Young Children intimidated by the sound of steam locos

[35B]

The problem isn't so much that kids are soft nowadays, it's that the parents want an easy ride. Even if your child is neurodiverse, trying to isolate them from all triggers is unsustainable and won't help them in the long run anyway. Being autistic doesn't mean you can't learn to cope with the things that set you off in a way that is more manageable, and the earlier you develop those techniques the easier your life will be. Being a parent is hard work, but it's supposed to be- sometimes you have to say no, and sometimes your child will find themselves in a situation they find uncomfortable- but if you're there to guide them through it they'll thank you later.

Knowing parents of an autistic child, the challenge of dealing with him day in day out is gruelling, and requires them to plan all that they do with great care.

When there’s a meltdown, it’s not a matter of being uncomfortable but of being no way through.

 

[AlterEgo]

Knowing parents of an autistic child, the challenge of dealing with him day in day out is gruelling, and requires them to plan all that they do with great care.

When there’s a meltdown, it’s not a matter of being uncomfortable but of being no way through.

Well said. And, it's worth remembering that the way some adults cope with triggers is to practice desensitisation, which can include wearing ear defenders in spaces which at present they find less tolerable in the hope they will improve. And, some autistic people just cannot cope with some environments without some reasonable adjustment.

You do see this more and more and it's better to see this from from the perspective of "an adult is self-aware and managing themselves so they can function the way society expects them to" rather than some sort of pity. Autistic people are more visible in society now partly because they are able to participate in it better. Reading some random's opinion of how how some autistic child's parents supposedly failed them or hearing nonsense about how autistic people might just be misdiagnosed doesn't encourage that participation.

Autistic people are well aware they are different, they ask for very little other than to be understood.

 

[UP13]

Knowing parents of an autistic child, the challenge of dealing with him day in day out is gruelling, and requires them to plan all that they do with great care.

When there’s a meltdown, it’s not a matter of being uncomfortable but of being no way through.

As the parent of an autistic child, I agree.

The day to day can be quite tough and things like days out and holidays require extra planning and having to explain things to them in advance and knowing what to do if things suddenly change. It's also really annoying when a melt down does happen or you take steps to prevent the melt down and you can feel that strangers are judging you.

Funnily enough my daughter has a 'fear of diesels' after meltdown at Wimbledon station a while ago when a Class 159 raced though the station and it echoed under the canopy. We hadn't taken her ear defenders and she couldn't cope with it. Funnily enough she was fine when Clan Line went past a few minutes later but she now hides if she thinks there is a diesel about (and won't listen to us when we point out it's an EMU) and also doesn't like going through Wimbledon station.

My wife played a blinder when she wanted us to take a trip along the Cambrian Line when we were holidaying in North Wales a couple of weeks ago. She was perfectly happy with the steam whistles of the WHR and WHHR that were right alongside where we were staying but she didn't like the 158s that were slightly further away. My wife told her they were called baby trains or tiny trains because they only had 2 carriages. As a result she was able to wait for them at the platform and able to ride aboard them. She was still cautious around them but wasn't having a melt down. Real progress!

 

[HOOVER29]

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!

Kids need their ears filling with a big meaty 16 cylinder power unit like that that’s strapped inside a class 50 when it’s on notch 7
It’ll intimidate them or lure them in for life.

My work here is done.

 

[contrex]

When my son was six, in 1985, he loved the Paxman Valenta scream of HSTs.

 

[Welly]

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.

Excellent description of the Valenta sound! I was a teenager when I was regularly hearing those and didn't exactly love that sound then but I miss them today!

I watched a YouTube video of a Valenta HST departing Reading station and there was a small boy dancing with joy at the noise. His father slapped his head!

 

[Merthyr Imp]

I watched a YouTube video of a Valenta HST departing Reading station and there was a small boy dancing with joy at the noise. His father slapped his head!

He was probably a Westerns fan.

 

[contrex]

Excellent description of the Valenta sound! I was a teenager when I was regularly hearing those and didn't exactly love that sound then but I miss them today!

I watched a YouTube video of a Valenta HST departing Reading station and there was a small boy dancing with joy at the noise. His father slapped his head!

There's a famous one on YT of a Valenta equipped HST leaving Newcastle with the caption 'It doesn't get much better than this' at the start... It's brilliant through my Sennheiser headphones.

 

[43096]

There's a famous one on YT of a Valenta equipped HST leaving Newcastle with the caption 'It doesn't get much better than this' at the start... It's brilliant through my Sennheiser headphones.

I also like this one of 43104 opening up leaving Derby. You get the full Valenta HST "orchestra" of engine, turbocharger, Marston cooler group and traction motors.

 

[Bikeman78]

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.

I recall being rather frightened when I was a small child by the Belgian class 62 departing from Antwerpen Centraal on full power. See video below. By the time I was a teenager, I thought they were brilliant. My kids aren't bothered about train noises at all. My son loves going through the tunnel on the Severn Valley Railway and watching the sparks raining down.

 

[frankmoh]

I recall being rather frightened when I was a small child by the Belgian class 62 departing from Antwerpen Centraal on full power. See video below. By the time I was a teenager, I thought they were brilliant. My kids aren't bothered about train noises at all. My son loves going through the tunnel on the Severn Valley Railway and watching the sparks raining down.

That echo and rather dystopian-sounding PA doesn't help one bit!

 

[Silent]

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! )

There is also such thing as being hypersensitive or needing more stimulation to feel stimulated. Maybe that explains partially why loud noises haven’t done you harm. It’s individual differences.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Sep 2025 ==

I think the sound of either hst 125’s or class 91’s was intimidating to me as a child.

After watching some videos personally the 125’s with the jet like sound, it’s not really jet like, but the tone is maybe?

 

[Bikeman78]

That echo and rather dystopian-sounding PA doesn't help one bit!

The sound quality of the video isn't the best. I don't recall the PA sounding that bad in real life. Those locos sounded a lot louder, especially under that roof.

 

[Bevan Price]

Strange, kids being scared of some loud noises - but most of them seem to tolerate - and contribute to - the high volume screaming made by groups of kids in schoolyards, playing fields, etc. On some days, I can even hear the noise in a schoolyard near 0.5 miles away.

 

[midland1]

One of my earliest memories is of being carried down the steps at Leicester London Road station just as a Jubilee's safety valves lifted right alongside! That was loud ......and started my love of steam!

Me to at Leicester L. R. was more happy with the DMUs that took us to B'ham then on to Hednesford to see Grandparents.

 

[gswindale]

Strange, kids being scared of some loud noises - but most of them seem to tolerate - and contribute to - the high volume screaming made by groups of kids in schoolyards, playing fields, etc. On some days, I can even hear the noise in a schoolyard near 0.5 miles away.

Why is it strange?

Unexpected unknown sounds will make most people jump at the very least. It's all about being aware - for instance if you're at Castle Cornet at 1pm, you know the 1pm gun is going to be fired, so you're prepared. If you're not there at that time and hear the same sound, you'll be wondering what on earth is happening.

Thus, it stands to reason that comparing a 5 year old at a station (potentially for the 1st time with a steam train or 1960's monstrosity) to playtime at the local primary school is just silly.

I remember moving to Slough in my early 20s and for quite some time, I was always looking up every time a plane took off from Heathrow - purely because it was something I wasn't used to hearing. After a while, it then faded into the background as I became used to it.

I'm still frequently surprised and can be made to jump by some idiot in a souped-up motorbike driving past even when I'm driving in my car - purely because when sitting in a traffic jam, I'm not expecting some muppet to fly past at 50mph+ between 2 lanes of stationary traffic.

 

[321362]

as an autistic person I will always wear ear defenders when filming a train go past, still get startled every time a train honks at me. ive been filming trains for years.

 

[Lloyds siding]

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?


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.

All very true.
I can remember the steam hauled expresses out of Liverpool Exchange heading for Scotland, etc. Standing on the wooden constructed platform at Sandhills as they raced through with smoke and steam enveloping you, the heat from the boiler and firebox as it passed by, and a simultaneous long screech of the whistle, added to the wooden platform shuddering beneath your feet... was enough to petrify an adult!

 

[Tetragon213]

All very true.
I can remember the steam hauled expresses out of Liverpool Exchange heading for Scotland, etc. Standing on the wooden constructed platform at Sandhills as they raced through with smoke and steam enveloping you, the heat from the boiler and firebox as it passed by, and a simultaneous long screech of the whistle, added to the wooden platform shuddering beneath your feet... was enough to petrify an adult!

Adding on to this, Steam Whistles are particularly piercing to the ear ime, especially when the whistles are producing some particularly screechy tones. For the line I volunteer at, there's one engine in particularly that has a notably harsh whistle, and I strongly dislike dispatching it from the front, even when I have an extra coach's worth of distance between me and the loco.

 

[Stossgebet]

I remember standing on the seawall at dawlish as a child (aged 5-12, we went most years), and putting my fingers in my ears as trains passed. I specifically remember my dad saying about a (valenta powered) HST "it's only coasting". Today, at rock gigs or cinemas, loud noise is not a problem. But if a train dispatcher blasts a whilstle next to my head, it feels like an intimate personal attack into my head! Flange squeal is also something that i can also find intolerable these days.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

I remember standing on the seawall at dawlish as a child (aged 5-12, we went most years), and putting my fingers in my ears as trains passed. I specifically remember my dad saying about a (valenta powered) HST "it's only coasting". Today, at rock gigs or cinemas, loud noise is not a problem. But if a train dispatcher blasts a whilstle next to my head, it feels like an intimate personal attack into my head! Flange squeal is also something that i can also find intolerable these days.

I was also terrified of Valentas, and remember my dad reassuring me with the exact same thing!

 

[ollyexe2808]

I am also chiming in here to say I am 35 and as a kid hated the sound of certain musical instruments and loud noises, yet I also played the saxophone and loved jet engines! So often it can be selective because our brains can find some noises great and other tones or sounds quite abrasive. Even as an adult I find some noises overwhelming and get particularly sensitive sat on a Class 150 or 158 with the diesel noise.

I would say kids are no more sensitive than before, and in fact there is nothing wrong with a better awareness of how anyone is responding to sound/noise. Neuro diversity also really does matter and it is a testament to the modern world that we have a better understanding of different ways of viewing the world than we used to. So perhaps it isn't surprising that we notice these things more now.

 

[33117]

When the safety valve on a steam loco lifts & it blows off that is a particularly loud noise.

Very high pitched & I have on occasion had a small amount of ringing in my ears afterwards.

The loudest thing I've heard modern traction wise is a 91 & 92s with their fans going full tilt don't half roar.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

When the safety valve on a steam loco lifts & it blows off that is a particularly loud noise.

Very high pitched & I have on occasion had a small amount of ringing in my ears afterwards.

The loudest thing I've heard modern traction wise is a 91 & 92s with their fans going full tilt don't half roar.

I remember my first time standing next to a 91 when it powered up. I thought it was going to sound like a class 87. How wrong I was…