Which you think is the loudest multiple unit in the UK?

[SteveyBee131]

220, 221 and 222 when idling are irritatingly loud! The HSTs and loco-hauled trains they replaced were so quiet you could hear a pin drop!

The 185s when accelerating are probably the loudest DMUs I've heard, certainly much louder than the 158s they replaced.

(All these are from the outside)

 

[LowLevel]

22x units are bloody loud idling.

Honourable mention to the Perkins lumps under some 158s and 16x though - they also make quite a racket.

 

[MB162435]

150s are pretty loud at full speed, especially if they have a few lose parts and rattling a bit really, can be really loud through tunnels

Although Voyagers can be a bit noisy at stations but are really quiet inside, so I wouldn't say they are the noisiest

 

[KevinTurvey]

All the 150-156 DMU's I find to be loud inside and outside when close by. Although I find the sound does not seem to carry that well over distance, unless high on an embankment.

What about a 1st gen DMU @ 1800rpm slogging up hill with a rusted, rasping, rattling exhaust - driver cant change gear because speed would drop! These could be quite ear splitting.

 

[FLIRTfan18]

156s and 153s, especially if the unit you're on is struggling to get into top gear...sounds like you're sitting above a washing machine full of ball bearings.

170s are quiet enough inside, but get a poorly one with all the cooling fans going and they're deafening outside....

In my experience they're a mixed bag inside as well. I'm not sure whether it is where I have been sitting or whether it is particular units, but some are almost silent whilst others make a deep throbbing noise

 

[SteveyBee131]

In my experience they're a mixed bag inside as well. I'm not sure whether it is where I have been sitting or whether it is particular units, but some are almost silent whilst others make a deep throbbing noise

In my experience, sitting towards the inner end of a Sprinter can be noisier than the outer ends. I think the engines are towards the inner end so that would make sense if so.

 

[Bevan Price]

Noisiest DMU from my point of view, 185. Centre cabs of a 6 car with the windows open when you enter Standedge tunnel...

Noisiest EMU, 4-REP when sat above the motors

Noisiest loco, well anything with an EE engine in it. Think 37 is the clear winner there followed by the 50.

In all cases this is noise you WANT to hear! XD

No -- until Class 68s arrived, I would say that Deltics (Class 55) were noisier than anything else on BR. But even Deltics seemed quiet in comparison to some of the Russian-built diesels I heard in East Germany in the early 1970s (DR Class 120 as they were).

 

[Richard Scott]

No -- until Class 68s arrived, I would say that Deltics (Class 55) were noisier than anything else on BR. But even Deltics seemed quiet in comparison to some of the Russian-built diesels I heard in East Germany in the early 1970s (DR Class 120 as they were).

Know we're going off topic but an SNCF 72100, try standing near one in a station (know they're now withdrawn so technically not possible now), won't do it for long.

 

[Jamesrob637]

Siemens Taurus with its Do Re Mi! Maybe not the "loudest" but the most "attention-grabbing!"

Pendolino is quite loud pulling away, and a 91 is deafening!

 

[brad465]

For DMUs I would say a 150 Sprinter is very loud in terms of diesel motors, with 165/166s comparable.

EMUs 465s have loud traction noises, where the Met-Cam variant has by some been described has having traction phase noises like an F1 car on startup (maybe not as loud as an F1 car though). While you need to be sat in the motor carriages (the end ones) for this, the traction "roar" as I like to call it at 60-75mph is also quite loud. Incidentally on 466s I find the traction noises don't carry very well into the non-motor carriage (the one with the toilet in), so don't think they're as loud.

 

[Jamesrob637]

For DMUs I would say a 150 Sprinter is very loud in terms of diesel motors, with 165/166s comparable.

EMUs 465s have loud traction noises, where the Met-Cam variant has by some been described has having traction phase noises like an F1 car on startup (maybe not as loud as an F1 car though). While you need to be sat in the motor carriages (the end ones) for this, the traction "roar" as I like to call it at 60-75mph is also quite loud. Incidentally on 466s I find the traction noises don't carry very well into the non-motor carriage (the one with the toilet in), so don't think they're as loud.

150s are just junk now. Loud, uncomfortable and too short unless worked in pairs or with a 156/158.

 

[Prestige15]

Just a taste

 

[Jamesrob637]

Just a taste

Definitely a 2.0TDi in that and sounds like a slipping automatic transmission

 

[E100]

For diesels - I suspect a lot of engines are designed to basically emit the same noise within a region as the manufacture will fit a silencer to meet regulations. Obviously, over time, these regulations will change and there will be some natural variance.

 

[hexagon789]

Siemens Taurus with its Do Re Mi! Maybe not the "loudest" but the most "attention-grabbing!"

Pendolino is quite loud pulling away, and a 91 is deafening!

I would humbly suggest that the older AC "roarers" were louder than a 91!

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Relating to commentary in a different thread, I wonder how the AT300s compare in terms of lineside noise with the Pendolini (which are very quiet) … is there somewhere that this can be measured already, with the two running at the same speed, or does it have to wait until Avanti have some AT300s?

Glasgow-Carstairs-Edinburgh has both types (LNER/Avanti) - only once a day for AT300s mind.
You could compare with CAF's 397s as well.
Edinburgh-Carlisle when LNER divert that way.

Lime St-Edge Hill in Liverpool has hourly 802/390 services (TPE/Avanti), mostly deep in cuttings/tunnels.
Piccadilly out to Longsight in Manchester too.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I would humbly suggest that the older AC "roarers" were louder than a 91!

You certainly know when a 92 passes by.
Class 50s were annoyingly noisy too.

 

[simon7929]

Perkins engined 158s on idle.

 

[Richard Scott]

You certainly know when a 92 passes by.
Class 50s were annoyingly noisy too.

I wouldn't say 50s were annoyingly noisy. Quite a deep bass sound, which is much less annoying than higher pitched sounds a lot of DMUs give out. Rather have an EE loco go past my house (happens occasionally) than a 170 or a 158. Have noticed 4 car HSTs much quieter going past than any DMU (again may be the lower frequency sound).

 

[alangla]

Siemens Taurus with its Do Re Mi! Maybe not the "loudest" but the most "attention-grabbing!"

Pendolino is quite loud pulling away, and a 91 is deafening!

If it’s tuneful foreign stuff, the older Montreal Metro stock does a 3 tone sound when pulling away that’s so distinctive it was re-used for the door alarms! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73

Montreal stock is bizarre, each bogie has 4 normal flanged rail wheels, with 4 truck wheels mounted outside & running on concrete rails and 4 horizontally mounted stabilisers running on horizontal rails. Personally I didn’t find it any smoother than a decent steel wheel/steel rail setup, but others may feel differently. Similar arrangements exist on some lines in Paris

 

[route101]

Glasgow-Carstairs-Edinburgh has both types (LNER/Avanti) - only once a day for AT300s mind.
You could compare with CAF's 397s as well.
Edinburgh-Carlisle when LNER divert that way.

Lime St-Edge Hill in Liverpool has hourly 802/390 services (TPE/Avanti), mostly deep in cuttings/tunnels.
Piccadilly out to Longsight in Manchester too.

Class 397s seem pretty quiet to me.

 

[Richard Scott]

If it’s tuneful foreign stuff, the older Montreal Metro stock does a 3 tone sound when pulling away that’s so distinctive it was re-used for the door alarms! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MR-73

Montreal stock is bizarre, each bogie has 4 normal flanged rail wheels, with 4 truck wheels mounted outside & running on concrete rails and 4 horizontally mounted stabilisers running on horizontal rails. Personally I didn’t find it any smoother than a decent steel wheel/steel rail setup, but others may feel differently. Similar arrangements exist on some lines in Paris

Know it's digressing again but did the pneumatic tyre metros have better acceleration/braking characteristics hence why it was used? Personally find the Paris metro noisy.

 

[FS-2-11]

You certainly know when a 92 passes by.

The 92-hauled Highland Sleepers pass my house at about 01:40 up and 03:50 down, and don't I know it

 

[NORMAN471]

As Captain Tom says, things can only get better. You should get a decent nights sleep tonight.

 

[hexagon789]

You certainly know when a 92 passes by.
Class 50s were annoyingly noisy too.

Loud but not sure any noisier than other locos. Personally I would say a 37 is louder.

 

[hexagon789]

Know it's digressing again but did the pneumatic tyre metros have better acceleration/braking characteristics hence why it was used? Personally find the Paris metro noisy.

That's exactly why they found favour, could also take much steeper gradients.

 

[hexagon789]

Perkins engined 158s on idle.

Not on Notch 7?

 

[Halish Railway]

Certainly the 331s can be some of the loudest on the inside when that annoying fan kicks in (does anyone know what it is? - it can’t be the traction motors if it can be heard in the trailer coaches).

 

[Mitchell Hurd]

I'm thinking a 150 inside and a 158 outside when they accelerate.

Although when I was staying at Ibis Budget Hotel in Leeds on the 04/04/19 for 1 night and for 2 nights (29/09/19 and 30/09/19), the noisiest trains seemed to be 185's.

Talking of 185's - on the 01/09/14 when me and my brother Michael were going to Blackpool North from Oxford, the 185 running the 13:45ish from Manchester Piccadilly to Blackpool North had a pretty loud fan. Probably because I saw a white plastic carrier bag stuck on one of the heaters!

Back in November 2017, the 3-car 158 on the 12:05ish from Southampton Central to Portsmouth Harbour had a fan stuck on. The driver turned the train off not long after we got to Portsmouth Harbour.

 

[gimmea50anyday]

The fans can get pretty noisy on a 185, rather comparable to the marstons on a HST power car