Young Children intimidated by the sound of steam locos

[Belperpete]

I was at this weekend's Bluebell gala, and was pleasantly surprised by the number of young children around. Okay, some were obviously not that interested, but most were. What I also noticed was how intimidated and upset many were by the sound of a steam loco whistling or blowing off. One child riding in the front of the OBS next to the loco had his hands clamped hard over his ears for nearly the whole journey. And something that I have never seen before, a couple of families with children wearing ear defenders!

Aren't young children capable of tolerating loud noises any more? I don't recall children being so upset by loud noises when I was younger. Yes, okay, if the cylinder cocks were opened while you were standing near, but being upset just by a loco whistle?!

This may seem trivial, but if children are put off steam locos, they are less likely to be enthusiastic about them, which will have repercussions for the heritage movement.

 

[Iskra]

Children have more sensitive ears than adults, so it is entirely rational and not a case of then being ‘soft.’

I remember having a footplate ride on a Black 5 as a child and being intimidated by the noise. Nowadays, I’d love that!

 

[GusB]

I was at this weekend's Bluebell gala, and was pleasantly surprised by the number of young children around. Okay, some were obviously not that interested, but most were. What I also noticed was how intimidated and upset many were by the sound of a steam loco whistling or blowing off. One child riding in the front of the OBS next to the loco had his hands clamped hard over his ears for nearly the whole journey. And something that I have never seen before, a couple of families with children wearing ear defenders!

a) Today's kids have never experienced steam in their day-to-day lives
b) The parents of those kids haven't experienced steam in their lives
c) It's highly likely that those kids' grandparents haven't experienced steam

Steam locomotives make a lot of unfamiliar noise, so is it really a great surprise if kids are startled when their parents don't know what to expect?

Aren't young children capable of tolerating loud noises any more? I don't recall children being so upset by loud noises when I was younger. Yes, okay, if the cylinder cocks were opened while you were standing near, but being upset just by a loco whistle?!

I'm guessing that you're too old to remember what life was like when you were a child. I can certainly remember being freaked out by certain sounds when I was a kid. At the age of 50 I may be more accustomed to certain noises, but when it's something I don't expect they can still make me jump.

 

[UP13]

Please note that a lot of children attracted to railways are neurodiverse, particularly those with autism, and covering their ears or wearing ear defenders is part of that.

My daughter is autistic and wears ear defenders to railways, but she also wears them to other places.

Funnily enough if you speak to her, steam engine noises don't scare her but diesel engine noises do...

 

[gswindale]

I don't think it is necessarily the noise itself that is upsetting, more the unexpectedness of it.

Our little one cannot stand the hand dryers in most public toilets, however our local science centre has an exhibit where you use one of those same hand dryers in conjunction with some thermal imagery cameras and he absolutely loves it.

 

[31160]

Perhaps they just don't like steam engines, now if the line had a nice 56???

 

[cce]

I was scared of valenta HSTs screaming away from stations as a child. In my defense the do make a noise like the gates of hell being opened.

 

[Falcon1200]

Our little one cannot stand the hand dryers in most public toilets

My son was the same when he was small! He also didn't want to get close to a 9F on a preserved railway, despite my encouragement; As mentioned, I think the unexpectedness of steam loco sounds is a factor. But the most scared he has been, railway-related, was at an open day at Polmadie Depot when someone sounded the horn on a (stationary) diesel just as we walked in front of it.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Please note that a lot of children attracted to railways are neurodiverse, particularly those with autism, and covering their ears or wearing ear defenders is part of that.

My daughter is autistic and wears ear defenders to railways, but she also wears them to other places.

Funnily enough if you speak to her, steam engine noises don't scare her but diesel engine noises do...

I was scared of valenta HSTs screaming away from stations as a child. In my defense the do make a noise like the gates of hell being opened.

As someone that is autistic I can confirm I am not a fan of being around steam locos, which is a shame because they’re such a delight. Sudden loud noises are extremely stressful and can kind of hurt, like car horns.

I also hated diesel engine sounds as a child! Valentas were the worst, but so were Thames Turbos, class 158s and all sorts. Even now I avoid standing near a DMU when it’s starting up, but living in South London being so close to one is a rarity. With electrics though, I’ve been on a platform with Eurostars slowly roaring through and whilst the noise is overwhelming simply because of the sheer scale of it, it didn’t induce the same stress response as a child. I’d be wary to be on the platform with one roaring past but it’s nowhere near the discomfort of being near a steam engine when it suddenly starts whooshing on the platform. Class 91 power ups are also overwhelming and I’d prefer to not br around one starting up but again, not the same as a diesel. Or a hand dryer…

That being said, I do see a lot of people of all ages covering their ears on the Underground these days too.

 

[Krokodil]

I was scared of valenta HSTs screaming away from stations as a child. In my defense the do make a noise like the gates of hell being opened.

When I was an infant I was being fed on Dawlish sea wall when one passed. I bit my mother!

 

[frankmoh]

Old trains, both steam, diesel and even electric are noisy. Obviously rail enthusiasts like this but this is obviously years after being exposed to such sounds. Little kids are scared of things that we would maybe call "silly" because they haven't seen or heard things yet. Just think about all the kids who haven't been on a train yet...

 

[35B]

My daughter dislikes trains, and I blame Repton for blowing off when she was a small baby.

More seriously, I remember both children having very low tolerance for loud/sudden/high pitched noises when they were small - my son hated hand dryers until well into primary school. This was all to do with a mixture of sensitive hearing (as pointed out by @Iskra) and lack of experience with those noises. In just the same way, I remember finding the noise of a fast* train going through a station intimidating when I was small - by the time I was an adult, I barely looked up.

* - as the specific memory was at Earlsfield, we're talking Mk1 era EMUs and not exactly high speeds...

 

[WestAnglian]

Even my nearly 70-year-old ears find steam whistles can be very loud (especially at The Greatest Gathering!). I imagine the reason why children dislike steam whistles and cover their ears is because it's physically painful for them.

 

[thejuggler]

I was about 4 or 5 on my first visit to the NYMR. It was many decades ago, but I still remember holding grandads hand tight as that A4 was scary,

A couple of years later we visited KWVR and I saw a loco wheel slip which I found alarming as being so young I thought it was going to derail.

 

[amahy]

When I was a toddler, I was always scared of steam locos, hence my lasting enthusiasm for diesels and electrics.

Recently, at KWVR’s diesel gala, I saw many young children covering their ears because 55009 was so loud, never mind steamers blowing off!

 

[Bertie the bus]

Aren't young children capable of tolerating loud noises any more? I don't recall children being so upset by loud noises when I was younger. Yes, okay, if the cylinder cocks were opened while you were standing near, but being upset just by a loco whistle?!

Hasn't it always been the way with kids? When faced with something unfamiliar some will run towards it, some will be wary and some will run away / start crying.

 

[Tetragon213]

Where I volunteer, I know a handful of other volunteers well into their teens, who strongly dislike dispatching our steam fleet due to the noise.

Even when a full coach is overhanging the platform (thus extending the distance between the loco and my ears), I've found myself with a small amount of ringing in one ear after a dispatch. Those things are loud.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Steam whistles are both loud and high pitched. The sound will hurt young ears. I don't think this is new.

Wearing ear defenders is a newer thing, but I don't think it's because kids are getting wussier, it's just that people understand more and ear defenders are more mainstream. My youngest has a pair from watching the motorbikes at the TT here. Lots of kids watching the bikes wear them these days.

 

[DarloRich]

lets be honest - the world has gone soft. Loud noises have never done me any harm.

What's that? No i don't want an apple

( I don't think protecting young ears from loud noises is a bad thing. My hearing is pretty ropey these days. Too many loud concerts/Valentas! )

 

[signed]

The world's culture about ear protection has definitely shifted, and that's for the good, nobody want their kids to live with debilitating titinus for life

 

[Sad Sprinter]

lets be honest - the world has gone soft. Loud noises have never done me any harm.

What's that? No i don't want an apple

( I don't think protecting young ears from loud noises is a bad thing. My hearing is pretty ropey these days. Too many loud concerts/Valentas! )

More people are diagnosed as autistic these days.

 

[DarloRich]

Are you autistic?

I was making a joke. Read it again..................

 

[Wolfie]

I don't think it is necessarily the noise itself that is upsetting, more the unexpectedness of it.

Our little one cannot stand the hand dryers in most public toilets, however our local science centre has an exhibit where you use one of those same hand dryers in conjunction with some thermal imagery cameras and he absolutely loves it.

My 8 year old is past the worst of that but hated hand dryers, unexpected emergency service sirens and freight trains with a passion when she wasn't much younger.

 

[ExRes]

The world's culture about ear protection has definitely shifted, and that's for the good, nobody want their kids to live with debilitating titinus for life

An interesting diagnosis ...... I'm sorry but ear protection having shifted? one walk around any street will see countless people blowing their eardrums with music and conversations, go into a pub and try to hear something? I gave that up a long time ago thanks, when I lost the hearing in one of my ears the professionals I saw were all of the same opinion, deafness was going through the roof and will continue to do so while people abuse themselves

 

[DarloRich]

An interesting diagnosis ...... I'm sorry but ear protection having shifted? one walk around any street will see countless people blowing their eardrums with music and conversations, go into a pub and try to hear something? I gave that up a long time ago thanks, when I lost the hearing in one of my ears the professionals I saw were all of the same opinion, deafness was going through the roof and will continue to do so while people abuse themselves

not many 4 year olds doing that mind!

 

[ExRes]

not many 4 year olds doing that mind!

4 is a bit early, at that age they're usually being ignored by their headphone wearing mothers

 

[Deepgreen]

Children have more sensitive ears than adults, so it is entirely rational and not a case of then being ‘soft.’

I remember having a footplate ride on a Black 5 as a child and being intimidated by the noise. Nowadays, I’d love that!

Perhaps if these things are so frightening to them - don't take them there...

 

[Trainguy34]

As a late teen autistic boy, I have always loved trains, but until around 2018 despised the class 465s.

Now? I love them, same with the Jubilee line.

I rarely saw steam trains at a very young age, but when I did I was fine with them, unlike my continued enemy of a hand-dryer. I never had ear protection as I wasn't diagnosed until recently and it wasn't very mainstream, but it would've been useful at times.

In my opinion, if something allows a kid to feel comfortable and doesn't affect any other people then why not let them?

 

[birchesgreen]

Nothing wrong with kids today, back when i was a small child in the early 70s i used to be scared of the sound of vacuum cleaners and stuff like that. Now my only complaint about railway thrash is that it isn't loud enough.

 

[frankmoh]

...but until around 2018 despised the class 465s.

On the other hand, little me thoroughly enjoyed the 465s, although sadly I was too young to remember the Brush motor ones.

Platforms 1 & 2 at Lewisham though? Hellish wheel scraping noises. Even worse when the odd freight train rolls past with a a large amount of wagons.