JonathanS I spent many hours beside the tracks watching and listening to the locomotives and, at least to my ears, there are differences between locomotive models that you would expect to sound alike. For instance, I always preferred the louder and deeper growl of an accelerating E7 to an E8. Both have two 12 cylinder 567s, but have different enough sounds to tell apart.
I spent many hours beside the tracks watching and listening to the locomotives and, at least to my ears, there are differences between locomotive models that you would expect to sound alike.
For instance, I always preferred the louder and deeper growl of an accelerating E7 to an E8. Both have two 12 cylinder 567s, but have different enough sounds to tell apart.
If so, having realistic sound units in a three-unit consist of an E7A, E8B and E8B would really be interesting.
Still, a 2-8-2+2-8-0 duplex as pictured below with the locomotive and tender drivers of different diameters would be unique.
Mark
I never thought that an F7 sounded a lot like an E8 but I did think that an E8 sounded a lot like an F7!
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
MisterBeasley I've installed a Digitrax SFX sound decoder in a dummy F7 B unit that I run with a pair of powered F7 A's. The decoder comes with a "default" diesel sound, which, as I recall, is an SD-40. The "Sound Depot" on the Digitrax site has a number of other sound files, but no F7's. I listened to the E8 last night, and it sound "good," but is it "right?" Both engines were built by EMD in the late 40's, early 50's. The E8 had a lot more horses, though. Does anyone remember the sounds of both these locomotives?
I've installed a Digitrax SFX sound decoder in a dummy F7 B unit that I run with a pair of powered F7 A's. The decoder comes with a "default" diesel sound, which, as I recall, is an SD-40.
The "Sound Depot" on the Digitrax site has a number of other sound files, but no F7's. I listened to the E8 last night, and it sound "good," but is it "right?" Both engines were built by EMD in the late 40's, early 50's. The E8 had a lot more horses, though.
Does anyone remember the sounds of both these locomotives?
First we have to understand all 567s wasn't the same.As was mention the E8 had 2 567B with Roots blower whereas the F7 had 567B 16 cylinder rated at 1500 hp so these units had their own distinctive sounds..The E8 was deep throated when compared to the F7 which sound like the 1500hp GP7.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Somewhere I have a casette tape a friend and I made on the BAR where a train with a GP9, GP7, BL2 and F3 went underneath a bridge we were standing on. The sound from each was definitely 567, but each was distinctly different from the other. I don't know why, pehaps differences in the exhaust manifolds, blowers, or ????
The same way the sounds from an SD40 and from an SD45 are similar, but if you heard them enough you ccould easily tell them apart just from the sound. The extra 4 cylinders in the SD45 made the difference.
DSO1712 cylinder engines in an E unit .... The 16 cylinder engines in the F unit
ding ding ding ding Finally someone said it. Not only are there two prime movers to make separate independent sounds, they make different sounds because they have a different number of cylinders.So the short answer is they should sound very different. Unfortunately, personally I don't remember these sounds. By the time I was old enough to remember they had all been repowered. But I do have the sounds on CD, record, and DVDs. I can highly recommend the album "First Generation Diesels" by ARKAY Enterprises. It has E6, E7, E8, SW-9, sounds to compare to the F3, F7, and GP7s sound which are all on this same album.
An F7 under load really didn't sound anything like an E8. I don't know exactly how to word it, but the pair of 12 cylinder engines in an E unit would go in and out of "phase", making for a different sound than an Funit or even a pair of F units. The 16 cylinder engines in the Fs or the GPs just didn't have that in and out of sync. You could hear the same effect as the Eunits from a pair of 12 cylinder SWs MUed together and pulling hard. Sounded just like a passenger train accelerating from a station stop.
I grew up next to the CB&Q in Illiois and heard lots of F units and lots of E units.
They had a differant sound, and I could tell by the sound if a freight train or a passenger train was coming.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
If the B unit is a dummy, is there enough room to slip another decoder & speaker in there? Then you could have your multi-engine sound! Just another of my lame-brain ideas!!
Thanks. I'm glad to hear that. Not to start a "Transition vs. Modern Era Diesels" controversy, but that E8 sound file just has so much more "guts" and "character" than the generic one.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The E unit sounds would not be correct as your listening to 2, thats TWO seperate diesel motors within 1 locomotive. A early GP unit like a GP7 or GP9 would be more correct. I have run and ridden in E units and F units, totaly different sound, the E units sound like a pair of F units. I guess if you want to run 2 F units and only put sound in 1 unit, then the E unit sound would kind of be the "cheater" to make it sound right for a pair of F units.
LHS mechanic and geniune train and antique garden tractor nut case!
From Wikipedia:
The EMD E8 was a 2,250-horsepower (1,680 kW), A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division (EMD) of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E8A, was manufactured from August, 1949 to December, 1953, and 449 were produced – 446 for U.S., and 3 for Canada. The booster version, or E8B, was manufactured from December, 1949 to January, 1954, and 46 were produced – all for the U.S. The 2,250 hp was achieved by putting two 1,125 hp, 12 cylinder, model 567B engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own generator to power the traction motors.
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Despite having more horsepower than the F unit, it was more slippery on grades due to the only 4 of the 6 axles being powered. Mountain railroads like the Rio Grande never purchased E units for this reason. I would imagine they did sound somewhat different due to there being two prime movers but the same type as F units - the 567 engine.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I'm sure if you really studied it there would be small differences, but basically a GP7, F7 and E8 would sound pretty much the same.
The reason that the E-unit had more "horses" was because it had two engines. They would have been the same, or very similar to, that in the F-unit, so I imagine that the sound would've been similar, but just "more" of it from the E-unit.
Wayne
Yes, the E8 had more horses. In fact there were so many horses, they had to use 2 corrals.
(The E8 has 2 diesel engines)