Sound effects for your layout?

[Phil Howe]

The BBC have released over 16000 sound effect files, varying in length from a few seconds to 15 minutes.  Searchable and free for private use:

 

http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/

 

Might be of some use; I can envisage traffic noise, birdsong, weather effects, noisy booking halls and bus stations, all playing on cheap mp3 players through speakers hidden around the layout... 

 

My mind's racing with ideas - perhaps I'd better get on and build something first though 

 

Cheers

 

Phil

[MarcD]

We use https://www.noisli.com/ to generate the background sound effects for our layout. Sounds ok in the garage but we will find out if it work at a exhibition in 2 weeks at Bristol show.

 

Marc

[Phil Howe]

Thanks for that link Marc, I've not come across Noisli before; I like the way you can mix 'n' match the sounds.

 

Hope the exhibition goes well; let us know what your visitors think.

 

Cheers

 

Phil

[DavidB-AU]

Fans of classic Doctor Who and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy may recognise some of the sounds.

 

Cheers

David

[drduncan]

Richard Butler’s beautiful ‘Westcliff’ layout has the sounds of seagulls and waves gently breaking on the beach playing quietly as background sound effects. I find it extremely effective in creating ambiance and when combined with the buildings and stock for situating the layout in time and place.

DrDuncan

[Hroth]

The BBC site has a nice selection of railway sound effects.  One that caught my attention was "Diesel Train, toilet flush." though, as there wasn't much diesel train about the effect, I fear the apparatus must have been used whilst standing at a station!

[The Johnster]

'Would passengers please refrain

from flushing on a standing train

as workmen working underneath 

are apt to get it in the teeth'

 

When the HSTs were first introduced on the WR, their toilets simply vented the contents through pipes out onto the track beneath the coach in the traditional manner, the pipe being angled to avoid the proximate bogie.  The inevitable did not take long to manifest itself at 125mph in Badminton Tunnel; there was what is best described as a blow back through the forward facing pipe to the discomfiture of the elderly lady who was using the facilities.  Ever concerned for the welfare and comfort of passengers, we laughed until our sides hurt.  The solution was quickly implemented, the replacement at depots of the pipes with straight ones, but these decanted directly onto the axles, which soon acquired lumps of foul toilet paper that had dried hard on the them; a regular job at depots being to chip this muck off.  Refurbishment has presumably resulted in waste tanks being installed.

[Pete the Elaner]

Interesting. A friend of mine is constantly complaining that DCC sounds are unrealistic because you need background sounds too. Now we have them?

Wind in trees, dogs barking, chatter, footsteps from running people, cars & lorries passing, even an aircraft.

Now to find a mixer program to place it all in a long (30 minute or so) track so the sounds don't seem repetitive.

[sharris]

the sounds of seagulls and waves gently breaking on the beach playing quietly as background sound effects. I find it extremely effective in creating ambiance

 

There are some Amazon Prime relaxation videos with similar sounds. I find them extremely effective in sending me to sleep. 

[sharris]

Now to find a mixer program to place it all in a long (30 minute or so) track so the sounds don't seem repetitive.

 

Try Audacity for mixing sounds. It's free and cross-platform. I've used it a lot for mixing sound for theatre productions.

 

https://www.audacityteam.org/

[Hroth]

Try Audacity for mixing sounds. It's free and cross-platform. I've used it a lot for mixing sound for theatre productions.

 

https://www.audacityteam.org/

You can have lots of fun with Audacity and sxf files like the BBC ones in the OP.

 

If you just want something to run with a layout, try searching for "ambient noise" on youtube. You can then use Audacity as a "tape recorder" to save the sound on your PC.  (I didn't say that, you understand...)

[russ p]

Sounds in a signalbox might be quite good but no idea on how to do it

[wombatofludham]

The BBC have released over 16000 sound effect files, varying in length from a few seconds to 15 minutes.  Searchable and free for private use:

 

http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/

 

Might be of some use; I can envisage traffic noise, birdsong, weather effects, noisy booking halls and bus stations, all playing on cheap mp3 players through speakers hidden around the layout... 

 

My mind's racing with ideas - perhaps I'd better get on and build something first though 

 

Cheers

 

Phil

I used to use a small MP3 player with integral speaker to play ambient noises on my former "Kings Oak" layout, using free sound effects from Freesound mixed together with Audacity. It's very easy to do. A more modern alternative might be to use a Bluetooth speaker linked either to a PC or Smartphone. We have a Bluetooth speaker for the Dolgellau layout which is very powerful and quite compact.

 

You could even use one of the text to speech readers with natural voices to record station announcements and have them playing via a small Bluetooth speaker hidden in a station building, if you record several different announcements you could even match the announcement to the train approaching.

 

Frankly the opportunities are endless with modern wireless technology.