Railworks America

I'm going to start a project that, once finished, will help many routes come alive with a great variety of North American bird songs and calls. What will be coming to TS soon? Well I have a few ideas on some birds that will come very soon to the game. Those might include the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), American Robin (Turdus migratorius), etc.

I hope you all will be interested in the ambient sounds that I will produce. It will really help make scenes come alive for North American routes!

I will give you information about the bird with the sound which will include where the bird lives, migrates, and much more to help in placing the sounds correctly in your routes.

The first call produced is a nice "coo" call from a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura). This call can be widely used on most North American routes. Read and look at the following information about the Mourning Dove.





Notice the map on picture two. This can be widely seen and is a must have for all North American routes. Be careful though when placing the sound because this dove is not found in dense forests, but can be found in open fields or bare ground.

Read some interesting facts below:

1. The Mourning Dove remains one of our most abundant birds with a U.S. population estimated at 350 million.

2.Primarily a bird of open country, scattered trees, and woodland edges, but large numbers roost in woodlots during winter. Feeds on ground in grasslands, agricultural fields, backyards, and roadsides.

3. Typically nests amid dense foliage on the branch of an evergreen, orchard tree, mesquite, cottonwood, or vine. Also quite commonly nests on the ground, particularly in the West.

The next call has been produced! It is only one of the many calls of the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Look at the facts and information about the bird below.





Notice the map on picture two. Routes located on the East coast just need to have Northern Cardinal calls spread out in the route. It would be a great addition to your neighborhoods and small woodlands.

Read some facts about the Northern Cardinal below:

1. Look for Northern Cardinals in dense shrubby areas such as forest edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows, backyards, marshy thickets, mesquite, regrowing forest, and ornamental landscaping. Cardinals nest in dense foliage and look for conspicuous, fairly high perches for singing. Growth of towns and suburbs across eastern North America has helped the cardinal expand its range northward.

2. Nests tend to be wedged into a fork of small branches in a sapling, shrub, or vine tangle, 1-15 feet high and hidden in dense foliage. They use many kinds of trees and shrubs, including dogwood, honeysuckle, hawthorn, grape, redcedar, spruce, pines, hemlock, rose bushes, blackberry brambles, elms, sugar maples, and box elders.


More calls for the Northern Cardinal coming soon!

I just tested the Northern Cardinal call, and I will say it is the best one so far! More calls coming soon!

Now everyone can have a Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) call for their routes! I have created a nice call that will fit in anywhere on your route! Read some facts below.






Notice the map above. Literally everyone can use this bird call. Read about where you can use it along with some facts below.

1. Northern Mockingbirds continue to add new sounds to their repertoires throughout their lives. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life.

2. Northern Mockingbirds sing all through the day, and often into the night. Most nocturnal singers are unmated males, which sing more than mated males during the day, too. Nighttime singing is more common during the full moon.

3. Northern Mockingbirds typically sing from February through August, and again from September to early November. A male may have two distinct repertoires of songs: one for spring and another for fall.

4. Year-round the Northern Mockingbird is found in areas with open ground and with shrubby vegetation like hedges, fruiting bushes, and thickets. When foraging on the ground, it prefers grassy areas, rather than bare spots. Common places to find Northern Mockingbirds include parkland, cultivated land, suburban areas and in second growth habitat at low elevations.

5. Northern Mockingbirds nest in shrubs and trees, typically 3-10 feet off the ground but sometimes as high as 60 feet.



Because there are so many varieties of calls, I will be making more Northern Mockingbird calls to go along with this one.

New call has been produced! This time it is an American Robin (Turdus migratorius) which can be found almost anywhere in the US. This call will fit in perfectly for most routes available. Read the facts and information below.






Notice the map above. This bird can be found anywhere and in any setting. Look at the facts below:

1. American Robins are common birds across the continent. You’ll find them on lawns, fields, and city parks, as well as in more wild places like woodlands, forests, mountains up to near treeline, recently burned forests, and tundra.

2. During winter many robins move to moist woods where berry-producing trees and shrubs are common.

3. Female robins choose the nest sites, which are typically on one or several horizontal branches hidden in or just below a layer of dense leaves. Nests are typically in the lower half of a tree, although they can be built as high as the treetop. American Robins also nest in gutters, eaves, on outdoor light fixtures, and other structures. In western prairies, American Robins may build their nests on the ground or in thickets, while in Alaska they sometimes nest on buildings or cliffs.

4. During fall and winter robins often roost in large flocks and spend much more time in trees.

A new call has arrived! This time it's of the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata). This bird call will fit in nicely with some of our Eastern routes. Read the information below.






Notice the map. This call will go good with any eastern route as well as some routes located in central and northern parts of the US. Read some facts about the Blue Jay below:

1. Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes and Atlantic coasts.

2. Blue Jays are found in all kinds of forests but especially near oak trees; they’re more abundant near forest edges than in deep forest.

3. They’re common in urban and suburban areas, especially where oaks or bird feeders are found.

4. Blue Jays build their nests in the crotch or thick outer branches of a deciduous or coniferous tree, usually 10-25 feet above the ground.

What a great project - are these being uploaded to the library? Will they just be a sound dome local to a specific location?

ChrisOnline wrote:What a great project - are these being uploaded to the library? Will they just be a sound dome local to a specific location?

Yes these will be uploaded to the library. I'm trying to figure out what I will put in one pack to upload. In the mean time, I'll make more bird calls!

I'm setting the sound up so that you can place them like the sounds included in a route. I'm basing the sounds off of the "River" noise that comes with the Sherman Hill route. They are easy to set up, so if you don't have Sherman Hill, I can easily walk you through the setup for another route.

ET44C4 wrote:

ChrisOnline wrote:What a great project - are these being uploaded to the library? Will they just be a sound dome local to a specific location?

Yes these will be uploaded to the library. I'm trying to figure out what I will put in one pack to upload. In the mean time, I'll make more bird calls!

I'm setting the sound up so that you can place them like the sounds included in a route. I'm basing the sounds off of the "River" noise that comes with the Sherman Hill route. They are easy to set up, so if you don't have Sherman Hill, I can easily walk you through the setup for another route.

Very nice idea indeed.

Do we already have domestic animal sounds, like dogs barking, hens clucking, ducks quacking, roosters crowing? I think these would also come in handy when a railroad runs through farmland or rural countryside.

_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha wrote:Do we already have domestic animal sounds, like dogs barking, hens clucking, ducks quacking, roosters crowing? I think these would also come in handy when a railroad runs through farmland or rural countryside.

There are a couple on British routes, generally around a country station where you will stop, and possibly pan around the area while loading/unloading passengers.

Realistically, you wouldn't hear much from the birds tweeting while traveling through the countryside at 50+mph, especially with the window closed!

_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha wrote:

ET44C4 wrote:

ChrisOnline wrote:What a great project - are these being uploaded to the library? Will they just be a sound dome local to a specific location?

Yes these will be uploaded to the library. I'm trying to figure out what I will put in one pack to upload. In the mean time, I'll make more bird calls!

I'm setting the sound up so that you can place them like the sounds included in a route. I'm basing the sounds off of the "River" noise that comes with the Sherman Hill route. They are easy to set up, so if you don't have Sherman Hill, I can easily walk you through the setup for another route.

Very nice idea indeed.

Do we already have domestic animal sounds, like dogs barking, hens clucking, ducks quacking, roosters crowing? I think these would also come in handy when a railroad runs through farmland or rural countryside.

Literally all we have is a default birdsong. I already have ducks on my list. Do you have any particular Duck that you would like to have in-game? I planned on doing the Mallard duck.

Hens and Rooster are a great idea! They have been added to my list! I'm actually working on a Canada Goose call right now.

The dog barking is a good idea. I can probably go in my neighborhood to get the audio - hours of it...

The next call is of a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) which will bring North American lakes and ponds to life with the constant "quacking" of the Mallard. Read some information about the Mallard below:




The map (shown above) shows that the Mallard is seen all around the US. Note: The blue color represents the area in which the Mallard will migrate to. When choosing this call to be placed in a route on the East coast, remember its migration habits. Read the facts below to get more familiarized with the Mallard.

1. Mallards can be found in almost any wetland habitats, including permanent wetlands such as marshes, bogs, riverine floodplains, beaver ponds, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, city parks, farms, and estuaries. They also occur in prairie potholes and ephemeral wetlands; they may be found feeding along roadside ditches, pastures, croplands and rice fields.

2. Mallards nest on the ground on dry land that is close to water; nests are generally concealed under overhanging grass or other vegetation. Occasionally, Mallards nest in agricultural fields, especially alfalfa but also winter wheat, barley, flax, and oats.

3. Occasionally nests are placed on floating mats of vegetation or woven into plant stems that rise out of the water.

4. Mallards are an abundant city and suburban park duck.

Are finches native to the US?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finch
This one has a very distinctive call I hear continuously since a week or two, announcing the arrival of spring: Fringilla coelebs.

Don't forget the common blackbird, the finest singer of birds in my garden.

_o_OOOO_oo-Kanawha wrote:Are finches native to the US?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finch
This one has a very distinctive call I hear continuously since a week or two, announcing the arrival of spring: Fringilla coelebs.

Don't forget the common blackbird, the finest singer of birds in my garden.

Ah yes the Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs!) That one in particular does not reside in the US, but I can still make it for you. There are many finches native to the US including the House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) which is on my list.

After looking up the "Common Blackbird" the only match was the Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) which I can definitely make a call for!