# Locomotive sounds, yes or no?



## Guest (Jul 13, 2018)

I was reading an old Classic Toy Trains and read an opinion about sound locomotives. The writer didn't like sound. He thought that one sound loco was fun but two or more was just noise. I usually run 3 O gauge trains at a time and always with sound. After reading his opinion I turned off the sound on all three and just had the sound of wheels on rail. It was a pleasant change of pace but I like sound better. What do you think?


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## Spence (Oct 15, 2015)

50-50 Sometimes yes, sometimes no.


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## Lehigh74 (Sep 25, 2015)

If the sound is right, it’s one of the best things about modern locos. Steam engines and early diesels are the best. Some second generation (and I suppose more modern ones) have too much turbo whine. I have a few that are so shrill at speed, that I turn off the engine sounds. More than one or two at a time...no problem. I do like the sound of just wheels on rail, but (aside from the shrill turbo noise) like it better with the sound on.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Depends upon what the next song is on Antenne Bayern.


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## Lee Willis (Jan 1, 2014)

I have a few locos without sound - maybe ten out of 140 or so. The rest have sound, and i never turn it off.


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## Fire21 (Mar 9, 2014)

I have 2 locos with sound, 2 without, so it depends on what I'm running.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

I prefer sound,except for the bells ringing too long. I get that the bell ringing for long periods during certain procedures is prototypical but for some reason I find it irritating if left on more than a few seconds.


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## MikeB (Feb 11, 2016)

I like to listen to both MY BLI steamer and diesel. I do have one diesel (can't remember who made it) that starts up ax soon ax track power comes on. With that one, I have to select it and mute it.


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

Not running trains yet and haven't purchased the decoders for my DCC-ready locos yet, so "other".

Was at the LHS a couple of weeks ago and they were working on/test running a customer's diesel loco. I don't know if they had the volume cranked up to max or what, but the sound was awful. It was making about as much noise as a 1:1 scale volume-wise but it didn't sound anything like a train. It was just noise.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

In general, I have a problem with sound because of scale. The 1:1 scale sound (even at reduced volumes) carries too far in my basement, and can unrealistically be heard at places on the layout that represent places 25 to 50 miles away. Ruins the illusion.

Multiple trains quickly creates an unbearable din.

Now, were I just running one loco, it might be different, but I'm not about to go to the effort and expense of installing sound, just so I can use it once in a great while.


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## JerryH (Nov 18, 2012)

I run sound most of the time but at greatly reduced levels. My layout is 8 x 16 in HO. The factory sound levels are set way too high. At a greatly reduced level, I can hear the locos near me but the others are barely audible and with 9 locos that is a nice effect to only hear the near ones drowning out the far ones.


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## JerryH (Nov 18, 2012)

I run as many as 9 locos at a time. I set the sound levels low enough that I can still hear the wheel clicks at the track joints. At a distance the other locos are barely audible when there is no loco near me and can't be heard when there is a loco near me. This is a pleasant effect on my 8 by 16 HO layout.


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## flyboy2610 (Jan 20, 2010)

JerryH has the right idea. It seems that most people that run sound have the volume cranked up way too high. I read somewhere where someone said if you can hear the locomotive from more than 5 feet away you have the volume up too high. I have some locomotives with sound, but I don't run the volume very high.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

Some factory equipped sound locos come with the volumes set way too high out f the box...I’ve probably had to lower the sounds on 50-60% of my locos straight out of the box.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

I voted Sometimes, depending on my mood.
Most of mine don't have sound so then I use a












Depending on my mood.


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## MatroxD (Jan 19, 2018)

Same here with the sound. I turned mine way down, as i run multiple. The one thing i have turned up is the cab chatter. And because i can turn all of them on, or all of them off(or down to such low levels),a lot of times, i enjoy just the click of the track, with the brakes and the chatter(even this, i turn down).

But it depends on the day and mood. Bells get old to me extremely fast honestly, even at low levels.. But i do enjoy the engine(prime mover) sound, even at low levels. 

The computers allow such customizations, that it's simply amazing how you can tailor to your mood easily..

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## PhillipL (May 5, 2012)

For some reason, the sounds just don't seem realistic to me. I rather use my imagination. There is nothing like standing near a grade crossing and hearing the sound of an approaching locomotive, you just can't get that from small speaker in a HO scale locomotive. Since I have my layout in a spare bedroom, my wife would probably kill me if I could find a locomotive that sounded real!


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

This topic crops up several times each year. As the old aphorism goes, "There's nothing new under the Sun."

I think most of us find the sound awful as it comes with the factory settings. All decoders have a Master Volume set to a full value, which the user would be well advised to at least halve. From there you can adjust individual volumes.

The bell really does get on my nerves, so I turn it down just enough to hear it above the dynamo, steam hiss, and chuffs....which remember are at now set to half-volume. Blow down, pop-off, injector...those sounds are equally annoying and get turned down another half....just enough that if I pay attention they can be heard. I wanna hear the engine that is currently under load.


If you reduce the Master Volume to between 30-50% of its maximum setting, you will find even several locomotives idling or working nearby to be pleasant, let alone just tolerable. But there's a bonus; doing this also helps a lot with the scale distance problem alluded to by CTValley. If you set all your sound locomotives really low, the more distant ones will no longer compete well with the one nearest you...at least, not quite so much. In fact, the Paragon series of decoders from BLI, and I think one or two others, allow you to change the volume on the fly by pressing one of the Functions, 7 or 8. This way, you can set your non-working or distant locos to 30
% and turn your working/nearest loco to the maximum volume as set in the Master Volume CV.


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

I run with sound on low enough that u can here wheels on track after loco passes.


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## DennyM (Jan 3, 2016)

I run sounds all the time, but I also have locos with no sounds I run too.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

I would say that the real takeaway here is that it's great that we have a hobby that allows each of us to enjoy our layouts in the way that we prefer.


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## lajrmdlr (Apr 25, 2014)

Sound is OK but can be very distracting especially when switching!


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## larry g (Oct 8, 2012)

*sound*

The most fun part of my train sounds is the radio talk between the engineer and the yard master. My 2 1/2 year old grandson presses the sound button and the engine does not leave until we all hear and repeat "GOOD TO GO!"


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## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

I can totally do without sound. I like to have a train running if I can while working on the layout, rotating different locomotives so they just don't sit around. I find that after a while, a sound locomotive drives me nuts. 

I may run the sond locomotives when the grand kids come over or when guests want to see the layout. 

As someone mentioned, the sound from the manufacturer is a bit too load and I did reduce the volume on all of them.


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## Eilif (Nov 6, 2017)

I said never because none of my trains have sound. I'm not against sound and I've heard locos with good sound at some local clubs but never so good that I wanted to pay for it. 

I'm a used/budget railroader for now and maybe someday I'll own a sound loco, but but I'm not willing to pay 4-10 times as much for one now. 

A big part of this is that I grew up next to the railroad and still am close to trains often. The sound I associate with trains is the low bass rumble. I've yet to hear an onboard train speaker that makes that noise. I imagine there are some DCC PC-based options that I can use with a stereo (with woofer) option that I might sometime pursue in the future but I don't see the value in onboard sound yet.


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## Mr.Buchholz (Dec 30, 2011)

The sounds are nice from time to time (I listen and watch at the local trains shows on DCC layouts), but aren't a deal breaker. As cheesy as this sounds, I rather enjoy the sound of my DC locos crackling around my tracks more than anything. That, coupled with the slight buzz of the power, is kinda enchanting.

My first train on a layout I had as a kid always made this weird buzzing sound as it went around the layout, mesmerizing me in the process.

-J.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

The great thing about sound-equipped locos and a huge advantage over non-sound equipped locos, besides the sound-effects, is the flexibility....you can shut the sounds on or off as your mood demands.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2018)

Genetk44 said:


> The great thing about sound-equipped locos and a huge advantage over non-sound equipped locos, besides the sound-effects, is the flexibility....you can shut the sounds on or off as your mood demands.


One of the objections of the author of the article I read was that he was paying for sound that he didn't want if he bought a new locomotive. To the best of my knowledge the big manufacturers in HO offer their locos in both sound and non sound versions. In 3 rail O locos are offered only one way, either sound and digital control or conventional which may or may not have sound but there is no alternative version with no sound.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2018)

lajrmdlr said:


> Sound is OK but can be very distracting especially when switching!


Andy, I actually like the sounds when switching. The horn/whistle and bell make switching more fun for me.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

Country Joe said:


> One of the objections of the author of the article I read was that he was paying for sound that he didn't want if he bought a new locomotive. To the best of my knowledge the big manufacturers in HO offer their locos in both sound and non sound versions. In 3 rail O locos are offered only one way, either sound and digital control or conventional which may or may not have sound but there is no alternative version with no sound.


I understand about the OP not wanting to have to pay for sounds that he does not want but as you say most companies offer both sound and non-sound locos.


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## J.Albert1949 (Feb 3, 2018)

Genetk44 wrote:
_"I understand about the OP not wanting to have to pay for sounds that he does not want but as you say most companies offer both sound and non-sound locos."_

I thought sound would be the "be all, end all", but I find myself turning it off, mostly when switching. The sounds of the diesel engine ramping up and down don't correspond to how an engine actually would respond in such circumstances (and I did a lot of REAL switching myself in my working days on the big engines).

But if you're willing to forego sound, but still want dcc, the problem is that most manufacturers offer only the options of:
- sound and dcc (bundled together)
_or_
- no sound, but no dcc either (even if you get a dummy plug onboard).

That means the extra expense of installing a "soundless" dcc decoder. And pulling the engine apart, too.

I'd like to see basic circuit/controller boards with -both- dc/dcc "on-board", right _out-of-the-box._ The dcc doesn't have to be more than "just the basics".
And the "slot" for adding more, if you want.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

I guess some manufacturers have recently stopped offering non-sound DCC equipped locos but others still offer both sound equipped and non-sound equipped DCC locos...you just have to shop around.


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## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

Genetk44 said:


> I guess some manufacturers have recently stopped offering non-sound DCC equipped locos but others still offer both sound equipped and non-sound equipped DCC locos...you just have to shop around.


I would also say that the difficulty of installing a non-sound decoder in a new DCC-ready locomotive is greatly overstated. It takes about 10 minutes, and costs much less than the price difference between the DCC with sound and DCC-ready loco.

Also, new DCC decoders will allow operation in DC only more.


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## Genetk44 (Feb 26, 2016)

CTValleyRR said:


> I would also say that the difficulty of installing a non-sound decoder in a new DCC-ready locomotive is greatly overstated. It takes about 10 minutes, and costs much less than the price difference between the DCC with sound and DCC-ready loco.
> 
> Also, new DCC decoders will allow operation in DC only more.


Agreed...installing decoders in DCC-ready locos is extremely easy.


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