Sound recordings

A small selection of sound recordings can be found below. You're welcome to save a local copy for personal use if you wish to listen to them again.

• 20901 and 20096 accelerate away from Damems Jct with the 15:00 Keighley - Oxenhope on Saturday 2nd August 2003. Both locos were running nose-first. This recording was made from inside the train. It lasts for 1 minute 38 seconds and the filesize is 962KB.
• 24081 climbs through Hailes with the late-running 12:20 Cheltenham - Toddington on Saturday 24th September 2005. After the train left Winchcombe it was briefly brought to a stand due to workmen on the line. The recording commences shortly after the six-coach train starts off again, but power is applied gradually and maximum thrash doesn't really occur until about one minute in. Not that this matters, because like Class 20s I think all the Sulzer Type 2s sound great even when idling. This clip lasts for 1 minute and 33 seconds, and the filesize is 1.2MB.
• 33201 accelerates away from Rothley with the 09:40 Leicester North - Loughborough on Saturday 20th September 2003. Recorded from inside the train the sounds include the voice of the gripper, compartment doors being closed, and a bell on the station platform; all followed by a minute or so of solid thrash from the Crompton giving its usual spirited performance. This recording lasts for 2 minutes and 9 seconds, and the filesize is 1.27MB.
• 37065 climbs away from Ryecroft with 6G36 Bescot - Birch Coppice on Friday 28th March 2003. The time is 09:15 and it's a chilly and rather misty morning. On this occasion the train consisted of about a dozen vans for Birch Coppice and a handful of container flats on the rear which would be dropped off at Hams Hall. Fortunately the man with the pneumatic drill working in a street not far away decided to put it down for a few minutes at the critical moment. This duration of this recording is 1 minute 36 seconds, and the filesize is 946KB.
• Ride with 37197 and 37174 from Oakworth to Haworth as they work the 18:18 Keighley - Oxenhope on Saturday 2nd August 2003. Another one made from inside the train so the voices of staff and passengers can be heard in the background. About half-way through the train is brought to a stand so that maximum thrash can be obtained through the tunnel on the re-start. The recording lasts for 3 minutes and 39 seconds and the filesize is 2.1MB
• 37674 and 37503 stagger through Old Hill with the 1Z27 Bristol - Crewe Pathfinder railtour on Sunday 1st June 2003. The train was running nearly 30 mins late and following a Class 150 unit on a local service. Perhaps this prevented it from getting any sort of run at the bank, but whatever the cause it was only making about 15mph when it reached the tunnel. Given the audio entertainment I don't imagine anyone on the train was complaining - I could hear it for nearly 5 minutes before it reached the tunnel portal (at which point the horn is sounded). This recording lasts for 1 minute 29 seconds and the filesize is 876KB.
• 37521 storms through Coalpool with 6G33 Bescot - Bloxwich on Tuesday 8th April 2003. The load on this occasion comprised two Cargowaggons and eight four-wheel vans, all loaded with zinc blocks of course. The background noises at the start are coming from a mechanical digger working in a nearby school. This recording was made with the help of Vicky who waved to the driver at my request - and the driver too, who responded by sounding the horn. It lasts for 1 minute and 9 seconds, and the filesize is 684KB.
• 37710 clambers out of the smelter works at Bloxwich with the empties for 6G55 to Bescot on Monday 18th November 2002. The trip ran late on this day, and twilight was approaching on a damp autumnal afternoon as the shunt proceeded. The empties consisted of 11 four-wheel vans, but the damp rails and adverse gradient was making it difficult to start the train and avoid wheelslip, hence the intermittent application of power. Amongst the noises you'll hear are the sanders of the 37 (there didn't actually appear to be much sand coming out of them); the voices of schoolkids on their way home as they waited for the crossing to clear; and a metal factory gate being opened. There's also the whale-like creaking of the vans as they crawl over the rough track. It took nearly three minutes for the 37 to get its train over Fryers Road level-crossing, but it made it in the end. The recording lasts for 3 minutes, and the filesize is 2.1MB. This MP3 was re-made at a slightly higher bit-rate, and a higher volume, on 6th November 2005.

For best results play them loud!