Midland Metro Bells

[Waldgrun]

Last Saturday I took a couple of trips on the Midland Metro (Tramway), and was left wondering if the warning bell is a real bell or a recording! Can anyone advise, please?

 

[MetroDriver]

We use MP3 sound files for the Bell & Horn on our Urbos 3 Trams.... hope that helps!

 

[D365]

We use MP3 sound files for the Bell & Horn on our Urbos 3 Trams.... hope that helps!

So does that mean you could replace the normal bell sound with something more... festive?

 

[Waldgrun]

We use MP3 sound files for the Bell & Horn on our Urbos 3 Trams.... hope that helps!

Thanks for that, I thought something was different about the bell sounds that didn't sound quite right to my ears!
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So does that mean you could replace the normal bell sound with something more... festive?

Not a good idea with the German Christmas Market taking place, due to the fact that the route of the Metro passes right through it! Multiple warning sounded on Saturday, to get people off the crossings.

 

[Seacook]

So does that mean you could replace the normal bell sound with something more... festive?

Ssssh! Don't give them any silly ideas

 

[mark-h]

Ssssh! Don't give them any silly ideas

I remember the Dublin trams having two different bell sounds, a “tinkle” (like hitting a windchime) as a gentle warning [hello there] and a “gong” for getting people out of the way [xxxx off].


Do any of the UK systems have a similar system?


It seems a bit wrong that the Edinburgh trams have only one bell that needs to be sounded more often than would seem necessary (such as when leaving a stop with good visibility and nobody anywhere nearby).

 

[zuriblue]

I remember the Dublin trams having two different bell sounds, a “tinkle” (like hitting a windchime) as a gentle warning [hello there] and a “gong” for getting people out of the way [xxxx off].


Do any of the UK systems have a similar system?


It seems a bit wrong that the Edinburgh trams have only one bell that needs to be sounded more often than would seem necessary (such as when leaving a stop with good visibility and nobody anywhere nearby).

I don't know about the M-5000s but the old Manchester T-68s had a soft horn which was used in the street running areas and a honking loud horn used on the old heavy rail sectors or on the street running system when a car driver did something particularly stupid in front of a tram.

 

[507 001]

I don't know about the M-5000s but the old Manchester T-68s had a soft horn which was used in the street running areas and a honking loud horn used on the old heavy rail sectors or on the street running system when a car driver did something particularly stupid in front of a tram.

M5000s are the same, we have a whistle for the street (actually an MP3 recording of a t68 whistle) and a horn for segregated sections. Much more effective than a bell.

 

[satisnek]

M5000s are the same, we have a whistle for the street (actually an MP3 recording of a t68 whistle) and a horn for segregated sections. Much more effective than a bell.

Very good sound quality, what type of speaker do you have? The Birmingham 'brrring' and the Nottingham 'clang' are quite clearly digital samples played through a horn speaker.

 

[edwin_m]

As well as the recorded bell, Nottingham has a horn, ostensibly for off-street but it is used on-street if other road users don't react to the bell. I don't know if this is an actual horn or an electronic simulation, but it's pretty loud.

 

[D365]

Wonder whether the "Supertram-trains" have a digital sound, or a physical bell like the existing trams. I imagine that they'll have a physical horn owing to them running on the National Rail network.

 

[Bletchleyite]

M5000s are the same, we have a whistle for the street (actually an MP3 recording of a t68 whistle) and a horn for segregated sections. Much more effective than a bell.

The friendly T68 "toot" does seem to have become a feature of Manchester!

Along similar lines does anyone else think the sound-sample bell on the Edinburgh trams sounds fake? It's not a very good quality sample.

 

[TC60054]

Wonder whether the "Supertram-trains" have a digital sound, or a physical bell like the existing trams. I imagine that they'll have a physical horn owing to them running on the National Rail network.

The class 399s have a physical bell and physical horn rather than recordings. The horn is to NR standards, and the bell is the same as that on the current fleet of Siemens-Duewag vehicles.

 

[D365]

Will that make them the first rail vehicles to operate NR-standard horns on a public road since the Weymouth Quay branch closed?