.fantasonics.com/

Rich

[mabloodhound]

I have a feeling that he is not from this country and doesn't know how to put his question into English.   Maybe he can ask a friend for help.

[richg]

I have a feeling that he is not from this country and doesn't know how to put his question into English.   Maybe he can ask a friend for help.

I was wondering about that. No idea where OP is.
I have read of some using the Fantasonics CD sounds and like them. The OP will have to check the link I already provided and look around.

Rich

[Jim Banner]

The Original Poster's profile says Bremerton, Washington.

Excuse me if my knowledge of the US is somewhat lacking, but isn't Bremerton where the naval base is?  I seem to remember that half a century ago, it was almost all navy and people working for the navy.  I was under the impression that you had to be a US citizen to do either, and that to become a US citizen required that you be at least functionally literate in English.  Am I completely out to lunch on this or have things changed so much in fifty years?



usher-42,
you mentioned CD sounds.  Using CD players is a great way to produce background sounds, whether they are train sounds, railroad sounds, or sounds associated with your scenery.  You can make up your own CDs on most computers.  You can use recordings you have made yourself or use sounds others have made.  You can download many sounds off the net.  One good source is youtube.com.  Most people posting train videos are amateurs and if you ask nicely, will give you permission to use their sounds.  Many other sounds can be found just by Googling them.  Say you are making a recording of farm sounds to go along with a farm scene.  Just Google "cow sounds" or "dog barking" or whatever comes to mind.  Chances are you will find lots of sounds that way.  And you can check at iTunes Store.  You can mix and match various sounds in "Sound Recorder," a Windows Accessories program, or a variety of after market programs.  And most computers will burn the sounds onto a CD for you.

To play the sounds, all you need is a CD player.  These are incredibly cheap at garage sales and flea markets - just take along an audio CD to check them out.  You can also use CD players from old computers.  If they have volume controls and start and stop buttons on the front, you don't even need the computer, just its power supply.  And you need a pair of amplified computer speakers.  Ask around - lots of people have old computers in the backs of their closets.  They don't really want them and they no longer need them, but they cost so much originally that they hate to throw them out.  So they are really happy when someone how can actually use them comes along.

A somewhat similar way of playing sounds is to skip the CD and CD player and just transfer your sounds onto a cheap mp3 player.  Plug in a pair of amplified computer speakers and play your sounds that way.  If you have the right program, you can record different sound tracks on each of the two stereo channels and have completely unrelated sound tracks coming from the two speakers.  You could, for example, have the sounds of cows, horses, a dog, birds, and a babbling brooks coming out of one speaker in a farm scene and the sounds of escaping steam, pounding with a hammer, shoveling coal, and an occasional horn or whistle coming out of a second speaker hidden in, around or under a round house.  I have installed several of these and while they are not free, I have yet to pay more than $10 for a complete installation.

I hope this is some help to you and an inspiration to others.  Sounds really do add a whole new dimension to a model railway.

Jim

     

[Doneldon]

The Original Poster's profile says Bremerton, Washington.

Jim-

You are absolutely right. Bremerton is still the home port for the Pacific Fleet's nuclear subs. There's understandably big time security there and no one who couldn't pass muster as a card carrying US Patriot would get anywhere near the boats. But I don't think there are any restrictions on non-US citizens living in Bremerton or even on the base.

If I can append one suggestion to your excellent advice about economical sound accessories, I'd remind people to keep the sound waaaay dooowwwwn looooww. We view our railroads from anywhere between a couple hundred scale feet and several thousand. Accordingly, we wouldn't expect chickens to cluck so loudly that we could hear them on the other side of the room, and even the engine terminal wouldn't be much above a whisper. So keep the sounds softer than you think they should be and the effect will be better.

                                                                                                                                                                        -- D

[glennk28]

if it is just background sounds you want--Daylight Sales has several CD's originally records from Mobile Fidelity and Arkay Records.  gj

[Jim Banner]

Or you can go high tech with high quality sounds that follows the trains (up to 6 of them) around the layout.  Instead of tiny, onboard speakers, you can use large speakers hidden on or under the layout.  The sound system relies on detecting the location of each train as it moves around the layout and cross fades that train's sounds from one speaker to the next.  Large speakers are especially good with diesels.

Yet another possibility is to go low tech, a favorite with kids.  There are a number of multi-chime wooden whistles available.  The younger set like to march around with the trains, blowing on these whistles and making chug-chug noises.  So far, I have not been able to find a peanut whistle suitable for use with Thomas.

Jim