For many, a model train is something that goes around a Christmas tree or an antique that sits in the garage. But for Durango based Soundtraxx and model train enthusiasts everywhere, it’s a way of life.
For more than 30 years, the company has been developing sound systems for model trains to create the most realistic train noises possible. CEO Nancy Workman is just happy to be able offer manufacturing jobs in Durango and being part of an intriguing hobby.
Not only does Soundtraxx offer different parts for model train sound systems but also had its own model train brand called Blackstone Models. However, Blackstone Models went on hiatus in 2020 after a fallout with its manufacturing plant in China.
While Soundtraxx designs the trains in Durango, the units are manufactured in China. The reason for the move was that the manufacturing plant had become too expensive for Soundtraxx.
Workman said Blackstone may be coming back in the near future if they can find another manufacturer.
“They really just opened China to travel, and I know a few people in the industry who just (went and came back). So I'm going to be curious to hear from people at a trade show in Denver this week,” Workman said.
She said Soundtraxx started looking for new manufacturing plants in 2019 but the pandemic ended the search. The model train business can have seasonal cycles of interest, she said, which means enthusiasts tend to be more interested in purchasing or working on their trains during the winter when there is poor weather.
“People aren’t generally hanging around in their basement modeling trains when it's, you know, 75 or 80 degrees and beautiful out,” she said.
Soundtraxx distributes its sound systems all over the world, mostly selling to hobby retailers with some direct-to-consumer sales.
The company does its best to create the most authentic train noises possible. Sometimes this means having a person standing between 10 and 20 feet from train tracks with audio recording equipment. Certain noises are quieter on a train, so sometimes with permission of railroads, Soundtraxx will attach microphones to the train to get a more genuine sound.
However, for the train whistle, Workman says audio engineers must stand a “fair distance” away so that sound is not too loud. The Federal Railroad Association requires trains sound their whistle between 96 and 110 decibels, which is loud enough to distort the sound when recorded if an audio engineer is standing too close.
Often the sound engineers will stand in a backyard relatively close to the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks to record the train whistle sounds. Workman said they’ve had their best success near the Cascade Canyon area.
She said areas like Cascade Canyon make for a great place to record because there’s limited noise from traffic and other sounds. The audio engineers can often edit those sounds out. However, sometimes this can result in filtering out certain frequencies from the train, which make sound more realistic. This is often the case for recording diesel trains.
Once the sounds are recorded, sound engineers edit in the sound lab. Workman said editing can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to complete.
“The frequencies can be very challenging when you’re talking about little speakers,” she said.
Once the Soundtraxx staff is satisfied with the sound quality, the sound files are sent to the production floor. This is where the production team takes over programming the sounds into microchips.
In the downstairs portion of the Soundtraxx office at the Durango Tech Center, the production team builds microchips for the various sound systems and other model train parts. The process is streamlined and efficient as the production team workers may go through hundreds of products in a day.
The process starts by building the microchips and circuit boards used to create the train sounds with the stencil printer. The stencil printer deposits solder paste onto a printed circuit board, which establishes electrical connections. The printer aligns a stencil with the board and a squeegee creates the paste that will help attach the necessary pieces of the microchip. The chip is then run through an oven as part of the machine. The oven melts the solder, which allows the microchip components to adhere to the board. The oven also features a cooling mechanism that allows the hot solder to dry.
Soundtraxx Operations Manager Krista Rust said that once the chips leave the oven, they are completely dry and feel like any microchip would.
The chip is then taken over to a machine for testing. It is probed by needles to test its resistance capacitance, the diodes and the transistors in order to ensure that right parts have been placed correctly. Rust said this is her favorite machine to use.
The stencil printer will print multiple chips at a time onto one board and after the chips have gone through testing, assembly line workers cut the board into individual chips. After the chips have gone through the testing process, they are handed off to quality control. That’s where technicians check to see if there are any flaws to the chip and nothing is damaged.
The product is then sent off to packaging and later put into the stock room.
“Generally, we get close to a minute per unit,” production team member Scotty Howard said. “Our day is broken up into 45-second chunks, 1,000 times.”
Soundtraxx is also working on a new way to control the model train through a Bluetooth connection to a phone rather than through remote control. Workman said that product should be released in the near future.
Employees say the new feature will make it easier for people to understand the controls of a model train compared to using the wired control system, which has a bunch of different buttons that may be confusing for people unfamiliar with model trains.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
