TRIVIA: Loudest stations for Flange Squeal

[Peter0124]

I was stood down at the stairs end of Glasgow Central Low Level, a class 334 left and hit 106.8dB on my DecibelX app (don't know if its calibrated properly or not).

The curve isn't even that sharp but sometimes it can generate some extremely loud flange squeal. Added to the fact the station is underground. The platform 17 end usually generates flange squeal.

The curves at Glasgow Central Low Level are to make way for the island platform so are kind of S shaped at each end.

I know St Pancras low level is notorious for this but are there any other stations that generate a high amount of flange squeal from passing trains?

 

[Elecman]

Accrington

 

[mcmad]

Perth. You hear the trains going/coming from Dundee all the way round the curve onto the straight leading to the viaduct.

 

[DM352]

Waterloo East used to be bad, especially in the EPB/CEP days before the track got replaced.

 

[Neo9320]

Weston-super-mare gets some pretty intense squeal. Not sure how loud db wise.

 

[jamesst]

Liverpool Central wirral platform

 

[Watershed]

Barnt Green is pretty bad on the Redditch platforms. There was an attempt to spray water onto the rails to reduce flange squeal, but this was ultimately abandoned and replaced by conventional grease lubricators.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Shipley platform 5 was pretty bad back when everything through there was a Pacer (though it wasn't numbered as 5 back then).

 

[Mag_seven]

If London Underground examples are allowed the approaches to Paddington to / from Edgware road on the Bakerloo line are pretty bad.

 

[THC]

If London Underground examples are allowed the approaches to Paddington to / from Edgware road on the Bakerloo line are pretty bad.

Or on the Central line EB from Wanstead to Leytonstone. Awful noise.

THC

 

[185143]

The area where I assume you pass Mornington Crescent on whichever of the branches doesn't call seemed very loud the other day.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

St Pancras low level TL platforms

 

[dub]

St Pancras thameslink platforms going north are awful for it - even at slow speeds. But I don't know if them being inside makes it sound worse than it is.

 

[Welly]

Lincoln platform 5 during the Pacer days.

 

[SargeNpton]

Where the Manchester Metrolink weaves its way through the Oldham Loop.

The first time I travelled along that I thought it was going to de-rail as some of the bends were so sharp.

 

[WesternBiker]

St Pancras thameslink platforms going north are awful for it - even at slow speeds. But I don't know if them being inside makes it sound worse than it is.

They get my vote too. Excruciating noise.

 

[thenorthern]

Carnforth on a pacer used to be very bad because of the tight curve.

 

[CEN60]

Glasgow Subway (the whole journey) - "mike drop"

 

[themiller]

The south end of P4 at Carlisle appears to be quite noisy.

 

[Dai Corner]

Pacers coming off the Barry Island branch into Barry were pretty loud.

 

[AM9]

They get my vote too. Excruciating noise.

Most of the wheel noise in St Pancras LL is wheel howl not flange squeal. The squeal is intermittent and quite muted there and there don't appear the be any check rails which cause squeal by contacting the rear of the flanges.

 

[185143]

Paddington Bakerloo heading South

 

[Welly]

Most of the wheel noise in St Pancras LL is wheel howl not flange squeal.

Wheel howl - I tried googling that and it's a sign of bad bearings on a car wheel. So what causes train wheels to howl?

 

[WesternBiker]

Wheel howl - I tried googling that and it's a sign of bad bearings on a car wheel. So what causes train wheels to howl?

That's a new one on me too. (Sounds appropriate for Halloween though.)

One would hope, given the rolling stock is relatively new, that it is not due to poor bearings on Thameslink?

 

[Peter0124]

Nah theres definitely a lot of flange squeal at St Pancras. Might not be all the time but Ive definitely experienced it.

 

[AM9]

Wheel howl - I tried googling that and it's a sign of bad bearings on a car wheel. So what causes train wheels to howl?

Wheel howl is a much lower frequency, heard when each pair of wheels being rigidly mounted on a fixed axle traverse track where one wheel travels further than the other, i.e. on a sharp curve. There's no flange contact involved, because the sound comes from the tread of the wheel where one or both wheels effectively skid on the railhead as their rotational speed is constrained by the other wheel.
Here's a video of trains in the low level platforms and it can be heard from the northbound trains as they come along the RH bend at the southern end. Some trains seem to make more squeal, - the high frequency metallic sound e.g. at 00:20, there's a good example of wheel howl at about 2:45 with a little flange squeal in the background. There's a departing southbound train at about 6:25 that has very little squeal but a lot of howl.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Pacers rounding the curve between Exeter Central and St David’s were often rather noisy.

 

[Bakerloo]

If London Underground examples are allowed the approaches to Paddington to / from Edgware road on the Bakerloo line are pretty bad.

Definitely!

 

[greyman42]

York platform 5.

 

[Welly]

Wheel howl is a much lower frequency, heard when each pair of wheels being rigidly mounted on a fixed axle traverse track where one wheel travels further than the other, i.e. on a sharp curve. There's no flange contact involved, because the sound comes from the tread of the wheel where one or both wheels effectively skid on the railhead as their rotational speed is constrained by the other wheel.
Here's a video of trains in the low level platforms and it can be heard from the northbound trains as they come along the RH bend at the southern end. Some trains seem to make more squeal, - the high frequency metallic sound e.g. at 00:20, there's a good example of wheel howl at about 2:45 with a little flange squeal in the background. There's a departing southbound train at about 6:25 that has very little squeal but a lot of howl.

Thank you for the explanation - I learned something new today! The examples you cited in the video are excellent particularly the 6.25 departure with the metallic hissing sounds being very audible over the motor sound and cannot be confused with brake sounds as the brakes should be off!