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legomanbiffo

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  1. legomanbiffo
    I decided that a blog of what I'm up to sound-wise at the moment might be of interest and also provide a useful forum for discussion and feedback. Here's what I've been up to in the last few weeks. Imagine a butterfly flitting from one thing to another and you won't be too far off the mark :-)
     
    Upgraded the 26, 27, 37/0 and 37/4 projects with 'multi-start' (user control of engine priming, cranking and starting (or not starting)). It's my intention to add this to all projects where appropriate and where I have the necessary recordings. 'True' warm and cold starts are another aim but they eat up a lot of memory.
     
    Changed the 37 spirax function from a single loop to set of shorter sounds that are played at random. The original loop was quite long but you could still detect when it was starting again. I plan to develop this further so that if the spirax is left on for ages, the gap between pops will steadily increase just like the real thing.
     
    Made the 37 compressor stop more quickly when the function is turned off. Again, an improvement that'll be made to all v4 projects in due course.
     
    Finally started work editing the engine sounds from the Class 20 that pauliebanger and I recorded at the GCR ages ago (20098). This will be a great project when it's finished as we captured loads of material but I keep getting sidetracked with other stuff (which I suspect will be a common theme in this thread...). The 'auxiliaries' are all done, only the engine sounds are needed to finish the project off.
     
    Had a preliminary play with the Class 73 engine sounds I recorded at the Spa Valley Railway. A completed project is a while away yet but the 73 that arrived from Hattons today might spur me on. I was surprised how deep the engine note is on a 73.
     
    Made a start upgrading the 87 to v4 standards and incorporating some new material recorded at Willesden by a pal of mine. Made changes to the neutral section which will be user-triggerable at any speed.
     
    Finally, got some great sound-related feedback from one of the fitters at the Battlefield Line today (where I'm a volunteer). Most interesting was how the engine rpm on a 33 is affected when the ETH is on. A bit more complex than you might think and definitely something that can be incorporated into the project. I'm envisioning an 'ETH on/off' function key that will invoke the various changes. Again, something that will need to be added to various projects where appropriate.
     
    Bif
  2. legomanbiffo

    Off the juice

    By legomanbiffo,

    Well my 'shoebox' is now trundling around the layout, on diesel power only so far. The poor running was (mostly) sorted by using the CV54 trick and reading the CV's back into the program. I've got basic auxiliary sounds working (horns, compressor, air release etc). Once I've made a bit more progress on these I'll move on to the electric sounds. The last stage I suspect, apart from the usual endless tweaking, will be to program the transitions from diesel to electric and visa versa. I'm quite pleased so far anyway.
  3. legomanbiffo

    Heavy metal

    By legomanbiffo,

    I had an enjoyable day out at Doncaster yesterday and succumbed to the persuasive powers of a superbly weathered Bachmann 37/5 in Railfreight Metals livery from 'Dirty Boy' / Lord & Butler. Whilst I am reasonably skilled at weathering, this was in a different league and I was happy to pay the money.
     
    As a bonus the loco came pre-fitted with the latest SWD v4 chip so it was a good opportunity to listen to the competition. After trying it 'out of the box' it was clear that the dire speaker fit by Bachmann was seriously letting it down so as an experiment I took my v4 chip and tried it with Bachmann's speaker fit, and put SWD's chip in my loco with my tank-mounted Alan Butcher bass-reflex speaker. The improvement to the SWD sound when put through a proper speaker fit was truly astonishing. And of course the converse was true; the degradation to my chip when played through the Bachmann speaker was equally astonishing. The moral of the story is, regardless of who's chip you use, it pays to improve your speaker and speaker fit.
     
    In other news my 73 now has an Alan Butcher 28x40 speaker and v4 chip in. Early experiments served only to reveal the shortcomings of the new Hornby motor. Mind you, it's brand new and hasn't been run in yet so this may improve. When I'm finished playing with the 37's I'll put some effort into developing the 73 sound project. One aspect I'm giving some thought to is just how to give the user control of the change from diesel to electric power and visa-versa. I'd be interested to hear from any 73 drivers on what can and can't be done, and what sounds happen when etc, so I can get everything just right.
  4. legomanbiffo
    I've just had a really enjoyable weekend in the company of the Airthey Park & Warren Lane crews who were kind enough to let me join them on the other side of the 'stage' and then socially afterwards. Experience of driving my sound-fitted locos in an exhibition environment allows me to optimise the chips for exhibitor's needs as well as everyone else's, so public thanks to everyone concerned. Apologies to Alan for driving my 86's into a non-electrified road on Warren Lane - doah!
     
    With the 20 completed, the Class 26 project is now back on the workbench. This was an early v4 beneficiary which is now being upgraded in the light of experience gained in recent weeks with other projects. The main thrust of the work is to add two more 'thrash from stationary' options, and to reduce response time if the throttle is re-opened whilst the loco is still spooling down.
     
    The 26 shouldn't take too long and I'm wondering what should replace it on the workbench. The 73 is a possibility, also the 156 which is a hot topic over on the DEMU forum just now. I've also got a steadily increasing list of minor tweaks to existing projects which need addressing and a number of recording leads to follow up from Stafford.
  5. legomanbiffo
    It's all gone quiet while I get my Bachmann 20 ready for its video debut. Star of the show will be the disc-fitted 20058, currently on the workbench getting the faded rail blue treatment to depict a loco in the last years of its life. I can't decide whether to team it up with the completed OTA rake or the 3 BDA's I've finished so far. This afternoon was spent hopping between the 20 itself and making steel billets for the BDA's. These are made from lead flashing sprayed first with red oxide primer and then given a dusting of track colour. I'm quite pleased with the just-starting-to-rust look that this produces.
     
    Great track from the Strangler's Black & White album don't you think?
  6. legomanbiffo

    Night train

    By legomanbiffo,

    A message, in a faded envelope....
     
    No, not that Night Train (by Visage)! A night-time recording session, more of which later. It's been ages since the last update so there’s a lot to report.
     
    The start of a very busy week in February saw me at Gresty Bridge for the first of two trips to record one of DRS’s Vossloh Class 68’s on behalf of Dapol. I was mightily impressed with this loco from both a sound and technical point of view. A full set of sounds were captured, including a static engine run. A return visit in June involved a very early start to attach mics onto the loco prior to hauling the Crewe-Mountsorrel (empty) and loaded return journey. These engine recordings, made with 1300 tons on the drawbar sound superb in the test bed loco! The run took place on the Friday of the DEMU weekend, and if you took a photo of the return working passing through Burton that afternoon you may be able to see Andy Forty and I in the cab.
     
    Just days after the 68 session at Crewe, on the Thursday prior to Model Rail Scotland we were at Shields Road to tick off the next-oldest Scottish EMU on my to-do list, the Class 318 with the assistance of First Scotrail. Having done the 303 and 314 previously, next year’s target, already being lined up, will be the 334 Juniper.
     
     
    This year's journeys to and from Model Rail Scotland were typically cloudy, wet & dull and not much use for photography, but we did scope some great locations and followed them up on the Perth trip. A notable faux pas on the way to one location saw us nearly get Richard’s shiny Jaguar stuck down a badly rutted farm track, just as it started snowing. A very lucky escape and a lesson learned.
     
    March saw Richard Armstrong and I at Wembley Depot as guests of Chiltern, who came good with their promise to give access to a 67 before they went off lease. I’ve made several attempts at capturing good engine sounds from a 67 without the intrusive spirax valves but none have been completely successful. This time the fitters knew exactly what to do and killed them for the duration, and I’m much happier with the results. I’ll be updating the 67 with these and various other new sounds as soon as possible.
     
    My first recording visit to the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire railway was a very pleasureable affair featuring 26043 at the front. I’m pleased to say that the engine on this one didn’t hunt like the previous one and the recordings are much more usable. I will probably take the opportunity to do a complete new version of the 26 to complement my existing one, to give some variation to the fleet of anyone who has more than one. Given my current workload this should be available sometime in 2018...
     
    As you probably know by now I was asked by Jason of Rapido if I could do the sounds for the APT-E, which I agreed to. I was fortunate enough to have the assistance of Kit Spackman (aka ‘Mr Tilt’), who travelled and worked on said machine and knows the sounds very well, and Paul Ledley who is one of the preservation team at Shildon with a number of useful video and audio recordings. The result is quite different to your average sound chip and was both challenging and enjoyable to do. One feature I included for historical interest is a seamlessly blended montage of all the good bits from an on-board recording of the intercom channel on the record-breaking 143.2mph run.
     
    The train had no less than 10 gas turbines which were started up in a pseudo-random sequence depending upon the driver. The chip will allow those who want to reproduce this to do so (with multiple starts all happening in parallel, or one at a time), but will also allow you to ‘start-up & drive off’ in the normal way by pressing F1 if you don’t want to faff about.
     
     
    Doncaster show was notable for the superb meal of fish & chips at the Whitby restaurant opposite the racecourse, and great photos at Clay Cross North and South on the way up.
     
    During the summer, I had the pleasure of Andrew Keast’s company for a couple of days (Andrew is the tallest one of the Kernow team!). One day was spent on a photographic tour of the local railway hotspots, and the second was spent recording Andrew’s dulcet tones for the announcements on the Cornish FGW 143 chip! My original version of the 143 with First Great Western announcements features the voice of a good friend of mine Paul Woolard, who’s photos you may have seen in the railway press. As well as a great eye for a photo, Paul has a lovely rounded West Country accent!
     
    Peter Lord (of Lord and Butler) has kindly agreed to voice the Arriva Trains Wales announcements in his wonderfully evocative tones, and there will also be a Lancastrian version of the Northern Rail chips featuring announcements by Mick Bryan! Who do we think has the voice for the Yorkshire Northern Rail?
     
    September brought an unusual overnight recording session at Longsight with Ben Ando, doing the Pendolino. The session took place during the luckiest weather window ever with Manchester living up to its reputation immediately before and after. We arrived at the depot at 2030 and were walking back to the car around 0300. I finally got to bed at 0630 in the morning. I’ve been after the Pendolino for some time so I was pleased to finally get one in the bag. The Hornby test-bed is currently rattling round my test track now and is starting to sound really good.
     
     
    The most recent recording session was at the Spa Valley again, doing the visiting Classes 14 & 25 with Richard Armstrong. In contrast to Manchester the weather at this venue was once again absolutely glorious. You have to pinch yourself to believe how lucky you are to spend days like that running through beautiful countryside with the train and the entire line at your disposal. It’s tough work but someone has to do it. Richard’s videographer pal Jordi was on hand to capture proceedings so expect another video in the fullness of time.
     
    Previous hard work at the Spa Valley has borne fruit as Kernow have decided to use my sounds in the latest batch of their superb Thumper. Anyone with a v4 chip with the old sounds on can benefit from a reblow if they drop me a PM or email. I fitted smoked acetate behind all of the windows in mine, which hides two Alan Butcher bass reflex speakers!
     
    My Hymek project has had a very long gestation period (it’s been almost a year since it was recorded at the East Lancs Railway!), but has finally come to fruition. Needless to say that it features all the usual bells and whistles including different departure sequences, but also the ability to depart at idle even on a heavy train, which I’m reliably informed that the real ones can do. ‘Available now’ as they say. The model has room in the tanks for a 23mm round speaker which sounds pretty good, and fitting is relatively straightforward. Video to follow shortly.
     
    Following the generous provision of an accurate recording by a customer, RETB sounds have now been added to all projects associated with the West Highland line (37/0 & 37/4 West Highland, 67, 156).
     
    Although there’s no RTR model yet, anyone who’s built their own Hastings Unit can now buy a chip for it from us. The English Electric engine is very reminiscent of a Class 20, and those SR whistles and compressors sound great!
     
    Finally, my Ruston 37/9 has now broken cover and is available from Charlie as usual. Following an enquiry from a customer and a bit of experimentation on my part, the chip now features the ability to recreate the‘flaming exhausts’ that the prototype is well known for. All you have to do is drill out your exhaust port and fit one or two LED’s underneath (I used a red one driven from Aux1 and an orange one from Aux2). The result is highly effective, with both gentle and heavy flaming that only occurs at appropriate times (eg startup & heavy acceleration), and in time with the engine beats. Videos to follow shortly.
  7. legomanbiffo
    Well that’s the misery of Christmas over for another year! I actually quite enjoy Christmas itself but two things spoil it for me;
     
    The ridiculous three-month build up, the over-commercialisation of everything, and everyone being on holiday at the same time and clogging up the shops / roads / Post Office etc.
     
    The three things that spoil Christmas for me...
     
    And there’s having your railway time compromised because you have to spend time with family.
     
    Amongst the things that spoil Christmas for me...
     
    Well here’s my idea for addressing these issues; stagger Christmas alphabetically. All families with surnames beginning with A or B would have Christmas on 25th January, C & D on 25th February and so on. Every year it cycles forward one month so we all get a shot at a spring / summer / autumn / winter Christmas. You read it here first!
     
    Anyway, on to business...
     
    One of the most enjoyable recording sessions of the year was with Richard Armstrong at the Spa Valley Railway back in August. The weather was absolutely superb and the Kent countryside magical. Add in the Thumper and 26038 and what more could you want? (drink! girls! etc). The Thumper was excellent; lovely rolling idle, honking horns, great turbo whistle and so on. The 26 presented a problem as far as DCC sound goes; there was an issue with the engine governor that meant the revs at any given notch were not steady and hunted up and down. This will make it difficult if not impossible to use the sounds. I’ve yet to fully assess them but fortunately my existing engine sounds are fine. The horns and all the other auxiliaries will come in handy though. It just goes to show how considerable time and expense can come to nought – something the chip buying public doesn’t always appreciate. The photo shows yours truly tieing one of the mics on at the start of the day.
     
    You can see more of what we got up to here;
     

     
    October saw another trip oop-North with Richard again, at the East Lancs to record 40145 & the Hymek. I’ve yet to make a start on the Hymek but the 40 has provided the exhauster sounds the project was previously missing. In the fullness of time I’ll process the 40’s engine sounds to provide an alternative to the existing project (recorded from 40135, also at the ELR).
     
    The final recording session on 2014 was a significant departure from the norm; my first full main line recording. I previously made recordings of a 350 from the cab window with the help of London Midland, in order to capture the tone change that you hear at around 25mph, but this was something much more advanced; at the invitation of Hastings Diesels Limited, Charlie and I travelled on board the Christmas trip of said unit from Hasting to Kensington Olympia and back.
     
    Needless to say you cannot cable-tie a mic to the handrail or out of the window here. Quite some time was spent working out how we were going to put a mic near the exhaust in a safe and indeed fail-safe manner. The extremely remote possibility that you might somehow cause the trip to be delayed or cancelled if something went wrong certainly focusses the mind. I’m pleased to say that everything went exactly to plan and we got the recordings we wanted. There’s no video yet, but the chip itself is ready for those wishing to partake.
     
    One happy consequence of the Hastings trip was that I now have recordings of an authentic Southern Region whistle (two actually), so this feature has now been added to the Thumper and the generic SR EMU project that I did for Charlie (but don’t admit to). Answers on a postcard - what else carried them?
     
     
    One amusing anecdote from the trip was the ‘tourist information’ given by the ageing Italian waiter at breakfast, who offered to tell us where we could get ‘cheap sex’ in the town and get the hotel porter to turn a blind eye! Perhaps Charlie and I fitted the profile... (Before you ask, we didn’t!)
     
     
    In other news the 37/4 has recently been upgraded with the addition of RETB token exchange sounds. These are set to a level as if heard through an open cab window, so they are subtle but clearly audible. You can repeatedly request the token, and ‘grant’ it when you are ready. This feature will be added to the 67, 156 and other classes that have worked on the West Highland & Cambrian lines as time permits (suggestions on a postcard please).
     
     
    The Scottish theme continues with the addition of user-configurable Scotrail on-board announcements (to the 156 initially);
    Welcome aboard this First Scotrail service to <destination>, please familiarise yourself etc, where the <destination> can be chosen from a list of 17 different ones by changing a single CV. Destinations include all the popular terminii and larger stations served by DMU’s in Scotland (Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, East Kilbride etc). This feature will be added to the 150 and 158 as time permits.
     
    A similar feature with all the popular Scotrail EMU destinations is also in preparation (Ardrossan, Ayr, Balloch etc), to be applied to the 303 & 320 chips, and similarly configurable Welsh announcements are in preparation for the Arriva Trains Wales 143 (thanks driver for those – you know who you are).
     
     
    Work is continuing on the Ruston 37/9 engine sounds which are approximately half-finished and sounding very good chugging round the layout. Time is currently being spent between this and bringing the long-lost sounds of a train back from the dead...
     
     
    Latest attraction on Charlie’s stand is the mighty Heljan 40 with sound to match. The model has a large void in the centre of the casting which I’ve used as the speaker enclosure, closed off with a thick plasticard lid at the top and a single large speaker facing down at the bottom. Whistle while you work.
     
    See you all at Stafford , Donny and Glasgow! If things go to plan I’ll be recording again while we’re in Scotland...
  8. legomanbiffo
    One theme of this period in the sound lab has been consolidation; instead of working on new projects I’ve concentrated on rolling out specific improvements across the range, where suitable recordings are available. One example of this is to change F5 from a simplistic brake dump sound to a multi-function brake sound experience! If you press F5 whilst stationary you’ll hear a brake dump sound . If you turn on F5 when moving, nothing is heard initially, but you now have a ‘playable’ brake application function. Dipping the throttle briefly will trigger a gentle brake application sound. Dip it further and it brakes a little harder. It is possible (for example) to approach a signal, repeatedly ‘touching the brakes’ without unduly affecting the speed of the loco.
     
    The theme of consolidation reminded me of the classic Norman Wisdom film ‘The Early Bird’ which documents the struggle of an underdog horse & cart milk firm against the mighty Consolidated Dairies with their new-fangled electric milk floats. The opening 15 minutes or so, in which hardly a word is spoken, is comic genius, with the hero Pitkin (Wisdom) struggling to get up and make the tea for himself, his boss (Mr Grimsdale) and the boss’s ‘fancy woman’. There's a link at the bottom if you’re interested.
     
    Work on 10000 has continued. I am currently prototyping the engine sounds in a Bachmann model and things are progressing, slowly but surely.
    A packed show schedule in May / June will see me with Charlie at Bristol, Derby, LYDCC (where I’ll be assisting Tony Molyneux with his seminar), Railex, DEMU, Wigan, and Perth, and also Nottingham as a visitor.
     
    The first production runs of resin tanks for the Heljan 26, 27 & 33 have been kicked off. These comprise a replacement centre-section for the underframe assembly of each loco, to which the Heljan sideframes are attached. The new sections feature a sound chamber which accepts a 20x40mm speaker in a simple clip-fit aperture, making the fitting of sound much more straightforward.
     
    At Ally Pally I picked up some excellent weathered JNA’s from Lord & Butler which will no doubt feature in a video in the fullness of time. I must get round to doing more videos at some point as there are several new projects that haven’t been captured yet (33, 40, 60 & MPV amongst others).
     
    Finally, a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of a personal guided tour of some of Paul Woolard’s local photographic haunts to capture some of the Cross-Country workings that were being diverted via Chepstow. Pictured above at Purton is the Daventry-Wentloog working. Paul has taken some beautiful railway photos and one of his taken previously at Purton featured in Rail Express this month. Hopefully some of his skill will rub off on me.
     

  9. legomanbiffo
    A bit of a mixed bag in the blog this time.
    Just before Christmas I got a text from Brian Porter at the Crewe Heritage Centre telling me he’d managed to get the traction motor blowers and a number of other things working on the APT. A mutually acceptable date was arranged and off I went, mic in hand. It turns out that the traction motor blowers sound quite different to those of the Class 91, the ones I’d previously used as a ‘best guess’ in lieu of the real thing. The percentage of genuine APT sounds in the project is around 80% now, not bad considering my original expectations a few years ago were for door slams and very little else. While I was there I took the opportunity to climb on the roof and take a full set of reference photos of every vehicle, for the common good. These have been uploaded to my Flickr page, just search for legomanbiffo.
    By far the biggest disappointment of the day was the Closed sign on the door of Cheshire’s finest fish & chip shop, Goodwins on Nantwich Road, just a short walk from the station on the way to the Heritage Centre. I cannot recommend this place highly enough. It’s a ‘proper’ fish & chip shop with a counter to the front and a sit-down restaurant to the side. The fish is freshly cooked to order, the chips are great and for a very modest sum you get bread & butter and a cup of tea to finish off. Just what was needed after a hard day’s recording. But not this time, doah!
     
    The latest set of sounds out of the foundry are for the Windhoff MPV. Yet another one rendered possible by a friendly modeller in a position to assist. Many thanks, you know who you are! In the model I used one of the modules as a speaker enclosure with a 20x40 speaker facing down. I had to cut part of the module’s plinth away to let the sound out but this can hardly be seen behind the side railings. I spent most of last Sunday getting the handbrake to work how I wanted it. The chip is ‘out now’.
    A Deltic-mad pal of mine has let me loose with his roster of locos in an attempt to discover the best speaker arrangement for said loco. Four designs were tried, all in the underframe area with the main drive unit facing down, and each utilising as much of the underframe area as possible. First up was a simple infinite baffle which was very average. The second attempt was an extended bass reflex which was better, but not by much. Third was a transmission line design with with the tube folded backwards and forwards five times (to maximise the length) before venting to the air. Sadly the results in no way matched the effort involved. The fourth design gave the best Deltic sound I’ve ever achieved in 4mm; a large chamber excited by the drive unit from a bass reflex, and a reflex tube that runs the full length of the tanks down one side. This was made from some rectangular section plastic tube.
    Also ‘out now’ (out for some time in fact) are my Class 40 sounds, recently tweaked to suit the retooled Bachmann model. The model itself has come close to meeting the lump hammer more than once. The new pickup arrangement is not fit for purpose and despite being a huge model there is nowhere to put a decent speaker. I resorted to a 23mm round speaker fitted in an airtight enclosure in the tanks, which is just about acceptable but not really bassy enough.
    In a departure from the normal photographic fare, a treat for the kettle fans out there; a pair of black 5’s racing up the WCML near Atherstone on the Cathedrals Express just before Christmas. And no, I don’t do sound for them yet!
  10. legomanbiffo

    Song 2

    By legomanbiffo,

    Ding-ding diddle-ing ding ding, ding ding ding ding. I had my head shaved. By a
    Jumbo jet. It wasn't easy. But nothing is-eh. The first verse of a tune you've all
    heard countless times on the telly; the classic Song 2 by Blur, all of two minutes
    long if I recall. And Blur is this week's tenuous connection to my life over the past
    few weeks! There's a bit of activity to report as a result.
     
    Firstly, more raw materials have been obtained after another private session at the ELR.
    The original plan was to record one of the 37's, the 47 and 117 but at the last
    minute we were told that one 37 had flat batteries and the other was going away.
    Fortunately the railway gave us an offer we couldn't refuse so in the end we got
    the 37 a day early before it went away, then the 47 & 108, and the 40 thrown in for
    our trouble on the second day! Apart from a quick listen I haven't assessed the
    suitability of anything yet but I'd like to do a better 47 and a different 37.
     
    The 33 fans will be pleased to hear that I have just put the finishing touches to a
    completely new set of engine sounds, recorded from 33109 on the last visit to the
    ELR. I'm much happier with them than my first set. They've got a really nice
    chuggy, rolling idle, and the greater variety of recordings enabled some really
    nice departures and coasts. An upgraded project is available now.
     
    Progress continues on my own GNER 225 set for Warren Lane in its new roundy-roundy
    guise. I'm in the process of fitting chip, pick-ups and speaker to the Mk4 DVT and
    detailing all of the coaches. The 91 now has a new Heljan 86 mech, v4 chip and bass
    reflex speaker in the tanks and sounds really good. Once the DVT is up and running
    I need to update the sound project with the odds & ends of new material recorded at
    Crown Point last year.
     
    No progress to report on the Deltic other than to say that demos of the 7mm
    test-bed loco at Derby and Aylesbury shows went down well with those that heard it.
    I've also borrowed a sound-fitted Bachmann model to use as a 4mm test bed. I'll
    bring the Heljan loco to Wigan where I'll be on Charlie's stand all weekend with
    this and plenty of 4mm stock to listen to.
     
    In the photo, the Summer theme continues with a vintage scene at Nuneaton on a
    Summer Saturday circa 1979. Other photos from the day show throngs on spotters on
    every platform. Most of them are still there on sunny days but they are now wearing
    flat caps, sitting on folding seats and have no kids, jobs or mortgages to worry
    about!
  11. legomanbiffo

    Snowed under

    By legomanbiffo,

    The last couple of weeks have seen me snowed under literally and metaphorically. I thought the chip workload might have slowed a bit in January but not so as you would notice. It genuinely pleases me to know that my work brings a little pleasure into people's lives. Another enjoyable part of what I'm doing, and one which Paul Chetter and I have often spoken about is the importance of capturing these sounds as an historic record; a part of the nation's heritage. As I've said before it would be nice to try and capture every UK diesel and electric loco and unit. A mammoth task I know but we're working on it :-)
     
    You Tube viewers will be pleased to know that the video camera has been dusted down and I'm all set to do a bit of filming over the next day or two. Things which I hope to film include;
     
    1. The 08 which I've faded, weathered and fitted a v4 and two Zimo sugar cube speakers. It will demonstrate the new manual priming pump sequence and the user-selectable wooden or metal door slam sounds.
    2. 37514 in weathered Railfreight Metals livery, standing in to demonstrate the new 37/9 sound project.
    3. A short clip of the 25 demonstrating the user-selectable single or double compressor sounds and the ETHEL functionality.
    4. A short clip of the 350, with a proper 350 this time, demonstrating the new on-board announcements.
    5. A work-in-progress clip of the Heljan Deltic just to prove that I have actually been doing some work on it!
     
    In other news, Charlie has temporarily deviated me from my intended path and had me bringing my v3.5 Thumper project into the 21st Century (purportedly in readiness for the Kernow model but I suspect it's more to do with the fact that he wants one!). The range of sounds isn't quite as exhaustive as some of my other stuff as I don't have a fully comprehensive set of recordings but I'll fix that in the fullness of time. It's just about ready now.
     
    I've also made a start on a custom speaker box for the Heljan 7mm 37 which will use the Visaton 70x40 drive unit. I suspect it may growl a bit...
     
    I was hoping to get some good railway shots in the white stuff but there was a distinct lack of sun. I did manage to capture 70005 on the way to work though.
  12. legomanbiffo

    A wail of a time

    By legomanbiffo,

    Well that's the trauma of Christmas over for another year. Another chunk of modelling time irretrievably lost, bah humbug!
     
    Progress on the Deltic has been slow as a result but it's going in the right direction. The loco had the opportunity to stretch its legs on my pal's layout this evening and I'm pleased to say that it's shaping up very nicely. The slow wind-up to the highest notch is pure Napier heaven! The session also gave me a good idea how I can enhance the two-engine experience, something I now need to test on the bench.
     
    As a short aside from the Deltic, I did a bit of work on the 86 sound project as my Hornby / Heljan hybrid model is nearing completion. One of the sounds in the project was a nice Mk3 coach 'wail'; the sound you get from the airbag suspension, typically heard when they leave the station. Nice, but fairly basic. Well earlier in the year I heard plenty of these wails on a photting trip to Manningtree, where trainloads of Mk3's arrive and depart every half an hour. At the time I was kicking myself not to have taken my recording gear, but took the opportunity to capture it, purely for reference, using the voice memo app on my phone. Turns out that the recordings were far better than I expected. I have extracted 8 of the best ones and created a flowchart that plays them at random, on demand, and at just the right interval to simulate slow-speed navigation through pointwork or round curves etc. Once I'm happy with the execution I'll roll this feature out to other locos typically used with Mk3 stock (47, 67, 87 etc). I've also added the ability to run the traction motor blowers whilst stationary (already present on my 85, 87 & 90).
     
    The photo of the Mk3 was taken at Crewe Works open day, the same day as the Deltic in the previous blog entry. How long before we get a better model of them?
  13. legomanbiffo

    Iris my case

    By legomanbiffo,

    Like an old PC adventure game, today's blog will be text only as I'm away from my computer this week. The eye-rolling title (think about it) refers to Saturday's visit by the 'Dream Team' to record Test Coach Iris, the ex-RTC Derby Lightweight DMU at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. This was adorned with more mics than you can shake a stick at (3 near the engines, one near the exhaust, one picking up just the wheel clacks and bogie sounds plus a hand-held to capture the horns, cab sounds etc). The guys at the Railway were great and were very helpful in achieving what was a very successful outcome. The unit is really nicely preserved and definitely worth a ride if you haven't partaken.
     
    In other news, the Class 40 project which has been quite a while in gestation is finally ready. Charlie will have a small number available at Warley so I suggest you contact him if you'd like to reserve one.
     
    I'll probably make a start editing the 37/9 sounds next.
     
    Bif
  14. legomanbiffo

    Fantastic Voyage

    By legomanbiffo,

    I often find that as a project is nearing completion it pays to step away from it for a while and do something else. You then return to it with a fresh pair of ears, add the finishing touches and iron out any last remaining niggles. As such, I have briefly stepped away from the 40 to the Voyager.
     
    I upgraded one end of my Bachmann Voyager from a v3.5 to a v4 some time ago but never got around to the other. Having now fitted the second chip and ran it, I found that the engine sound editing and programming was a little short of my current standards. Having spent a couple of days on it I'm now much happier. I've also added a handful of new features including; the ability to start the intermediate engines one at a time, two slightly different engine shutdowns, and a more accurate recreation of the 'forward' position on the driver's controller on the prototype.
     
    On a real Voyager, the driver selects forward when getting ready to move off. The engine revs rise but nothing more happens until the controller is advanced further, whereupon the set moves off. Similarly, when coming to a standstill, the set can be left in forward (and hence at slightly higher revs) until the driver puts the controller to idle or moves off again. The principle is exactly the same as my latest electric projects (85, 87, 90 etc), and has now been enabled with the Voyager.
     
    The project has been prototyped as a 'single' chip version, now I need to make the necessary modifications for the two-chip version so that the horns etc change ends when the set reverses, the engine starts and stops are staggered and so on.
     
    Tonight's good news was that Charlie has finally found a Heljan 7mm Deltic down the back of his sofa. This will be passed onto me at Warley so I can prototype the Deltic sound project in it.
     
    The photograph was taken at Milton Keynes, one of my series of 'railwaymen at work'. Try covering the despatcher and guard with your thumb and you'll find the photo much less interesting.
  15. legomanbiffo
    ..the 40.
     
    I've found in the past that 7mm models ruthlessly expose any deficiencies in your sound clip editing, ones that you often get away with in 4mm because you're not hearing the full range of sounds (quite why I never noticed through the hi-fi at the editing stage is something of a mystery but there you go). For this reason I took the decision not to try and prototype the Deltic sound project in 4mm. As I haven't yet been able to lay my hands on a 7mm Deltic yet (just a matter of time), that particular project has gone onto the back-burner and the 40 reinstated at the front.
     
    Despite the insatiable demand for chips from Mr Petty I've managed to move forward with it and it's coming along nicely, whistling round the layout like a good 'un. The technique that I developed with the 20 & 37, to make the engine sounds less 'loopy' and more natural is working a treat in this case.
     
    For those interested, the sound editing workbench comprises the output of the PC going to a Sony TAN55-ES 110 watt per channel power amp and a pair of Tannoy 611 floor-standers (basically my old hi-fi, another interest of mine). Plenty of oomph to rattle the window frames and get the missus knocking on the ceiling when Emmerdale's on. Most of my clip editing is done with Cool Edit, an ancient and pretty basic sound editor but nice and easy to use and more than adequate for most things. Occassionally I'll use Sound Forge for some of the more involved jobs and batch conversions. All editing is done with 44kHz / 16-bit mono clips that have been converted from stereo original recordings.
     
    The photo is 40049, coming off the 'Cov line' at Nuneaton on a wintry day circa 1981.
  16. legomanbiffo
    ...you mow the lawn and find a car. That was just one of the laughs on the list of 'You might be a redneck if...' that amused me a while back. Well I had a similar moment today when I found a Heljan 86 whilst tidying up the heap. I remotored my Hornby 86 some time ago using a Heljan Hymek mechanism, which has the same wheelbase as the Hornby model. It's a great runner but the fact that it is the wrong wheelbase started bugging me almost as soon as I had finished it. Sometime later a cheap Heljan 86 was acquired to put this right but as with so many projects, it got sidelined in favour of other things. So with SWMBO out for the day and the Rolls Royce DMU sound project completed, the opportunity arose to put this right. Good progress has been made and I am very pleased with the results. I was unsure how to fix the body on but it is such a snug fit that fixing isn't necessary. Sound is provided by a v4 chip driving a bass enhanced speaker built into the underframe. I did try a sugar cube which would fit without surgery but it just wasn't loud enough.
     
    Thoughts are now turning to what will replace the RR DMU in the sound lab. I have tried some of the Deltic sounds in a test bed loco with a bass reflex speaker and the results were quite pleasing. Then there's the unfinished 40 project, and some great recordings of 37901. Decisions, decisions...
     
    In the photo, an unidentified 86/3 passes Hartshill circa 1979 on a Class 1 express.
  17. legomanbiffo
    ...will be a bit late. Once again it's been a case of 'real life getting in the way' in the last couple of weeks. I had hoped to have the 60 & 67 out by now but Mrs. B had plans for me in the garden, and the day job, well it's such an inconvenience. Despite this, progress has been made and I now have a few days off so things should pick up a bit.
     
    The 67 is almost there, just a handful of improvements to the flow of the engine sounds to satisfy myself that it's ready. The project sounds great in the Hornby model, credit must go to them for putting the speaker in the right place. I'm waiting for the DB-liveried version myself so there will be a delay before I do the video.
     
    The 60 isn't far away either. A couple of the engine transition sounds are quite long and I need to build escapes into them in order to maintain responsiveness (something that wasn't possible with the v3.5 chip). This is another loco that is going to need a bass reflex speaker for best results. I'm using one of my 37's as a test bed and it sounds really good through the bass reflex facing down, but it's not quite so good through the speaker fitted to a factory sound-fitted 60. It's still better than the Hornby chip though (not difficult I know but...). I'm planning to mill the tanks off mine and fit an extended bass reflex, but I reckon that you could fit two normal bass-reflexes in the roof space with a little plastic surgery. Thanks are due to Pete Harvey for lending me a couple of Hornby 60's to play with during the project's development.
     
    I'm looking forward to Barrow Hill on Sunday. If anyone wants to say hello, drop me a PM.
     
    The two recording sessions next week will probably be the last of the season unless something special pops up. All will be revealed once the recordings are in the bag.
     
    In the photograph, 67029 approaches Reading with a 'Rugby Special' heading for Cardiff Millennium Stadium on 6th August 2012.
  18. legomanbiffo

    Basil Brush(es)

    By legomanbiffo,

    Ha ha ha ha ha, boom boom! He's not just a puppet, he's a British icon! The Tweed jacket, the refined accent, the toothy grin, the razor-sharp wit. Remember his constant interruptions that would cause 'Mr Roy' to grab him round the snout?! I'm laughing now just thinking about it. Pure TV heaven.
     
    On the subject of brushes the most recent task has been upgrading the 92 project to v4 standards. I've yet to do a full recording session with one so a little artistic license has been used along with the recordings I have got. It's in the final tweaking stages now and I'm very pleased with the results.
     
    Other editing work has seen upgrades to the Leyland DMU project using new material recorded at Llangollen, and work on the Voyager, again to bring it up to v4 standards. I've also come up with a method of shortening the minimum length of playable horns so it is now possible to do realistic short blasts as well as longer ones. This improvment is being rolled out to all projects on an opportunity basis.
     
    The last couple of days have been concentrated on my rake of Inter-City Mk4 coaches. I recently discovered that Keen Systems do resin parts for the underframe skirts and the TSOE coach end piece (the TSOE is the coach next to the loco, which has the corridor connection blanked off). I bought a set of each to try. Being resin the detail is not high-definition but they're both better than scratch building. I'm minded to send some photos to Mr Harvey and get some etches made up to go over the skirts.
     
    Finally, did I mention that I recorded a Class 60 last weekend.....?
  19. legomanbiffo
    Kids; here's a tip for when it's your turn to play the 'seeker' in a game of hide and seek. Reduce the time consuming count by saying 'one, two, skip a few, ninety-nine, a hundred' and off you go, job done.
     
    Not really. Play fair, and eat all your greens too.
     
    Yes, it's skip time in the sound lab as the Class 67 gets its v4 upgrade in readiness for the new Hornby model. And this time the model has a chance of sounding half-decent when you fit it because they have finally listened to criticism and put the speaker where it needs to be; in the tanks facing down. Well, let's hope the decision was like that and not because the speaker wouldn't fit anywhere else. Perhaps we'll see with the next loco?
     
    Just a few finishing touches to go now. As well as 'Multistart' (a normal start plus two different failed starts, selectable on demand), it will feature different horns in either direction plus a stationary compressor speed-up on a function key, like the 66. And now I've got the extra DVT sounds I was after, there will be a matched 67 + DVT sound pack too.
     
    I struggled to find a half-decent photo of a 67 in the collection but this one on Thunderbird duty storming through Grantham is just about acceptable.
  20. legomanbiffo

    Electric blue

    By legomanbiffo,

    There's a title to attract the attention of any male over a certain age! Well, here's something else that is electric and blue; 90012, posing for the camera during the recording session at Crown Point. I took the opportunity to grab a full set of underframe shots which I'll post if anyone is interested.
     
    On Saturday I spent a really enjoyable half-hour talking to Phil Tyrer (aka Northendboy) at members day and he commented afterwards about being envious of some of the places I'd been whilst recording. I hadn't really thought about it before but it's true, I have had some fantastic days out that would never have happened otherwise. Having said that, when you're in that cab or at that depot you've generally spent a lot of time & money getting there and you can't just sit back and enjoy it, you have to focus on the job in hand. These days I like to arrive for a recording session bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and in good time and that often involves travelling to site the day before and staying overnight. This was the case here with Norwich being three and a half hours drive away.
     
    In the four years I've been recording seriously the highlights have been; the brake van ride behind the 37 after the session at the Spa Valley, two visits to record Eurostars at Temple Mills, riding all day in the cab of the 20 at the GCR, and having the 40, 50 & Deltic to ourselves for the day at the ELR! Happy days.
     
    The v4 90 is nearing completion. I've just been doing two sets of horns, one for each end.
     
    Bif
  21. legomanbiffo
    If there's one thing I've learned over the years about railway modelling and photography, it's this; take photos of the boring things as well as the interesting, because one day they won't be boring any more and you'll wish you took more photos of them. This Class 318 is a case in point. Despite living in Ayrshire for 16 years and seeing them almost daily I have only two photos. Now my Bratchell kit has arrived and......I wish I'd taken more photos. I think the same applies to recording sounds. EMU's and DMU's might not be very glamorous but there are loads of them about and interest in them is definitely on the rise. I love them and never turn down an opportunity to point a mic at one.
     
    The Bratchell kit is lovely. It goes together very easily with little or no fettling. The first driving trailer is on the workbench just now and nearing completion. As with my 320, the centre car will become one big speaker enclosure, which produces astonishing volume levels.
     
    Most of the 90 sounds have been edited now and the v3.5 project updated with playable horns, correct pan and auxiliary compressor sounds, wheelslip sounds, improved main compressor sound, new sander sounds and so on. The first draft of the v4 version is on the burner now, using the 'template' developed initially for the 85. The v4 90 will have different horns at either end, neutral section sounds triggerable on demand and the ability to 'put the loco in forward' with the blowers running without actually going anywhere, as per the prototype.
  22. legomanbiffo
    This week, the rain of Llangollen was swapped for the blistering 27-degree heat of East Anglia, with a Class 90 & DVT recording session at Norwich Crown Point, hosted by the fine fellows of Greater Anglia. My partner in crime this time was Richard Armstrong, aka the 'Armstrong Powerhouse' who produces sound packs for various Train Simulator packages.
     
    The loco (90012, Royal Anglian Regiment) was in fine fettle and our assistant did a great job of getting the noises we wanted from it. Although we 'got there in the end', the day did have more than it's fair share of audible challenges, notably; a big tanker delivering diesel for the depot's units, two RAF Tornados on manouevres, regular passing trains on either side (the depot sits inside the junction of the lines to Liverpool Street and Sheringham / Lowestoft), seagulls, a Network Rail track warning beeper in the distance, a fork lift driver who enjoyed replying to our horns and so on. When we'd finished with the 90 we moved on to a nearby DVT and recorded a great set of horns amongst other things. All I need now is a month off work to process all the recordings....
     
    I've always been a keen railway photographer but in recent years my lens has started to widen out from the rolling stock to include railway men and women at work. This chap giving a 90 a wash and brush up at Norwich is a good example. You never know, I might have enough to fill a book one day.
  23. legomanbiffo

    Rule Brittania

    By legomanbiffo,

    Orders for an 86 & 87 have prompted some v4 upgrade work to both sound projects. The flexibility of the v4 has enabled some nice features;
     
    Wheelslip if you accelerate hard at slow speeds, neutral section now on a function key, howling rheostatic brakes if you decelerate hard, speed-dependant 'rail noise' and so on. My v3.5 had some of these but they were nowhere near as elegant and responsive. As usual, having a play has yielded new ideas, and led to improvements I'd like to roll out other projects.
     
    The photo dates from about 1979; the time when we used to buy a ticket from New Street to International and spend all day going between the two behind AC electrics, 50's and duffs. If you were unlucky you got 'gripped' and had to buy another ticket! Happy days.
     
    Busy weekend up ahead. It's an early start tomorrow for two days of recording at a well-known preserved railway and then off to Wigan show on Sunday. You'll have to wait & see which railway! More recordings, I haven't started processing the ones from the last trip yet...
  24. legomanbiffo

    Big Mac(rat)

    By legomanbiffo,

    Although it is possible to load a sound project written for a standard (HO/OO) chip into a v4 XL, you tend to find that all of the bassy sounds are too loud when played through the bigger speaker, so relative volume levels have to be revisited. The bigger speaker also ruthlessly exposes any deficiencies in your clip editing. Any slight glitch leaps out at you, having been inaudible through a small speaker. First recipient of the treatment is my 26 project, which sounds great in my Heljan test-bed loco. The 20, 33, 37 & 47 will be next, for the Heljan range.
     
    The photo is from the early 90's. On summer Saturdays there was a train that brought holidaymakers from (I believe) Carlisle to Ayr. In days gone by it used to run to Butlins at Heads of Ayr but Thomas Cook et al put paid to that. Motive power was invariably a 26 or 37 and needless to say there were more bashers on the train than holidaymakers.
     
    My Bachmann 85 is now roaring merrily around the layout, the project having received a number of tweaks and improvements to suit the model. The model itself is absolutely superb, shame we had to wait 30 years for it. I wonder which AC electric Bachmann will use the chassis for next...?
  25. legomanbiffo
    The arrival of the 85 from Bachmann has accelerated the conversion and upgrade of my v3.5 sound project to v4 standards. One of the more interesting features enabled by the v4 is an on-demand neutral section, triggered by a function key. Whilst running along at anything other than a very slow speed, pressing F11 causes the contactors to drop out and the blower motors to spool down. Pressing F11 again pulls the contactors back in and the blowers fire up again. Also of note is the ability to select forward and start the traction motor blowers without going anywhere, as a driver might do when anticipating the signal clearing. Similarly, you can also, if you choose, bring the loco to a standstill and keep the traction motor blowers running (as if the driver kept the loco in forward). Bringing the loco to a standstill in the normal manner will cause the blowers shut down (as if the driver selected off / idle) This is all achieved under control of the throttle, without any button-pushing. The project is now at the stage where I'm happy to put it on general release.
     
    The photo was taken at Hartshill, just North of Nuneaton on one of those hot, sunny days in the school holidays that we all remember. At that time you could sit and take photos from the foundations of the old station, which have long-since been fenced off. The missed photo opportunity that afternoon was the APT, which was so quiet in comparison that it shot by before anyone was ready.
     
    Good news for O gauge modellers is the arrival of the v4 XL chip from Loksound. I've got a handful in the house and I've yet to fire one up but I suspect it will be worth waiting for.
     
    In other news, my v4 Class 31 is now ready.
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