Thankyou for Allowing Me Aboard This Train

[Martin1946]

Hello from Anglesey,

Love this site, so much to read and to learn,

Many years since childhood when my father brought home a Clockwork Hornby O Gauge Set complete with turntable bought second-hand from a work-mate in the early 50s; passed on to a family member when our parents bought a 3-rail Hornby Dublo Goods Train Set in the late 60s.

Decided it was about time I did something with the M &S Royal Train Set bought in 2006 , marked down from £129 to £75. So far tested the loco and it runs OK. Plan to set it up on the TrakMat initially for a quick result, adding Packs B,C and possibly D. I just happen to have a 6' x 4' OSB Board in the loft which I plan to use to make three 4' x 2' sections to join together.

Continuing with my minimum cost plan, I came up with a wacky idea I thought I would share with you.

You can download lots of Steam Train Sound Effects from the BBC Sound Effects web-site. Free to use for private purposes only. The easiest way to find them is to type 'Age of Steam' in the search box. Bingo.

No need to buy steam-ready locos and/or DCC, the challenge will be to match the most suitable sound to whatever you are doing, probably best if you have headphones on to get the best effect. Does it "Sound" like fun or have I just lost the plot?

Thankyou for reading.

Martin

[Dave-00]

Welcome aboard Martin

[Martin1946]

Thankyou Dave,

We were brought up with the Sounds and Sights of Steam, living 1/4 of a mile away from Heaton Mersey Sidings in Stockport. The Germans tried to bomb it in WW2 but the closest they got was a Girl's School (empty) and a few houses a mile away in Heaton Moor.

Every day you would see Railway workers walking down the lane to work, with their haversacks over their shoulder. We used to stand under the bridges crossing the River Mersey and listen to the trains from Manchester Central to Stockport and beyond thunder across.

New Year's Eve was memorable; on the stroke of midnight you would hear the sound of multiple train whistles and hooters.

When the Sidings closed eventually for good (or was it bad?) it took quite a while to get used to sleeping with the lack of noise from shunting locos and wagons clunking together.

[Bigmet]

...No need to buy steam-ready locos and/or DCC, the challenge will be to match the most suitable sound to whatever you are doing, probably best if you have headphones on to get the best effect. Does it "Sound" like fun or have I just lost the plot?...

Martin, you are on the right track. The thing you don't need are the headphones. Better to play the sounds on a stereo system roughly aligning the sound stage with the running lines.

Your brain is fully trained by experience of reality to match imperfectly congruent sounds with moving objects. This is because while 'line of sight' is effectively instantaneous, sound travels at a millionth of the speed of light, and is often multipath, reflecting off or masked by objects between the source and the observer. Small errors between visual information and the sound of a moving object are ignored, because this is the everyday experience which you accept unconciously. It requires sharp percussive noise like a pile driver at over 200 yards distance from the observer before the mismatch is noticed (main exception, musicians, who are trained in superior audio acuity).

[glencairn]

Welcome on board, Martin.

Glencairn

[Dad-1]

Welcome Martin,

That history sounds like mine.
Clockwork 'O' then 3 rail HD.
Then I vanished for the next 50 years !!

Geoff T.

[Mountain]

Hello. Is best to keep things simple and economical especially when re-starting or starting.

Budget friedly modelling is what I do, which is why I changed scale to 7mm narrow gauge using the same track gauge as 00, and went back to DC to simplify things and save costs. (Though am tempted by radio control! )

It is a thrill to find ways to enjoy the hobby by making things oneself, not just to save costs, but because one can!

I am not all that far from Anglesea to be honest, as I sometimes drive up to Caernarvon or Bangor. (Bangor is my nearest McDonalds, Halfords and B&Q unless there are some nearer I have not found yet! Not been up here for long so am still getting to know where things are).

But yes. Whatever you are planning for your little railway, enjoy!

[Dave-00]

We were brought up with the Sounds and Sights of Steam, living 1/4 of a mile away from Heaton Mersey Sidings in Stockport.

It’s a small world Martin, we spent a few years a stone’s throw from Davenport station, a good day out was to catch a green DMU up to Disley and a walk around Lyme Park.

[Martin1946]

I lived on Beechfield Road in the late 80s.!

[Phred]

Welcome Martin.

[End2end]

Welcome aboard Martin.
Thanks
End2end

[Lancastrian]

Hi and welcome Martin.

[captrees]

Welcome, Martin.

I can't remember hearing the trains near Fallowfield and West Didsbury where I misspent my student years. I do remember listening to John Mayall's "Catch that train" which of course you may consider as a soundtrack too.

[ChrisGreaves]

It’s a small world Martin, we spent a few years a stone’s throw from Davenport station, a good day out was to catch a green DMU up to Disley and a walk around Lyme Park.

Dave, it's an even smaller world.
I remember watching good trains out of our upstairs window; that would have been 74 years ago!

Cheers, Chris

[Dave-00]

It’s a small world Martin, we spent a few years a stone’s throw from Davenport station, a good day out was to catch a green DMU up to Disley and a walk around Lyme Park.

Dave, it's an even smaller world.
I remember watching good trains out of our upstairs window; that would have been 74 years ago!Untitled.pngCheers, Chris

Wow, it is small Chris, probably only about ten houses away, you are obviously a little older than me, it was a mere 50 years ago that we lived there!