Old Door Chimes

6004/6005 still have the older door chimes. I rode these cars on the Green Line this morning and may have a sound recording later.

I have heard the old door chime in January on Breda Rehab 3019 on the Red line. In addition to that there were times that I hear the old door chimes on some Rohr cars (don't know the car numbers) this year.

I seem to remember hearing door chimes that were identical or nearly identical to the old DC chimes on other systems (I think I remember hearing something similar on newer LIRR electric trains, but I may be wrong on that). Does anyone know which system used that two-tone chime first?

I remember the real-old door closing chimes particularly on the Bredas, they sounded high-pitch without recorded messages, this was around 20 years ago (1986-87 till the replacement in '95/96), which I liked a lot, I got bummed out when they changed them, but I remember those real old chimes. Howebver, the very original door closing chimes on the Rohrs sound exactly alike the NYCTAs R44/R46/R62/62A/R68/68A, so I still hear them, but the original chimes in the Bredas (2000/3000 at the time) were unique.

Have 6004 and 6005 been in service for long? Considering that a pair of 6000 series cars are running around the system with the old doors closing recordings, my hope is that this is a sign that WMATA is giving up the obnoxious, new recordings. While I recognize that this is probably wishful thinking on my part, every old "doors closing" recording I hear in the system will make me every bit happier (especially when a late Metrobus makes me miss my train =P).
Also, I heard a Breda rehab 3000 running around the system with the old recordings sometime back in the mid-winter on the Blue Line if I remember correctly. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to catch the car number, but I did a double take when I heard it.

I got 6004/6005 again this afternoon and they now have the new chimes. Oh well...

I remember when I rode the Washington Metrorail with my parents as a little kid from like 1993-1995 (I was born 6/27/1987), that the Breda cars had the very high pitched door chimes, and then they changed them to sound like the door chimes on the Rohr cars. Does anyone know if the door chimes they were using on the Rohr cars in the early to mid 1990's were the same door chimes that were on Rohr cars in when Metro first opened in 1976 and if the Breda 2000 series Metro cars had the same very high pitched door chimes in 1982 before the Breda 3000 series Metro cars entered service in 1986?

hardyboyz1999 wrote:I remember when I rode the Washington Metrorail with my parents as a little kid from like 1993-1995 (I was born 6/27/1987), that the Breda cars had the very high pitched door chimes, and then they changed them to sound like the door chimes on the Rohr cars. Does anyone know if the door chimes they were using on the Rohr cars in the early to mid 1990's were the same door chimes that were on Rohr cars in when Metro first opened in 1976 and if the Breda 2000 series Metro cars had the same very high pitched door chimes in 1982 before the Breda 3000 series Metro cars entered service in 1986?

Yes, as mentioned in my previous message here in this thread, they had the high-pitched chimes on the Breda 2/3000s and even the 4000s had them. But the Rohrs had a lower-pitched door closing chime, albeit two-tone as well like the 2/3/4ks, but sounding alike the NYCTA R44, R46, R62/62A, R68 and R68A. Same exact two-tone sound which was replaced on the 1ks during their 1995 mid-life overhaul while the newer stuff got rfeplaced from there till 96.

And FYI on a little side You were bord just a week and a half after I officially moved out of the Washington Area (Germantown, MD) which I was 11 at the time. I then moved to Hanover, MA two days later, eight before you were born, how ironic.

But I have been still going to Washington every now and then to ride WMATA including the new Green Line which wasn't even open for revenue service back when I was living there.

Car 5129 that had been on the Orange Line, had the old door chimes!

jerryinva wrote:Car 5129 that had been on the Orange Line, had the old door chimes!

*Crosses fingers*

It's not a fluke; it's not a fluke; PLEASE don't let it be a fluke...

It's not a fluke; it's not a fluke; PLEASE don't let it be a fluke...

I have ridden that car 3 times, and every time it was the old chimes...but that has been a while....about 2 months ago that I rode it the last time.

All 6Ks and 2k/3k rehabbed come with the old announcements from Hornell. Metro upgrades them I believe to the newer one.

Mike Morris wrote:All 6Ks and 2k/3k rehabbed come with the old announcements from Hornell. Metro upgrades them I believe to the newer one.

I wonder... Once the old, Sandy Carroll recordings are "upgraded," does anyone know if the cars retain both, or are the old ones overwritten? If they are overwritten, does anyone know if Metro keep a master copy of the old recordings?

jerryinva wrote:I have ridden that car 3 times, and every time it was the old chimes...but that has been a while....about 2 months ago that I rode it the last time.

I just hope that it hasn't changed between now and then. Fortunately, there still appears to be some life for the old recordings around the system. I was riding the Red Line from Farragut North to Union Station on Sunday at noon and stepped onto Car 2032...which happened to have the old recordings! Considering I had missed both my bus and Metro and had to wait fifteen minutes for another due to more annoying weekend trackwork service disruptions, nothing could have made my day better than hearing a soft, smooth-voiced "Doors closing *Ding, dong*" for the first time in almost a year. Given the overwhelming disapproval of the new voices I've read around the Internet since their installation, what appears to be the failure of the messages to get people to spread around the car and stop jamming doors, and former General Manager Dan Tangherlini acknowledging riders' hate for the new messages last year and that Metro was "exploring a 'kinder gentler' version - so stay tuned," it amazes me that nothing has been done to replace these horrible earsores. I don't mean to come off as obsessive over something as small as the recordings on the Metro, but there are few things more souring to me than the bloody obnoxious Randi Miller Metro recordings.

Mike Morris wrote:All 6Ks and 2k/3k rehabbed come with the old announcements from Hornell. Metro upgrades them I believe to the newer one.

I'll buy that - I was on 3146/3147 this morning on the Red line with the old tones. The interior of the car was spotless, beautiful bright white lights and fresh carpet, it was beautiful (and clearly fresh from being rehabbed). Hopefully the old announcements will stick around for a little bit.

HokieNav wrote:I'll buy that - I was on 3146/3147 this morning on the Red line with the old tones. The interior of the car was spotless, beautiful bright white lights and fresh carpet, it was beautiful (and clearly fresh from being rehabbed). Hopefully the old announcements will stick around for a little bit.

Yep - I had 3147 recently, and it's still got the old Sandy Carroll chime. I find that odd, though, that Metro would give themselves extra work in having to change the chimes on new arrivals/rehabs, rather than get Alstom to put the new chime on there up front.