People all over the world are fascinated by trains and after recording this sound library I completely understand the appeal! When living in southern California, I went to the Fullerton train station in Orange County to record the sound of several trains like Amtraks, Metrolink and freight trains. Fun fact: several train sounds from the movie Unstoppable were recorded at the same location!

The Fullerton Transportation Center in Orange County is a freight, passenger rail, and bus station. Everyday Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, Metrolink Line, and Southwest Chief stop or passing along this track. The Fullerton Train Station is quite beautiful with it’s historic buildings (one built-in 1923 by Union Pacific Railroad & the other in 1930 by Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway) and has a bridge connecting the two lines.

BNSF FREIGHT TRAINS

Freight Trains are massive and carry over 200 double-stacked containers if needed and are hauled by more than just one diesel-electric locomotive. One train can reach a total length of more than 3 miles and run up to 70 mph/112 km/h. The Locomotive itself is a General Motors GE Dash 9-44CW with 6 engines and 3.280 kW!

METRO LINK TRAIN

The Metrolink trains come from Los Angeles and go down the coast until Oceanside. Metrolink used two types of trains: the Tier 4 Locomotive and a Hyundai Rodem car locomotive.

AMTRACK TRAIN 

I just arrived at noon and saw the Amtrak Train! It stopped right in front of me and if you listen to the beeping noise, this is a woman with an electronic golf caddy. I am pretty sure this train was the Pacific Surfliner and drives along the coast to San Diego. The Locomotive is an EMD F59PHI built by General Motors.