Why are 57s so loud?

Ash Bridge · 28 Nov 2015

Phil. said:
Yes I did. Although nominally allocated to coal trains in south Wales it occasionally "escaped" to Paddington on relief trains in the summer when a lack of a train heating boiler/ETH wasn't a problem and much of the western main line coaching fleet was air braked (the 53 being train air brake fitted only). Having the same engines as a 52 it sounded the same. I'm told that from a Driver's view it was somewhat "livelier" than either or 47 or 52. It's a pity that mass production was stopped in favour of the 47. The 53's twin engine redundancy equalled a greater chance of getting home after an engine failure plus one could be shut down for light engine moves or on a light train.
What I would like to have heard was one of the Sulzer V engined class 48s.

Many thanks for this, and the baby deltic info, most interesting, I too had the same feelings about the 53 over the 47, but do you think the overall fuel consumption would have been higher with the twin engine machine? also higher maintenance costs for two power units v one etc. Re: the class 48 engines, I'm sure I read that when they were re-engined with the standard Sulzer unit as per 47's the V engines were bought by SNCF as spares for a class of French Co-Co diesel electric they operated (not certain which) that were quite similar to the class 47.

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nowinaminute · 28 Nov 2015

They do seem louder than 66's, maybe because the engine is more squeezed and there's less metal etc to act as soundproofing. Even at low revs breaking in and out of idle they seem a lot louder and thumpier. I've noticed it a few times in Cardiff when the Northern Belle has been at the platform, just the engine breaking out of idle and coming back down while the train is stationary makes quite a lot of noise.

matchmaker · 28 Nov 2015

Ash Bridge said:
Would have dearly loved to have seen one in action, was it a similar sound to their much larger and famous brothers?

Here you go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGzhcxqmX1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Kh0o3sPoY

Ash Bridge · 28 Nov 2015

matchmaker said:
Here you go...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGzhcxqmX1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Kh0o3sPoY

Thanks for that, what an impressive sound! without any doubt there is a clear similarity to the sound of the 18 cylinder version but as was explained up thread it's a higher pitched more turbine like noise, that's really whet my appetite for when the project is completed.

Flintstone · 28 Nov 2015

57's certainly are very loud. They are up there with classic traction. 66's don't come close.

I can't believe someone suggested that a 185 is louder than a 57 ???

nowinaminute · 30 Nov 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49LuMhgXllc

HLE · 1 Dec 2015

HellaEllie said:
I remember being on a 170 Going past one of the Depots (The one i forget the name of but it's the one outside glasgow queen street) and there was a Deltic with 2 Wagons parked up (Possibly doing a Unit move that day) and i can hear And feel that beautiful rumbling it makes while it's idle, lovely noise.

In terms of loudness, Loudest i've heard was a pair of DRS 37's on Freight going full pelt Past my Local station (It was the occasional freight service going from Fort William to Mossend Yard i believe) while under the small tunnel. sure as hell walked home shaken that day :'D.

Eastfield depot!

ac6000cw · 1 Dec 2015

33056 said:
57s loud? No way.
Irish Rail 071s and Croatian Railways 2044 have the same engine with a Turbo blower and are both far louder and as for the 16 cylinder roots-blown version in the Croatian 2062s and Slovenian 664s, well, bring some ear plugs

Having heard the American and Irish versions I agree the old Roots-blown (non-turbo) EMD diesels are in a class of their own, noise wise

During the pre-Olympic redevelopment works at Stratford, I used to regularly see a 57-hauled Freigtliner at Cambridge station - hearing that make a spirited start out of the loop always got the morning off to a good start!

The 66s are fairly quiet because of the large roof-mounted exhaust silencer which they inherited from the class 59 design. EMD played safe with the 59 and fitted a bigger silencer than was actually needed to meet the noise rules - Foster Yeoman would have liked to have dynamic (rheostatic) braking capability on the 59s, but there wasn't enough roof space left to accommodate the resistor grids for it...

I don't think there is that much difference between equivalent 645 and 710 series EMD engines, noise wise, so I've always assumed that the 57's are noisier than 66s due to less effective exhaust silencing.

sprinterguy · 1 Dec 2015

HellaEllie said:
In terms of loudness, Loudest i've heard was a pair of DRS 37's on Freight going full pelt Past my Local station (It was the occasional freight service going from Fort William to Mossend Yard i believe) while under the small tunnel. sure as hell walked home shaken that day :'D.

Class 37s sound monstrous even on a light train, but it's a shame that there aren't more opportunities to witness them heavily loaded these days: Triple "heavyweight" 37s on South Wales coal traffic, as they were used in the early to mid nineties, must have been thunderous.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

HLE said:
Eastfield depot!

Indeed. It's a terribly apposite sign of the times that Eastfield has descended into obscurity these days.

66Yorks · 1 Dec 2015

You can't beat the sound of a couple of Class 20's.

Ash Bridge · 1 Dec 2015

66Yorks said:
You can't beat the sound of a couple of Class 20's.

Agreed! indeed a pair of virtually any type of first gen diesels do it for me

DarloRich · 3 Dec 2015

Noise wise:

Valenta engined HST pulling away

Deltc

37's working a heavy load

class 57

Trainfan344 · 3 Dec 2015

D7076 based at the East Lancs Railway has to be the best noise I've heard. Hearing it up eardington bank on the Severn Valley in October was something else...

Ash Bridge · 3 Dec 2015

Trainfan344 said:
D7076 based at the East Lancs Railway has to be the best noise I've heard. Hearing it up eardington bank on the Severn Valley in October was something else...

I'm assuming it's got it's own MD 870 power unit back now then, as didn't it have a Maybach MD655 from a class 52 installed a few years back, or am I getting mixed up?

Strathclyder · 4 Dec 2015

ac6000cw said:
The 66s are fairly quiet because of the large roof-mounted exhaust silencer which they inherited from the class 59 design.

And once you remove that silencer, things get a bit more interesting...
[youtube]?v=9gjV7WpoyLs[/youtube]

ac6000cw · 5 Dec 2015

Strathclyder said:
And once you remove that silencer, things get a bit more interesting...

Yes, sounds more like an EMD should

(the Roots-blown versions anyway, which we've never had on the mainline in the UK - on those engines, it's pretty much direct piping from the cylinder exhaust ports to the outlets on the loco roof... e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJjJPEGV22c)

Derbyshire Gra · 5 Dec 2015

Indeed, the GM 645 in similar format as previously mentioned can be seen in numerous European and close countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Turkey) and make a similarly impressive noise that by comparison, have the 57s whispering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rp_n0zlg08

Neilo09 · 6 Dec 2015

GM 645 Irish Rail 071 class making a right good noise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh7ZZru5yIQ

Strathclyder · 6 Dec 2015

Ash Bridge said:
I'm assuming it's got it's own MD 870 power unit back now then, as didn't it have a Maybach MD655 from a class 52 installed a few years back, or am I getting mixed up?

Yeah, it had a MD-655 from D1041 Western Prince installed in 2009, due to it's own MD-870 engine needing a complete rebuild. The resulting beast was quickly dubbed 'The Wesmek'.
[youtube]?v=NkkR7VhIU_A[/youtube]
Didn't last long in this form though, as it was taken out of traffic in late 2009 due to the engine developing liner seal problems.

Two ex-Hymek MD-870 engines were found in a scrapyard in York in mid-2011, having been used for a hospital's emergency generator set. Both being in excellent condition, D7076's owning group snapped them up and one of them is now powering the loco today. The other engine is being retained as a spare.

Ash Bridge · 6 Dec 2015

Strathclyder said:
Yeah, it had a MD-655 from D1041 Western Prince installed in 2009, due to it's own MD-870 engine needing a complete rebuild. The resulting beast was quickly dubbed 'The Wesmek'.
[youtube]?v=NkkR7VhIU_A[/youtube]
Didn't last long in this form though, as it was taken out of traffic in late 2009 due to the engine developing liner seal problems.

Two ex-Hymek MD-870 engines were found in a scrapyard in York in mid-2011, having been used for a hospital's emergency generator set. Both being in excellent condition, D7076's owning group snapped them up and one of them is now powering the loco today. The other engine is being retained as a spare.

Many thanks for all this, most interesting.

richw · 6 Dec 2015

I live 100-150 yards from the line at Redruth - The night Riviera is the only service I ever hear.

Whether its because its louder or I block out the HSTs and DMUs that come past much more frequently I'm not sure.

richieb1971 · 8 Dec 2015

When at Carlisle a few years ago I saw a double headed 57 pulling a full load. It definitely sounded like a 56.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGmYH3ZF9yE

Watch this at 9 minutes.

Strathclyder · 12 Dec 2015

Neilo09 said:
GM 645 Irish Rail 071 class making a right good noise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh7ZZru5yIQ

More of these brutes making a right ol' racket....

[youtube]?v=iiAAQTIrkTE[/youtube]

Why are 57s so loud?

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