Rich Melvin posted:In my opinion, the "Symphony of Steam" CD offered by the FWRHS is the absolute BEST recording of a steam locomotive I have ever heard. I have often said that when it came to recording the sound of steam locomotives, there was Brad Miller and then there was everybody else. His work was absolutely perfect. Sadly he is no longer with us, but his legacy lives on in this work.
Brad spent several days with us over a couple of years in the late 80s, recording the sounds of the 765. In the 14-track "Symphony of Steam" CD I combined some cuts to set up audio "scenes" which are described in the 12-page booklet that comes with the CD. I know it is a CD you will treasure. Just be sure you don't set the volume too high when you listen to it!
Now I need to get Symphony of Steam !
It may sound odd that a retired railroad official has such a fondness, but I sometimes listen to Brad Miller's recording of first generation diesels (don't shoot me) when I want to be transported back to the sounds of my youth. Steam was gone from Santa Fe, the home road where I grew up, by the time I was in second grade, so early diesels were the locomotives I knew best. It's all recorded on territory that I am familiar with, and I really do like the soothing sound of the F7-powered passenger trains meeting each other on single track.
But I only have two steam recordings, so Symphony of Steam will definitely be at the house before the end of the month. Also, I will look into the Howard Fogg recordings he made on C&S and UP.
