Your favourite-sounding loco(s)/multiple units(s)?

[Strathclyder]

Bascially what it says on the tin. Just the locomotives and/or multiple unit that appeals to you the most on a aural level; doesn't have to be your outright favourite.

I know there have been several threads putting bascially the same question forth over the years, but those are either locked or not coming up when I enter the relevent search items. Mods/admins, feel free to move this to the relevent section of the forum if need be.

With that out of the way, I'll get the ball rolling with a few of my personal favourites (in no particular order):

Locos

Class 17

Class 37 (predictable I know lol)

Class 56

Multiple Units

Class 303

Classes 318/320

Over to the rest of you.

 

[THC]

Class 323 EMU for me. Whoop-whoop-whoop! (spot the old raver )

THC

 

[nathanclass323]

Take a guess from my username

 

[Mat17]

Only two spring to mind...

The original Paxman engines on the HST, with the almost jet plane shriek and woosh, and of course the class 56s which sound similar. I was once stood on the platform at Huddersfield and a 56 came through, it accelerated out and it was just like an HST, deafening and the power was impressive.

 

[CW2]

UK: small Sulzers, 37/40/50/52/55/56/68
Class 81 - 85 electric locos
Overseas DB class 232 (unmodified), TCDD DE22000 (like SZ 664) and DE24000.

 

[ungreat]

20
45
55
56

 

[Western 52]

A class 52 for me, followed by class 37 on full growl!

 

[L401CJF]

Class 37 for me, and the clunky class 313,507,508, although I'm partial to the 314/315 too!

 

[Pacerman99]

Class 91s - the fans almost harmonize with each other which I've always found pretty cool.

 

[xotGD]

Another one of those threads where I answer 'Deltic' and then someone replies by saying that they can't stand the sound of them.

Anyway: Deltic! Nothing compares.

 

[507021]

Locos: Class 56, Class 68.
DMUs: Class 156, Class 195.
EMUs: Class 323, Class 455, PEPs and Mk3 EMUs.

I think the 769s sound pretty good, too.

 

[TRAX]

Electrostars.

 

[py_megapixel]

Class 323 EMU for me.

Take a guess from my username

Class 323

Glad to see a couple of people have already said the 323 - I fully agree. In fact I have a 25 minute video of it uploaded to youtube not really expecting other people to watch it, rather so that I can listen to it wherever I happen to be if I want to hear something nostalgic/relaxing!

Other than that, the 319/769 is pretty nice. Most diesels, however, I don't tend to get too excited about - honestly they're all much of a muchness to me; different enough that I can tell them apart but not different enough that any one springs to mind as particularly distinctive. But I do like the sound of both engine versions of the 158, probably because of various very nice long trips made on them with plenty of stops to hear the thrash!

 

[Iskra]

Deltic for me. One of my favourite ever railway memories will always be a Deltic out of the Liverpool Lime Street cutting.

I also like 37's, 50's, Valenta HST's, 20's and 26's.

Looking at those videos, I need to find myself a class 17!

 

[Journeyman]

Anything with an English Electric engine in it, particularly Thumpers and Class 37s.

I also love 323s and Networkers, and get quite nostalgic about a good old fashioned compressor kicking in on older EMUs.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Locos: Anything with a big engine and definitely not 37s. Going continental, the Siemens Taurus.

Units: 185s and 323s.

 

[Mat17]

Oh yes 185s, I'd forgotten about those. They are definitely the only units that I think, wow!

 

[32475]

Deltic
Thumper
4 vep

 

[driverd]

Loco:
Class 68
Class 43 Valenta
Class 91 (hated them as a child but really appreciate the roar now)

DMU:
Class 155 (sounds like it's trying so hard, even though it's only just managed 32mph, a minute and a half after it started)
Class 142

EMU:
Class 375/377

 

[Strathclyder]

Another one of those threads where I answer 'Deltic' and then someone replies by saying that they can't stand the sound of them.

Anyway: Deltic! Nothing compares.

Deltic for me. One of my favourite ever railway memories will always be a Deltic out of the Liverpool Lime Street cutting.

Further to the Deltic, the only reason I didn't include it in my OP was because there is a limit on how many videos you can embed in your posts lol

(skip to 2:37 for a Deltic nearly blowing the camera's microphone as it pulls away)

Looking at those videos, I need to find myself a class 17!

Am a fairly recent convert to the 17s (or should I say 17; there is only one left ofc) myself after digging through YT in recent months. Hard to describe, but it's a blend of EE and Sulzer, at least to my ears.

 

[brad465]

My username says it all about mine, not just the startup motors of the Met Cam variant, but what I call it's "roaring traction" at 60-75mph as well (the BREL type with it's new motors are also good above the speed they still sound like the original, maybe 20-30mph). So much do I enjoy their traction sounds that during my A-level revision, job interview preparation on many occasions, cooling off in low points of life and even before my driving test pass (not to drive the train but to feel comfortable), I have roamed around on them to get the hard work done in my comfort zone; Sunday afternoons have been common for this.

I do also like the sounds of diesel units where you can hear them working so to speak, so Sprinter and Networker Turbo classes I also enjoy.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I find this so interesting, being born in 2003 I haven’t heard many locomotives beyond your everyday MTU HST, 90, 91, 68, etc. Those Deltics in the videos sound rather impressive, rather like a 185 on Red Bull in my opinion

Personally I really like the sound of a Pendolino leaving, the ghost-like “oooooOOOOOOOH” wails (rising intonation) that 390s make as they accelerate sends shivers down my spine sometimes, as geeky as that sounds. It’s no secret I love those trains.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Most EEs but particularly 20s.
The roar of a Western or the throb of a Deltic come close. I was lucky to drive the 17 a few years back. Wow that's impressive on both engines and the handle back!!

 

[antharro]

442 at speed (also 442 compressors), Valenta engine HST, 158/159/165/166, 465, LU 96ts, 67ts, 72ts, 73ts.

 

[Cheshire Rover]

Loco - Class 40 and 55.
Unit - Class 101
Original Valenta HST

 

[AlastairFraser]

For locos, Class 43s are pretty good with either MTU or Paxman engines, the sheer power is awe-inspiring.
DMU-wise, I would say Class 220/221s are nice because of the tilting mechanism and brute force, now if Cross Country had more of them, it would be perfect.
Hands down winner for EMUS are the Class 323 units, the sound their frequency inverters make is very satisfying and the rate at which they accelerate is pretty impressive too.

 

[Optima]

As a young boy in the early 90's I used to regularly travel up to Leeds on Intercity 125's. At the end of each trip I'd insist on waiting on the platform for the rear unit to scream past, must to my Mum's annoyance!

 

[QSK19]

Loco
- Siemens Taurus
- Valenta HST

Multiple Unit:
- all those with the QSK19 engine (hence my username!)
- 180 when braking

 

[AverageTD]

Surprised to not see an entry for the 373 yet! So I'll break the ice.

 

[Bletchleyite]

EMU: Class 319. The sound made by the traction inverter sounds like a violin to me, a really relaxing sound.