Your favourite railway "sound"?

[newbryford]

Another vote for flange squeal!

 

And I like the sound of a 60 idling along whilst running round - the way a proper diesel loco should sound, unlike that silly 'ying-ying' noise!

 

Another vote for 60's

Especially for 60007 lifting nearly 3000 tonnes out of the run-round at Westerleigh to shunt back into the unloading sidings. Pretty impressive watching and listening to the loco do it's stuff as the brakes released down the 29 bogie tanks.

 

Compared to a 66 (and 59) with it's distinctive supercreep squeal, the 60 just gets on with it.

 

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Sandhills]

Without doubt, my favourite sound, my favourite clip, could listen to this over and over -

 

(its the drunken raucous cheer that goes up from the front coach the first time the field divert comes in !!)

 

[Trainshed Terry]

Without doubt, my favourite sound, my favourite clip, could listen to this over and over -

 

(its the drunken raucous cheer that goes up from the front coach the first time the field divert comes in !!)

 

 

They are not drunken, just merry enjoying a "Merry Maker Rail-tour"

 

Terry

[roundhouse]

Grade crossings with the traditional bell with an Amtrak P42 or F40PH going past prefferably whilst sitting in an adjacent bar drinking a decent craft beer

[Mick Boyd]

The racket of Class 20's been started up from cold during winter at Toton.  We had several 00.05 prep turns on a Monday morning and of course loads of 20's had to be got ready for the weeks work ahead, after standing all weekend in the freezing cold they would invariably be reluctant to start.

 

After pushing down the start button for far too long they would eventually burst into life, cycling up and down trying to overcome the cold, sticky lube oil accompanied by clouds of white/brown/blue clag that would put a trawler to shame,  flames from the stack added to the display, a wonderful noise that had to be seen and heard to be believed!

 

Good job it was done during the early hours, if the residents of Long Eaton/Sandiacre/Stapleford had ever seen the shroud of clag that was enveloping them from a dozen or so sets of locos they'd have had a fit!

 

Secondly, EMD's going into full dynamic.

 

Mick.

[Chimer]

Steam loco slipping while hauling a goods up Bash (Baxenden) Brew on the Accrington-Manchester line, heard at night from my bedroom a couple of miles away ....

[Sam*45110*SVR]

Again too many to choose from! 

 

Steam:

The bark of a Black 5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX1iUcnlSGo 

The bark of Manor (or most GWR locos tbh) 

Actually that said any steam loco being worked hard !

 

Diesel:

Valenta engined HSTs screaming their way up the lickey incline, damn voyagers !

An EE class 40

A class 52 western

 

Electric: 

The perculier whine made by a class 323 when setting off

[BR60103]

My father always wanted to hear again the wartime lady station announcer saying "Woking, this is Woking."

 

I like the rattle from 2 miles away of a long freight going over our flat crossing in a quiet night.

The gear whine from a Toronto Peter Witt streetcar.

The clank of slightly loose rods on a slowly passing steam loco.

[Sasquatch]

Brighton station back in the seventies 

That would include undecernable voices echoing arround ,the clatter of the destination board rearranging itself,all those doors slamming, Compressors on the 4-VEPs, Gaurds whistles and of course wheel flanges screeching.

 

Sadly most of its gone.Haven`t heard it for 20 years but still dream of it!

 

You can hear this on Quadrophenia side3 (or disc2 if vinyl`s not your thing)just before 5:15.

[Saltersbrook]

, I could happily listen to that sweet Sulzer music all day long.

[tomparryharry]

Brighton station back in the seventies 

That would include undecernable voices echoing arround ,the clatter of the destination board rearranging itself,all those doors slamming, Compressors on the 4-VEPs, Gaurds whistles and of course wheel flanges screeching.

 

Sadly most of its gone.Haven`t heard it for 20 years but still dream of it!

 

You can hear this on Quadrophenia side3 (or disc2 if vinyl`s not your thing)just before 5:15.

Favourite railway sound, and smells as well.

 

As a kid, we lived in Forest Hill, London. My elder sister lived in Brighton. Catching the train down always filled me with anticipation. Excursion platform off Forest Hill (now gone, I understand), in to Brighton in about an hour or so. The smell as you opened the carriage door immediately carried you to another place. Happy days.

 

Thank you for including Brighton. You've just taken me straight back there.

 

Ian

[Talltim]

Solari split-flap boards when a train leaves and all the rest move left or up

[Hippo]

My fav has to be this

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu9NcNmaNjQ

 

Black Price pulling away with a 1000tons at merehead, plenty of slip, I wish I had been there.

 

Owen

[Hoovering_crompton]

For me its a class 50 accelerating, or steam wise its the bark of a manor.

This video always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. 

 

Dave

[Sasquatch]

My fav has to be this

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu9NcNmaNjQ

 

Black Price pulling away with a 1000tons at merehead, plenty of slip, I wish I had been there.

 

Owen

This is pretty hard to beat. Very impresive. I`ll plug my laptop into the stereo and listen again.

[Sasquatch]

, I could happily listen to that sweet Sulzer music all day long.

This sounds great on the stereo, notched up the sound too.Mrs Sasquatch wondered what the hell was going on!  

Ticking over`s not the term I`d use. Thudding over more like, thundering even!

[Pannier Tank]

either a Class 50 accelerating hard or even better a Duchess!!

[simon hudson]

A few that stick in my mind a Deltic climbing Seaton bank, totally awesome to an eight year old. The ground literally shook

a 56 climbing out of Dawdon yard with a full load 

One of my most abiding memories,I would have been about 6 yrs old, it was a Sunday evening I was staying at my nana's The house was near to the level crossing at Philadelphia,it was a still evening and the rattle of the gates closing is imprinted on my brain even now all these years later and one of the Lambton tanks heading out towards junction bank

I always think it funny a small insignificant thing can have such a lasting impression

[Sasquatch]

Here is another one I miss

 

"Horsted Keynes,.....This is Horsted Keynes"

 

Taking trips on the Blue Belle.

[Michael Delamar]

coach door slamming handle click noise

[Sasquatch]

Thought I`d include this clip for those of us who have never heard one!

[Michael Delamar]

black 5 climbing a hill

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGs4JbgXXyQ

 

[Michael Delamar]

[dagrizz]

In the 1960's, I used to live next to the line in Bedworth and the long winter nights were rather frustrating for a spotter when you couldn't see the numbers, especially when you were sitting in the lounge watching TV and yet you could still hear the clank clank of a WD. They were not particularly common on that line and I wanted all the numbers I could get.   

[highpeak]

The rasp of a DMU exhaust - 1970's style...........

As I recall it, the sound of a DMU was a many splendoured thing. Most of my train rides were on the venerable class 104s at Buxton. Departure from Buxton featured a run up through the gears leaving the station followed by the steady slog up to Bibbington's usually in third gear. Coming back it was interesting to see varied techniques on the section from Whaley Bridge up to Chapel. Most drivers would accept that third gear was all you could hope for (except for the one trip that had a 128 parcels unit on the front, the extra horsepower made quite a difference), but some would entertain the thought that with a bit more effort you could get it to run in fourth. Which you could, for a while, until the steadily declining rpm forced a surrender and a change back down to third.

As the units got ever more clapped out, station procedures went something like this. Arrive at, say, Furness Vale. All goes quiet as most engines die. The slam of doors, the buzzer from the guard, the driver releases the brake, engages first gear and opens the throttle. The train moves very slowly forwards as the one still running engine struggles to move the train, the driver shifts back to neutral, punches all the engine start buttons, revs the engines with a very satisfying roar, slams it back into first gear and away we go. To be repeated, all stops to Buxton.

That said, a sound that says railway to me is the whistle of a porter in a quiet station and the echo of his boots on the platform, going about the day's chores as we wait for the train.