Williams Whistle/Horn

[EIS2]

It sure would be nice if Williams offered a whistle/horn that the user could control rather then the monotonous crossing sound that is standard on every Williams engine.

Regards...
Earl Staley

[Jumijo]

Hook up a Lionel Railsounds boxcar behind your Williams. They come is steam and diesel flavors.

Jim

[phillyreading]

Hello Earl,
What kind of transformer are you using and how much did your Williams locomotive cost? I have several Williams locomtives, a Sante FE F-7 ABA Premium passenger set ( my price $400.00, retail about $675.00), it has deluxe Loco Sounds and a horn & bell feature. I have two GP-9's, (paid $125.00 for one & $200.00 for a pair) both have a differant horn sound, one has the True Blast Horn by Williams the other has just a basic horn, I have found that a secondary sound button is needed to make the bell ring on my GP-9 # 8490 Reading Lines locomotive. Also have an S-2 steam locomotive by Williams and has a very nice whistle sound to it.
In my opion you must be buying the basic or bottom line Williams locomotives or you would have better horn and whistle features, then again maybe your transformers are going bad and not giving you full whistle or horn output.
Lee Fritz

[Jumijo]

Where did you buy that SF F7 set for $400?

Jim

[phillyreading]

I bought the set from alocal Williams dealer/friend in the Stuart FL area, his name is Carl. He may have more sets left but not the Santa Fe. For me to buy from him the price is about 20% cheaper than any Williams Dealer in the USA.
The F7 set comes with; three F7 diesel locomotives, one powered, two unpowered & the B unit has the locomtive sounds in it, one baggage car, one combo car, two vista domes, two passenger cars. The passenger cars have El Capitan on them, no numbers, two pick-up rollers on each passenger car, regular bayonet base light bulbs.
Lee Fritz

[Anonymous]

I love Williams' locomotives, but I agree with EIS2 on this issue.

By the way, how does anyone expect to blow either horn/whistle or bell with only one button? I know, I know. You can reverse the polarity of the transformer-to-track hook-up and get either one, but that's not very satisfactrory.

The addition of a RailSounds car, as suggested by jaabat, works fine. I have cut one wire to the William's speaker and inserted a microswitch, so I can use either Williams' sound or RailSounds. Expensive, but effective.

wolverine49

[EIS2]

Lee,

I am not complaining about the sound of the whistle/horn. My complaint is that the pattern of the whistle/horn cannot be varied. Once triggered, the pattern is the same on every Williams engine.

Earl Staley

[overall]

The pattern is two longs, a short and a long. Southern Railway here in the south used that as their standard whistle signal when a train approached a highway crossing at grade. They had signs on the right of way showing two bars on the top, a large dot in the middle and a bar on the bottom. The engineer sounded the whistle when He got even with one of these signs, called a whislte post.

George

[Anonymous]

There are lots of "standard" whistle/horn signals. The links below illustrate some of them.

The original issue that EIS2 raised above refers to the fact that the typical Williams sound system only allows one of them: specifically the one that gets sounded as the train approaches a grade-crossing. Sound systems of other manufacturers allow you to blow any signal on the lists, as well as anything else you (or your kids) can create. These are more fun to play with, IMHO.

How closely the sound emitted by the toy train actually emulates any particular real locomotive is another issue altogether.

http://www.spikesys.com/Trains/whistle.html

http://www.alaskarails.org/terminology/whistle-signals.html

wolverine49

[phillyreading]

Earl & Wolverine49,
Most companies that make model trains offer one or two horn or whistle options. Don't know of anything but aftermarket kits that will allow you to vary the pattern. If you want more than the basic horn/whistle function you will have to buy it yourself and have it installed either yourself or by somebody who knows how.
On some of the Williams locomotives you can adjust the volume of the horn or whistle,
the device to adjust looks like an old t.v. set volume control switch inside the t.v. set minus the extension piece.
Lee Fritz

[Anonymous]

With my Lionel and MTH equipment, I vary the "horn/whistle pattern" with my thumb. I like it; my granddaughter likes it, and my thumb likes it.

Some of my systems even allow a little "dip" if one uses a fine touch.

On the Williams locos that I am familiar with, the whistle/horn button functions merely as an on/off switch. One cannot do a simple short blast. One cannot do a simple long blast. One cannot do three short blasts, etc. In fact, one can't do anything other than initiate the "approaching a grade crossing sequence" of two longs, a short, and another long.

The Williams locos are rugged and run beautifully, but the sound system is boring and wish it weren't. This is the point that EIS2 made and which I second. One hopes to encourage Williams to offer a sound system that is just a tad more interesting, while continuing to keep things simple, reliable and relatively inexpensive -- the traditional Williams strong points.

wolverine49

[phillyreading]

Wolverine49,
Some of the Williams locomotives that I have do not have a horn at all, mainly the older SD-45's. Have not seen a Williams with an on/off button for the horn, only seen on/off button for the reversing unit if so equipped, the less expensive Williams do not have an on/off button for the direction control, the circuit board controls the forward/reverse direction if no on/off button.
Any way what would you rather have; an engine that makes all sorts of sounds but can not move an inch like Lionel or MTH, or a dependable locomotive that can move alot of freight or passenger cars with little or no problems? For me sound systems are not the most important to consider when buying a locomotive, I prefer the high quality of Williams locomotives, like others have said if you want more sounds than the factory provides go out & buy it for yourself.
Lee Fritz

[Anonymous]

I guess I just can't make myself clear:

1. I love Williams locomotives, overall.

2, I don't like the horn-whistle system. (Mine are of recent vintage.)

3. The "buttons" that my thumb loves so much are either on the transformer or very near it; that is, on a "sound activation button." They are not on the locomotive. (If they were, at my age I couldn't catch up with them.)

4. Has this thread turned into some kind of day-early "April Fool's" gag?

5. I'm going to take my dolls and dishes and go home! Sheesh!

wolverine49

[phillyreading]

I am just trying to tell you the differances in the Williams locomotives that I have and some of the differances that I have seen with Lionel locomotives. The post-war Lionel have only an air whistle that I know of and I venture to guess that you(wolverine49) would not like the older whistles.
I don't beleive that this is turning into an early April Fool's joke of any kind, if you think it has please tell me how?
Lee Fritz