Toadfish Monastery

Radio feature on the state of nucelar energy in Germany

Quote from: Sibling Qwertyuiopasd on March 19, 2011, 02:58:20 PM
Terribly! Well, not so bad, but as I said in Last Post, the PC was frozen, so I had to call in the tech guy, and then we got caught up talking about techie things and I never got around to doing the show. Next week, though, should be okay. I'm also on the air tomorrow night at 7pm EST, though I have no idea what we'll be playing.

Currently on MMs album Golden Age of Grotesque now, "Better Of Two Evils"

Bummer! You going to do the Irish tunes next time, or move along with the program?

classical symphony by Prokoviev on the radio

Apocalyptica - their 7th simphony album

Quote from: Swatopluk on March 10, 2011, 06:51:02 AM
How is the noise level in the cockpit(?) of the locomotive?

I only just noticed this question. Sorry!

Cab noise levels can vary a lot, depending on a lot of factors. Our most common locomotives, the Rc family of electric locos with various sub-classes is rather quiet in the cab, surprisingly so when you consider that a lot of the locos are thirtysomething years old, some even over forty years old. The sound insulation is quite good, as well as the draught insulation and anti-vibration measures -when everything works and is properly maintained. A engine room door that won't latch properly can let in a lot of noise, especially if you are sitting in the "B" end with the main compressor behind your back. If the wheel tyres have been damaged or worn, with flat spots or a tread surface that is worn down and out of true, the result can be a very annoying low-frequency rumble and vibration that can really get on your nerves. The fixed wing mirrors also produce a fair bit of wind noise at speeds over about 110-120 km/h. If everything works OK, you have no problem maintaining a conversation at normal voice levels across the cab -or for that matter listen to the in-cab stereo. If you get a bad example, the maintenace planner can't hear you when you call in the loco to report tha fault and get a wheel exam scheduled.

Our T44 diesel locos are naturally quite a bit noisier, but still not as bad as one could expect, especially from a construction that dates back to the sixties. The old two-stroke EMD engine produces a rather nice bass thrumming, rather than a violent noise, anyhow. The cabs are soundproofed, and isolated from the loco frame by rubber bushings, but when you are shunting, you often drive with the cab window open to maintina better contact withthe shunters working on the ground. Years of hard pulling has also meant that the frames of the locos have distorted under the heavy loads, so a lot of doors and door frames are not of harmonious alignement anymore. It's especially annoying when snow pours through the door sill and rubber gasket. Anyhow, when doing shunting duties, we often use radios with combined headsets/ear defenders, and a lot of us also wear them while driving diesels on the mainline.

When working outside, on the ground, we normally use active ear defenders all the time, since the noise levels (flange squeal, brake noise, connection and splitting of air hoses etc) can be very high.

Quote from: Lindorm on March 22, 2011, 02:37:14 PM
Years of hard pulling has also meant that the frames of the locos have distorted under the heavy loads, so a lot of doors and door frames are not of harmonious alignement anymore.

Distorted Harmonious Alignment would be a great name for a metal band!
     

I see (and hear) the difference in braking style each work day. I usually know when or if to put my fingers into my ears with my commuter train incoming. I also notice that the (electric) locomotives are very loud at close range (quite low frequency actually) and from the side but that they become close to inaudible when they are more than say 10 meters away and one faces the front or back end. It looks to me that the locomotive itself brakes quietly while the rest of the train is responsible for the shriek.

The last Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light.

LazyTown in Icelandic

This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7N6slVrQeY

[youtube=425,350]L7N6slVrQeY[/youtube]

That's some seriously Jazzy Jazz.

I want to be the lone piano player....




Moar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jYoJe4IN4U&feature=related

[youtube=425,350]5jYoJe4IN4U[/youtube]

Rango (soundtrack)

Johnny Cash

A feature on the ongoing conservation efforts for the Swedish ship Vasa

King Crimson - On the court of the Crimson King album

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcG1JNpazN4