Steam Train Sound Effects S' title='Steam Train Sound Effects S' />Sound Effects for Model Railroads. One of the best ways to liven up a layout is to create scale appropriate sound effects. These can not only include the obvious sounds of locomotives and railcars, whistles, horns and braking, but also ambient sounds birds, water rushing in a creek, city traffic, or even a sawmill in the distance. Scale sound is a phrase referring to the differences in the sounds you should hear when associated with different scales. For example, the sounds associated with an N scale layout should be significantly softer than those used for an O scale layout. If your sound is too loud for N scale then the sound is out of scale, the same as an O scale building would be out of scale on an N scale layout. The difference in scale sound is mostly a matter of volume however, it is important to remember that when the volume is low, the human ear picks up only midrange sounds. The low frequency bass and the higher frequency sounds may be lost. There are certain ways to enhance these frequencies even when the volume is low. For example the bass boost controls on many small stereo systems are just for that purpose. Another example is a little inexpensive device called a WOW Thing www. Image?disableStub=true&type=VIDEO_S_720&url=http%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FzN7jS1ocN8Q%2F0.jpg&signatureToken=rjuRGEDNCIHvGaY6NSNuWA' alt='Steam Train Sound Effects S' title='Steam Train Sound Effects S' />SRSLabs. There are various kinds of sound systems available for you to consider when thinking about adding sound effects to your train layout. On board train sounds. Atlas, Athearn, Broadway Limited and probably others are now manufacturing some locomotives with sound units already included. They can produce exhaust sounds, chuff, whistles, horns, etc. This is the easiest way to get sound effects on your layout just purchase a locomotive that already has a sound unit on board. However, if youre like me, you already have some locomotives that dont have sound that you dont really want to put up on the shelf yet. Steam Train Sound Effects S' title='Steam Train Sound Effects S' />If you want to install a sound unit in your loco, tender or railcar, you can get one from Soundtraxx for DC analog operation only. The circuit board contains the sounds so you dont have to record anything. The sound effects on many of these units will change according to the amount of current used by the loco. Some can be controlled by a remote power unit, or set off by a magnetic reed switch on the loco that is turned on when the loco runs over a magnet in the track bed. Another type of analog system is to have a sound unit located at the control panel and use the track rails as wires to send the filtered audio impulse to a speaker on board the loco. You could also use an FM broadcast from a unit on the control panel, use the rails as antennae to get the signal to the rails under the loco. The signal then jumps to the receiver and speaker mounted in the loco. When DCC entered the picture, we suddenly had a new way to get sound effects into the loco, using decoders and remote stationary units or walkaround throttles to control the sounds. This is a little more expensive, but probably offers the best quality and most versatility of all the on board systems mentioned. Commercially available trackside sound systems. One of the simplest sound systems to install is from MRC Model Rectifier Corporation www. Sound Ideas engineer David Lukesic recording impact sound effects using Harry, a builttoorder Sonic Studios surroundsound. A train whistle or air whistle originally referred to as a steam trumpet is an audible signaling device on a steam locomotive, used to warn that the train is. It comes in 2 versions each containing 1. Sound Station 3. 12 Diesel and steam engine sounds, brakes, horns, whistles, bells, etc. Some of the sound effects can be made to play continuously and you can add additional sounds as you wish. City and Country Sound Station all kinds of city sounds including traffic, car sounds, jackhammer and country sounds like roosters, cows, thunder, etc. You can mount the speakers anywhere where they sound the best overhead, on the wall, or under the layout. You should probably test the sound with the speakers in various locations to see how you can get the best effect. An older system that was easy to install and use is Maxx Traxx by QSI www. You might be able to get one from a private dealer or on e. Bay, but its no longer available from QSI. This system uses a special technology that makes it difficult to tell where the sound is coming from. Engine sounds correlate with the speed of the train to create a realistic effect. Steam Train Sound Effects S' title='Steam Train Sound Effects S' />Film Milestones in Visual and Special Effects Title Screen Film TitleYear and Description of VisualSpecial Effects Screenshots Eadweard Muybridges The Horse. Railroad photos and train videos of American and Canadian railroad subjects, including steam, diesel, electric, passenger, freight, transit, and structures. Kings Quest is a collection of five different chapter releases, each focusing on an untold tale in Grahams past. Discover a wondrous world full of whimsical. A Sound Effect is home to a gigantic collection of ambisonic sound effects and to celebrate, heres a very special free SFX collection. We offer the highest fidelity authentic steam loco sounds. Your favourite locos convincing steam sounds will delight you. Our DCC Sound decoders are the best on the. There are only 3 buttons on the control unit, but using the buttons in various combinations create a great variety of sound effects including grade crossings, crew sounds and multiple train sounds. There is only one speaker. Installation is a breeze 2 wires from the control unit are connected to the track and 2 wires go to the AC output of the power transformer. The hardest part is figuring out where to put the speaker. QSI also provides railroad sound systems for Atlas www. The Maxx Traxx has been mostly replaced by another system called the Dreamplayer by Pricom http www. TrainsDream. Player. This provides a multitude of train and atmospheric sounds to which you can add more sounds that can be downloaded from the Internet. HQ Sound Modules made by ITTC http ittproducts. You can purchase several of these modules which each contain different sounds, like barnyard animals, sawmill, honkytonk bar, track crew, and lots of others. Each module contains hookups for the power unit, a control switch, and one speaker. The switch can be a regular toggle switch on the control panel, a momentary switch so that the sound only stays on while you are pushing the switch, or a magnetic reed switch hidden in the track ties that is activated by a magnet on a passing train. RAM digital sound devices www. Magnetic reed switches are used to operate these devices. Surroundtraxx by Soundtraxx www. DC or DCC operating railroads. Customer Review Of Microsoft Zune Updates. This system involves placing hidden speakers all around the layout using block detectors in such a way that the sound appears to follow the train as it travels around the layout, and it can do this for more than one train at the same time. Meanwhile, it also provides ambient sounds that are appropriate for the particular location that the train is traveling though at the time. Not only that, but the sound effects can be different at different times of the day. This is probably the most sophisticated of all the sound systems available thus far. Creating your own sound system. If you dont really want to invest the money in any of the systems described above, or if you just want the satisfaction of doing it yourself, you can make your own sound effect system inexpensively by using several portable CD players, each containing CDs with looping prerecorded sounds, which can be controlled remotely to play at different times. Small speakers can be attached to the headphone jacks and strategically placed in locations that are appropriate for the sound produced. The location and direction of the speakers are critical to create the right effect, so it pays to spend some time placing them properly, sometimes bouncing off walls, sometimes facing to the back sometimes to the front, etc. Use your scenery to hide the speakers or mount one or more of them under the layout with the speaker opening to the surface, just so at least 23 of the speaker is not covered. Dont allow any loose items like ground turf to get into the cone, and make sure you dont get any glue spay into the cone either. The sound is better if the speaker is mounted in a small airtight enclosure made of wood or hard plastic with no rattling parts.