It has been a while, and I'm hoping everyone is having a good thanksgiving during these times.

I looked through some sound recordings, and I found these on the roots vinyl guide website that I never expected.

1. https://www.rootsvinylguide.com/ebay_it ... ersary-t-1

2. https://www.rootsvinylguide.com/ebay_it ... ocomotives

The second one was by Fred Mcleod. I had no idea he made this LP when he did live sound films of steam locomotives during the early 50s. Who knows what he recorded? Someone should have the technology to turn these LPs into CDs.

If anybody has any other information on the second LP I mentioned, feel free to discuss them here.

Plus I'm still looking for a copy of the Semaphore Records on the Collector's Series Four that has Delaware and Hudson steam sounds.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Alec

Hello

The 'Hi Fi Ironhorse' was released on CD sometime in the 1990's. I have a copy of it somewhere in my collection (somewhere being the word of the day). It had a simple blue cover with a cartoon clip art of a steam locomotive underneath. If memory serves me correctly it was released by an individual who was transferring sound effects LPs to CDs (other available titles mentioned on the back were something like 'Sounds of the US Army' and 'Streets of London in the Fog')

Back in the very late 1950's early to mid 1960's one of my Dad's business partners was what then was called a " HiFI Nut ". One of those guys that was into stereo and sound quality systems and recordings. In those days there were a lot of LP's aka Vinyl which were just sound recordings people collected to demonstrate or show off to friends the quality or capabilities of their home systems. I recall he had several LP's on just trains. The show was on STEREO the locomotive would come into the room on one side, cross the room and then leave going out of the room. Fade in cross over and then fade out. He had high speed passenger, freight even switching engines. His daughter was my age and one of my playmates. When ever the parents weren't home we would put in a stack and crank the volume up as far as we could go but not blow out the speakers. That would be a hard explanation when they came home.

Don't remember the labels or where they came from. Would be fun to have now. Original recording of a passing steam freight with whistle and bell.

Dan

This was one reason why this is rare, and I wish to have a copy of this album, LP, or CD.
Description THE HI-FI IRON HORSE LP of sounds of steam locomotives from the following railroads: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Western Maryland Railway, Delaware & Hudson R.R., Nickle Plate Road, Erie Railroad, Grand Trunk Western, Canadian National, Bessemer & Lake Erie R.R., Rutland Railway, East Broad Top Narrow Gauge, Huntingdon & Broadtop Mountain R.R., and Burlington Route.

The reason why this record is so special is that it might be the only known record that has Erie steam locomotives.

I wonder if someone has a hidden collection of steam locomotives sounds from the late 40s and early 50s.

Any information on those, you can share on this forum.

Alec

I love those old sounds of trains records. I have been collecting them since I was a teenager. I don't own either of those ones posted. Quite a few rare 7" records that pop up now and then. Recently picked up "Pacing UP #8444 over Sherman Hill", and "Sounds of 60,000", (experimental Baldwin locomotive) at a estate sale. This E-bay store has many sounds of trains records converted to CD's https://www.ebay.com/str/Diverging-Clea ... 7675.l2563

The "Sounds of Trains", volumes 1-4, by Mobile Fidelity, are probably the best I have ever heard and are on CD. Way back in the 80's, Green Frog had a pretty extensive collection on cassette tapes. These were generic tapes with no cover art in the case. Pretty good stuff mostly diesels.

Off the original topic, but related

Many moons ago back in the 60's a jokester friend of mine got his hands on a Seeburg jukebox key and secretly slipped one of these steam locomotive 45's into the local hot spot's machine just before the Friday Night teenybopper crowd came in. Everyone was having a grand old time dancing to the rock'n'roll until somebody made THE selection and the record dropped....he said the look of bewilderment and confusion on everyone's faces was priceless as the party came to a dead stop as instead of Sam Cooke, the sounds of a bogged down steamer whistling Hell bent for leather filled the dance hall from the cranked up Seeburg's speakers.

"Sounds of 60000" is a Ralbar 7" 33 1/3 disc that features RDG T-1 2100 working an Iron Horse Ramble with 60000's whistle. As I recall, Semaphore picked up Ralbar's catalogue.

I'd love to have heard the actual 60000 in service. It's been in the Franklin Institute Museum since 1934 and is a 3-cylinder double expansion compound 4-10-2 with a water-tube firebox and a 350 psig boiler pressure. Boiler steam goes to the middle cylinder, then is exhausted to the two outside cylinders. All 3 cylinders (HP and LP) are the same size; timing is 3 sets of Walschaert's valve gear.

Back in the 1950's, Dave Cope made a 12" LP that included PRR E6s 460 making a full trip between Ocean City 51st St. and Tuckahoe. Not professional but it is a full trip behind a museum engine.

Phil Mulligan

RoyalwithCheese

I am glad that you might have a copy of this album. Does it contain anything that might describe the steam locomotives heard on the record?

I also do some work on putting these sounds on my phone. I just record the sound from my iPhone recording app, put it on Itunes, format it into MP3, and load those sounds onto my phone.

I have a lot of lp records of train sounds and a few tape cassettes as well.

I know you said that it might be somewhere, so take your time when the time comes.

Happy Railroading.

Alec

California old-timers may remember the late Hal Lewis, who organized many a California FanTrip.
If memory serves, he also produced numerous high-quality train recordings.

Anyone know if they have survived..?

He used high end recording equipment trackside, so well worth seeking out.

Dennis.

I can't get the page for the Hal Lewis Collection (or any other purported Collection page there, for that matter) to open up for me right now, but:

www.railphoto-art.org/collections/hal-lewis-collection/

Seen this?

https://railroadrecordfanclub.wordpress.com/

I got a crate, about 18 x 18 x18, full of vinyl steam recordings from the 50's, from the late Tom Stephens. Tom was the CMO and a senior engineer on NKP 765 for years. I will compile a list and post it soon. I would loan those to somebody who would transfer them to CD and make them available to anyone for a reasonable fee.

A word of caution to those wanting to copy, convert and redistribute any recordings - copyright lasts for 70 years after the author’s death. Just so ya know...

A quick rip and paste from the internet :

Works Created and Published or Registered Before January 1, 1978: These works are generally protected for 75 years from the date the work was published with a copyright notice or on the date of the registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. For such pre-1978 copyrights still subsisting on October 27, 1998, Congress extended the term by 20 years, providing for a total term of protection of 95 years.

This is one of the murky areas. The word Created is the issue. You hire a bunch of musicians to play a song, record the song with intent of sale/ distribution is a creation. Capturing someone else s creation for sale is not creation but appropriation. Recording a song bird song and trying to copyright is not creation but appropriation. The railroad owner of the locomotive is the creator of the sound. Intentionally capturing a performance and then selling it claiming creation is argued each way. Capturing the sound, remastering it and claiming it is a creation, is based upon the appropriation. If the recordings don't have a specifically cited registration or copyright claim, eeaaahhhh.

There is all kinds of angles in copyright law. The motorcycle company Harley Davidson tried to copyright the sound of their V-Twin engine that utilizes v-twin cylinders on a common crank pin which results in the characteristic lumpy sound. HD claimed it was an inherent property of their product and therefor no other motorcycle manufacture nor parts or assembly manufacture could produce or sell a product that emitted or caused such a sound. It was marketing issue. They lost the case

Alexander D Mitchell V.
I'd like to thank you for that Hal Lewis information and links.
Much appreciated.

First met Hal at Sacramento for Railfair91.
He and I hit it off, as we were both into audio recordings.

Very happy to hear his work as been saved.

BTW...One of the last things he had mentioned to me, was,
someone in my British Columbia area,
was stealing his work, and selling it on CD's as his own.
He had bought a copy, and aynalized it.posting.php?mode=reply&f=1&t=45051#
Identical to his.

Which leads us to the copyright issues we are talking about.
It's complicated.