Presentation at The Platelayers Symposium May2 2009

‘Adding Sound to your layout’

By Geoff Howe

This is not, as some may think, a talk on how to fit sound decoders to locomotives., that’s expensive and what I am about to suggest to you is not.

When we display our layouts to friends or even the public there is a lot to see. Scenery is detailed and admired. The trains move and run along the tracks. In some cases there is other movement. E.g. operating accessories such as coal tips or lumber loading. What I am going to tell you about is how I added a further dimension to my layout.. Sounds.

What I have done on my layout, ‘Little England’ is to place speakers at selected locations under the baseboard or within the scenery.

I have recorded suitable sounds from various readily available sources onto a CD. A CD player is located just under my control panel on its own shelf. Where it is easily accessible to operate.

On my control panel I have fitted a rotary switch.

I connected the CD phone output to the rotary switch and each speaker also to the output connections of the rotary switch.

I switch on the CD player and press track one. This happens to be the sound of church bells. I select No 1 on the rotary switch. Position one connects to the speaker under the hill on which the church stands. A wedding party is emerging from the church. The church bells ring out across the village. The recording lasts about 30 seconds/

I then turn the rotary switch to position 2. This position is connected to a speaker under the town square of my Potters Bar town where the Airfix Guards Band is assembled. The next track on the CD is of the Coldstream Guards band playing ‘On the Quarter Deck’ The effect is quite realistic. It is a pity of course that the band doesn’t march!!

So far there are only a few tracks on the CD but these include a guards whistle and Station announcements. These require me to Switch the rotary switch to position 3. As an LMS Mail train approaches the station I press track 3 and my pre-recorded voice says-‘the train approaching platform 3 is the 12.45 to Liverpool, calling at Stafford, Lancaster and Runcorn.’ The speker is in the station concourse.

The train stops in the station and a further announcement says’ The train standing in platform three is….etc etc’

There are two other announcements, one for the 14.55 to Plymouth from platform 1 arriving at 17.20.Another uses position 4 which is Rugby station where the lady announcer (my daughter actually) announces the departure of the ‘Pullman service to Edinburgh. Passengers for Hull and Leeds should change at York’.  Just how accurate these announcements are is debatable but they are effective and appreciated by my viewers.

The following is a rough diagram of the hook-up which is inexpensive and not difficult. I can assure you the effect is worth it.      

      1. Guards Band recorded from CD

2. Church bells recorded from Internet

       3. First station announcement

       4. Second station announcement and guards whistle

 I use PC type speakers and as I don’t know much about speakers I have only been able to use the powered one. I can’t get sufficient volume from the unpowered one. Apparently they need to be driven. I need to do more research on this topic.

 Future sounds to be introduced include children playing with speaker under the school. 

General background sounds such as traffic, birds etc.

 Recordings are made using the Microsoft recorder included with XP. There are options, one of which is ‘echo’, This is used to record the station announcements.

One criticism I have received about these is ‘ that they are understandable!!!’ The next time I record them I shall do so through a sock!