New Sound for Amtrak E60 electric loco

[CLAKKITY]

I just had Yankee Dabbler in Bellmawr NJ near Phila install a Soundtraxx ECO-PNP for Electric, P.N. 883004 decoder and a speaker in my Bachmann E60CP (DCC) Item No 65507 loco, and I'm very pleased with it, especially since I got a DCS 51 controller so I could finesse the sounds as I wanted.  Yankee Dabbler's prices are very reasonable. Sound really adds a whole new dimension!

[CLAKKITY]

After my initial pleasure in having sound added to my engine, I am noticing something lacking--a prime mover sound. In an electric engine that would probably be a whine from gears in the power train, or brushes from the motors, or perhaps even something electrical. You can definitely hear it in real life when standing on a station platform. I'd like to hear that sound in my HO trains. Does anyone do it well, or even at all? Have been listening to some videos of HO trolleys and other electrics, and not hearing any prime mover sounds.

[Len]

That's because most electric locomotives don't have a prime mover. In it's simplest form they get their power from the high voltage overhead wire, rectify it into DC, and use that to drive electric motors mounted on the axles. On some older electrics, such as the GG-1, you may see a "fuel" filler cap. That is for the steam boiler to provide heat on older passenger cars, not fuel for a 'prime mover'.

So, generally speaking, electric locos a very quite. Depending on the loco, when sitting idle what you may hear is humming from the rectifier, and noise from ancillary equipment, e.g., air brake compressor. Some are louder than others, but you will not hear a 'prime mover'.

Len

[CLAKKITY]

Want to call the sound you hear when you see an electric loco pull into the station something other than "Prime Mover," it's OK with me, but there is a definite sound, it goes up in pitch with increases in speed, and I'd like to hear it in my DCC train. I have seen a few videos of DCC sound trolleys, also, and they have all sorts of noises, but I have yet to hear, for example, the growl of meshing gears on the old-style trolleys, or the hollow sound of the wheels going forward on the PCC.

[Len]

The only decoder I know for sure sounds recorded from actual electric locos is this one:

https://www.dallee.com/dc_electric.html

If this doesn't have what you're looking for, you probably need to record your own sound file and install it.

Len

[brokenrail]

Soundtraxx has a electric dcc economy sound decoder just released in a 1 amp and 2 amp version.If it is anything in quality sound and operation and great functions that the Economi diesel version is I would give it a try.
Johnny Adam

[CLAKKITY]

Thanks, I think you might mean the one I'm talking about, please see the first post on the thread. Yes, the sounds that I contains are very good, I'm just looking for one more. BTW, I asked Soundtraxx cust svc about it, and was told that no changes are planned.

[CLAKKITY]

Len, the sound I heard on a video of the dallee was not of the same quality as the soundtraxx. I look forward to hearing some additional traveling or prime mover electric loco, trolley and MU sounds some day in the future.

[CLAKKITY]

I want to back off a bit on wanting a prime mover (or whatever we'd like to call it) sound for electric locos, and say that the Soundtraxx Econami 883004 used with my E60 is fine addition for this loco. Watching some videos of cab rides on YouTube showed that most have a very soft "mover" sound in real life when underway (the TGV's are an exception, this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbKEeHzuBwc is one of my favorites--it just keeps going faster and faster for 7 minutes!), but that has nothing to do with the E60 or others. There is a definite sound with these American electrics when they pull into the station, but it's pretty subtle. An exterior "traveling sound" of either the whooosh on welded steel rails or the clickety-clack on mechanically joined rails would be a pretty neat sound though, something to look forward to. And, for old trolleys or MU's or subways, etc, there is a very definite sound that ought to be there.