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I have noticed on the Coast Starlight that there are channels for the audio in a Roomette. Only channel 1 croadcasts announcements, but many other channels are not in use. I recall hearing somewhere that these other channels use to be used to play music etc. Why did Amtrak stop doing this for sleeping car passengers? It seems its a real shame that the little (in-room, at-seat) entertainment Amtrak has offered such as Pacific Business Class, or Acela Audio seems to always break and no longer function after a few years. I think people would appreciate something like this.
Happy Holidays!
Eric Member # 674
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I would be happy if I got a room that had ANY type of working audio!
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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I prefer the clickety-clack channel that always works. Occasionally I switch to the "woosh of passing trains channel". The ding-ding-ding-ding doppler effect of grade crossing bells is also a favorite. The whistle channel has low volume trouble depending on location. Although vestible-door-opens-constantly channel is not to my taste, it does have kind of a catchy beat. My least favorite line on the audio is: "If .... is your destination, please return to your seat and...", especially when it is my destination.
Now if I could only find a way to get these installed at home.
SunsetLtd Member # 3985
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On the Sunset they play music when it is servicing at a station for example: El Paso, Tucson, San Antonio or Houston. The only problem is that its all country! I guess thats the only signal the Superliners pick up.
travelplus Member # 3679
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Actually the Superliner Cars I believe have a CD Player attached to the channels and have inputs for the different channels so for instnace CD 2=Channel 2 etc. Maybe the conductor has no CDs to play but on my SW Chief trip last year the Dining Car attendant had some nice Jazz music as we were coming down the Cajon Pass into the LA area. So I would bring my own CD player and CDs as the other poster said during service stops you hear only country music.
I have the SOny Psych CD plater with AM/FM Radio and CD, the sound quality is good and it's very light and takes only 1 battery. They go for $70 dollars but believe me it's worth the purchase for a long trip. Also you can burn MP3 CDs to store quite a lot of music.
CoastStarlight99 Member # 2734
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I would doubt Amtrak had any kind of "singal" for the cars to feed from like a radio. I think your right Travelplus, it is probably a direct line of input for each of the channels. I would imagine they just dont want to put up with maintaining a CD or Cassette player etc. to feed into these channels. Its a real shame.
Does anyone know where the central control for this is?
travelplus Member # 3679
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I believe the central controll for the audio is located in the downstairs of the lounge car as it is on the Capitol Corridor trainst from San Jose CA=Sacramento or it's in one of the sleeper cars. The wires are wired to the CD player with each room acting like a listening station like you see at bookstores but at a simpler level. I think there is a cabinet where the system is.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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This piped in music stuff is "oh so fifties'. Way back then, everything had to have background music. That of course extended into the "seventies'. By the 'eighties", such was considered to be MUSH 101.
Basically, if it is what you want I guarantee you I don't want it, unless such is "Wolfie" (Mozart, not Wolfman Jack). Best to let those who "must have their sounds' to bring their own.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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CD players don't like motion any more than record players do. Skippity, skipppity, skippity. Which, if they have 'em, may explain why they don't use 'em. Anyway, Superliners predate CDs by a few years, so they probably had tapes originally. Digital tape or MP3 are the more recent technologies that would be more appropriate.
TwinStarRocket, thanks for the chuckle.
Mr. Norman probably has the best say on the matter. BYOT (bring your own tunes). Piped in music through cheesy speakers never does much for me either.
Railroad Bob Member # 3508
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I'm also not a fan of generic piped-in music which usually pleases no one. Oh Mr. Norman, didn't Wolfman Jack die years ago? Since you are out-of-date in your pop music knowledge, I will send you some Fitty Cent CDs to go with your Mozart collection. There's an interesting juxtaposition.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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WAAAAYYYY OT (read it now before the moderator kills it).
Mr. Railroad Bob, I first learned of "Wolfie' at about age six; this was simply the music played at home when growing up.
I first learned of Wolfman Jack during 1968 when stationed at Hill AFB near Ogden, UT: that is who "everyone listened to'. He broadcast from a Mexican radio station which wasn't too worried about such things as 50KW AM radio power limits. He came in clearer at night than did KSL.
The classic George Lucas movie "American Graffiti' (ever note how many film industry notables earned their spurs in that movie? ring up imdb.com for a memory jog if need be) of course brought it all together, as that was my first occasion to see an image of Wolfman (I didn't know he was a white guy; his voice could have fooled me).
Railroad Bob Member # 3508
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All correct, Mr. Norman. I grew up just over the border from Wolfman's Mexico-based monster watt station. Wasn't 50K to 100,000 watts of unidirectional Mexican clear channel AM a wonderful thing? A fallen-flag railroad, the San Diego and Arizona Eastern, ran near "XERB" which were the call letters as I recall. Might have been 690 on the AM dial; cannot remember exactly. I have brought the thread back to a railroad theme with this post, in order to satisfy the moderator.
Southwest Chief Member # 1227
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Superliners never had a cassette system (and certainly pre date economical CDs).
All they have are inputs (I believe every car is the same, including the dining cars). In the early days sleeping car attendants used to bring their own cassette players and plug them into the input. I remember an attendant asking passengers what music they like and to see if he had a cassette they would like. This practice has not been used for a long time. I'm not sure if theft has anything to do with it but it might.
With the ease and small size of personal music systems today, the need for full car music doesn't seem to be such a necessity anymore. But when the Superliners were built (late 70's) this system made sense.
CoastStarlight99 Member # 2734
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Thanks SW Chief, do you know if it is still theoretically possible for an attendant to play music with their own equipment?
Southwest Chief Member # 1227
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I would imagine the input port is still there. (Actually there are a few for the multiple channels if I remember right).
But any number of things could have happened over the years to make them inoperable. Like a loose wire, or removal during a overhaul.
Next time I'm on a Superliner I'll check to see if the input port is still there, or ask an attendant about it. They used to be downstairs, but I think it was behind a lockable door.
Mr. Toy Member # 311
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This doesn't add up. It doesn't make sense to install 90% of a sound system and then expect an employee to provide the other 10% at their discretion and expense.
Then there are legal issues. I would expect that those who hold distribution rights to music would consider a train to be a public presentation. I know of some movie theaters that got in trouble with ASCAP for playing employee's CDs for intermission music without proper license. Its much like the arrangement Amtrak makes for movies. Amtrak can't just run down to Blockbuster and rent a few titles. The train is considered a "non theatrical public exhibition" and is subject to exhibitors rules for royalties. So Amtrak has to get movies through a licensed distributor, specifically Swank Motion Pictures (which happens to be the parent company of my employer). I expect that on-board music would require similar arrangements.
George Harris Member # 2077
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quote:Originally posted by Mr. Toy: Then there are legal issues. I would expect that those who hold distribution rights to music would consider a train to be a public presentation. I know of some movie theaters that got in trouble with ASCAP for playing employee's CDs for intermission music without proper license.
There are few things that bring me closer to losing my lunch than the unbridled greed of the music/video/movie recording "industry".
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