Britain's noisiest trains

[Prestige15]

Which trains do you think that is noisy?

All type of trains even steam and london underground can be included at any age.

Here are my pick which i think they are the loudest.

Diesel loco: Class 37/68/Valante
Electric loco: Class 92 aka the Worlds largest vacuum cleaner
DMU: Class 170 (With fans)
DEMU: Voyagers
EMU: Class 317 at 70+ mph
Steam: ?
Tube: Victoria Line 1967 stock

 

[whhistle]

68 on the diesel loco list?
Have you not heard a 55 Deltic?

 

[_toommm_]

319's are awful inside - they feel like a DMU with the amount of vibrations, and if you get stuck under the pantograph they're far too noisy to say how slow they are at accelerating

 

[chubs]

170 for the constant rattling of everything inside the train.

The windows blowing on a 319 on Thameslink always takes me by surprise.

 

[Bletchleyite]

319's are awful inside - they feel like a DMU with the amount of vibrations, and if you get stuck under the pantograph they're far too noisy to say how slow they are at accelerating

They rattle, but I find the combination of the transformer whine and the classic DC motors a really pleasant sound.

 

[DarloRich]

Are we taling about "da clag" or which train is the nosiest for passengers to travel in?

 

[AM9]

Are we taling about "da clag" or which train is the nosiest for passengers to travel in?

Yes that's a good point. A 350 has deafening air conditioning but overall the train is quite serene. On the other hand, a 390 makes quite a lot of noise when passing, but the internal ambience is fine and the air conditioning not obtrusive at all. Then compare the class 150, no air conditioning but even without any windows open, the engines make an awful racket when under load, inside and out.

 

[Mikey C]

170 for the constant rattling of everything inside the train.

The windows blowing on a 319 on Thameslink always takes me by surprise.

And the door shake too...

 

[Timrud]

Central Line tube can be so loud i can hardly hear an ipad through standard headphones at max volume. I feel for the drivers!

 

[Prestige15]

Are we taling about "da clag" or which train is the nosiest for passengers to travel in?

Just the nosiest in general, Both inside and out

 

[Failed Unit]

0955 Aberdeen - Kings Cross when the riggers are changing shifts.

 

[Bikeman78]

319's are awful inside - they feel like a DMU with the amount of vibrations, and if you get stuck under the pantograph they're far too noisy to say how slow they are at accelerating

Avoid the motor coach then. I think the compressor is on the non driving trailer so that is also quite noisy but the two end cars are quiet.

 

[E_Reeves]

The fans on a class 91 are extremely noisy

 

[_toommm_]

Avoid the motor coach then. I think the compressor is on the non driving trailer so that is also quite noisy but the two end cars are quiet.

They're also noisy away from the motor coach too.

 

[Ianno87]

Sat on a 365 through the tunnels on the Great Northern with the windows open at 100mph!

 

[hexagon789]

EMU - 365 or 314
DMU - 156 or 170
Loco - 91s (fan noise), 68s are quite bassy, 47s/37s both quite rumbly

 

[reddragon]

The class 55 Deltic was unique I think in drivers having ear defenders even back in the 1960's and p/way staff warned to be clear when they passed due to the exhaust pressure blowing someone off a signal gantry once (told to me by an ECML p/way manager!).

Deltics are in a league of their own at full power on the main line!

 

[Train Maniac]

Diesel: 37's by a long mil
Electric: Probably the 91 as already stated
DMU: 171 Turbo's start to give me a headache after travelling the whole length of the Ashford to Eastbourne line
EMU: Classic 465 Networkers by a long mile
Steam: None in particular, they all make a rather unpleasant assault on the eardrums when the safety valves lift.
Tube Stock: Bakerloo stock is good fun to ride at max speed

 

[NoMorePacers]

1980s BREL AC EMUs seem to be loud. 317s, 319s, and 321s make quite the noise.

 

[leo knight]

DMU-Class 155
Emu-Class 444 with fans

 

[Hals]

Deltics historically for diesels, you could feel the engine reverberation in your stomach just standing next to one.

 

[AM9]

Just the nosiest in general, Both inside and out

That might produce two distinct lists of trains. The inside noise is likely to be those with the loudest air conditioning and the outside, those with the loudest (and largest/oldest) diesel engines.

 

[nat67]

Definitely Voyagers and Valenta's.

 

[404250]

Voyagers and Turbos

 

[Beemax]

Maybe not so much the train but the Victoria line from Victoria to Pimlico would breach all H & S regulations.

 

[xotGD]

There appear to be a surprisingly large number of posters who have never heard a Deltic.

They are in a different league to everything else when it comes to noise.

And it isn't just the volume. The reverberating beats echoing across the Team Valley are an abiding memory for me.

 

[LOL The Irony]

185's are straight piped and haven't made an appearance. The lack of QSK19 engined trains here concerns me.

 

[37057]

185's are straight piped and haven't made an appearance. The lack of QSK19 engined trains here concerns me.

I won't disagree that they're loud but they're certainly not "straight piped".

They have possibly one of the largest silencer fitted to a DMU as well as a turbocharger, a few 90 degree and 'U' bend sections.

 

[Richard Scott]

Any tests been done with a sound meter - usually bass sounds have more power than treble so no surprise 37s etc feature strongly in opinions? Furthest I ever heard a loco was about 4 miles away and was a 56, 50s could also be heard a long way away as could a 45 if fan was running! Not saying these are loudest but not hard to test scientifically? If we can go abroad (know thread says Britain) think SNCF 72100s or CD 749s/751s would be in with a chance along with SZ/HZ 664s/2062s?

 

[HOOVER29]

When at Tamworth on a still morning when the 68’s were on the Tesco modal you could hear them as they powered up the line nearing Lichfield tv.

Also class 70’s on the early morning 4L41 Crewe - Felixstowe could be heard at Nuneaton when passing through Atherstone area.