Class 801 Sound Mod

Alo O_o

The UK's Intercity Express Programme (IEP), featuring Hitachi's Class 80X trains - part of their AT300 family, transformed British railway travel in terms of passenger experience but also operations infrastructurally. These Class 80X trains can reach speeds over 200km/h, including electric and diesel power modes, with rates of acceleration that truly paint their technological superiority over aging fleets such as the HST. Great Western Railway and Virgin Trains were at the center of IEP to bring upgrades to mainline services - allowing the aging fleet to be cascaded while indirectly improving stock availability and passenger experience on rural branch lines and connecting railway lines. Subclasses of both the Class 800 and Class 802 feature multiple MTU diesel engines for use on unelectrified lines, and the Class 801 features only an emergency generator unit. The generator units are a package of a V12 engine coupled with an electrical generator / traction alternator to power the set and drive the motor cars under which they're bolted with insulation. Read below, and watch the mini-preview video to hear how these new sounds truly mirror real-life Class 80X trains:

Crystal Clear VVVF Sounds

• Separately mixed sounds for the asynchronous carrier, its spread at the baseband, and its first following harmonic with its sideband spread
• Also includes the distinct magnetisation sound when powering up to drive or brake in the asynchronous modulation regime
• Traction sounds include all three known sync modes of the Class 80X trains: 9P, 3P, and 1P
• Clear interior and exterior audio is included
• All sounds are mixed according to Excel-calculated values and documentation
• Audio is balanced through spectrographic comparisons between TSW and original recordings to validate the results the mod

Separate Gearbox Recordings

• The gearbox is a mechanical system which spins several cogs into the driven axle to produce a linear velocity at the rail
• These sounds are mixed separately and again according to Excel-calculated values to ensure maximum accuracy and minimal errors

Actual A-Train Running Audio

• Real recordings of the inner-frame bogie rolling at speed are featured
• 50 randomised high and low speed recordings of joint sounds from the actual wheelset used
• Includes near rolling sounds, distant rolling sounds, and further approaching audio - blended smoothly for authentic passing audio

Additional Flange Sounds

• An expanded flange sound set is included to boost variety
• Flange sounds vary with speed and can be heard at higher speeds as well

More Brake Squeal Recordings

• Rather than playing one clip from a random selection of similar brake squeals, the brake squeal sound varies with speed for realism
• Trains can be heard squealing down from a fast jogging speed before the sounds transition into a noise of the Class 80X grinding to a harsh halt at snail's pace

Detailed HVAC and APS Recordings

• Separate interior and exterior HVAC sounds are mixed in
• These include fan/ventilation whirring noise, as well as the sound of the power supply
• The vestibule area and passenger saloon have separate fan recordings
• Whining of the auxiliary converter, produced by inductor chokes, is heard subtly along the train length
• The auxiliary converter is heard harshly at the transformer of the driving trailers at either end as its connects to high voltage AC

New Class 80X Engine Sounds

• Recorded at Selby of all places, crystal clear V12 MTU engine sounds are featured
• Separately mixed asynchronous VVVF sounds of the converter, for the generator units, which vary with RPM independently of the engine
• Different interior and exterior audio is included for both the engine and the generator

Known Issues

• Bug with the default Class 801 DLC and not caused by the mod: engine audio bugs out when powering up from idle to low power while at speed

Tags: a-train at200 at300 azuma class-800 class-801 class-802 doncaster east-coast-mainline ecml hitachi iet lner peterborough