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Ketech Cellia Drummond and Only Woman announcements publicly availible?
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Yes the Celia Drummond and Phil Sayer sound files are now publicly available but sadly they are in .seg format so are impossible to access. The only way to play .seg files is through the Ketech LLPA software which is sadly unavailable to the public. There appears to be no way to convert the .seg files to .mp3 or .wav format either. So yes the sound files are available but are useless as the format makes them inaccessible.
As for the Only Woman sound files these are Amey and nothing to do with Ketech at all. I am currently trying to get hold of them but have had no luck so far. So as of now they are not available. But if that changes in the future i will post on here.
Do you know where I can get the SEG files?
I have uploaded the .seg files here:
default
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
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Female1
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
www.mediafire.com
Male1
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
www.mediafire.com
Female2
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
www.mediafire.com
Male3
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.
www.mediafire.com
Unfortunately it is all in .seg format.
thank youI have uploaded the .seg files here:
default
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.www.mediafire.com
Female1
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.www.mediafire.com
Male1
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.www.mediafire.com
Female2
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.www.mediafire.com
Male3
MediaFire is a simple to use free service that lets you put all your photos, documents, music, and video in a single place so you can access them anywhere and share them everywhere.www.mediafire.com
Unfortunately it is all in .seg format.
samrammstein
Member
I am curious to know why so many people seem to be after announcement sound files.
here are loads of FOI requests on the same theme and it seems to crop up here quite often.
here are loads of FOI requests on the same theme and it seems to crop up here quite often.
devon_belle
Member
Projects such as model layouts, YouTube videos, games and simulators.
The "Only Woman" lady is the voice that was previously used at, Brighton, East Croydon, Gatwick Airport, London Victoria, and all Virgin Trains managed stations from around 2012 up until around 2018 when she was very unfortunately removed. She was called "Only Woman" because when she was first installed they accidentally set up the system wrong so that she said "only" at the end of every announcement even if the train was calling at multiple stations. Nobody knows who she is. We have been unable to find out her real name. Personally she was my favourite voiceover artist. I loved her announcements. She sounded great.
Also for anyone who has not heard her before here is an example of an "Only Woman" voiced announcement attached below.
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fgwrich
Established Member
Indeed, later incarnations of the excellent Network West Midlands (BVE4 / Open BVE) had custom made announcements produced for them by Phil and Celia. For what was a free train simulator, it added a super touch of realism!
Sad Sprinter
Established Member
I think I know who you’re talking about, I liked her too, she reminded me of a late 90s announcer for some reason. Was that a the same woman they used when they synthesised the connex tri-tone announcement chime?
I think also announcers are a subsection of interest within railway enthusiasm. For those of us with autism it seems our interest in railways can be reduced to the deepest substratum of interest! I too have an interest in train announcements, not just how they sound but when and where they’re recorded as well.
Yes i thought "Only Woman" had a very nice voice. It is a shame she was used for such a short period. I would have liked for her to be rolled out across England to more stations. It is a shame all the TOCs went for the cheaper Atos Worldline system instead.
Ah i remember all those announcers in the 80s and 90s. I remember that unknown Ditra Female (nobody knew who she was) and John Elgar who were used on Ditra in this era. There was also, Angela Peberdy, Liz Crowther, Julie Berry, Robert Lister, Gordon Reid, used on the other Infomat system in that era. If you look on Youtube there is someone called Robert Payne who has hundreds of videos of these old announcements from the 80s and 90s era.
What is the Connex tri tone announcement chime? Are you talking about the main Ditra chimes? There was a three chime version (female announcements) and four chime version (male announcements) but these were used all over the country. Everywhere across the UK that had a Ditra based system used these. I have attached them as Jingle1 and Jingle2 below.
The only chime that was specific to Connex was the trumpet horn one attached as Jingle3 below. This was used for fast train announcements and for platform alteration announcements at all SE and SN stations. It actually came from those old yellow Connex CIS boards on the platforms rather than from the main speakers. It can still be heard at the LO stations that were taken over from Southern about a decade ago. Is this the one you are referring to? Or is it another one?
I have also attached so more "Only Woman" recordings of her announcements below.
How do you play SEG files?
Oh I seen this info now looks like it needs a programming that KeTech would have but unfortunatly you can't play them. So the files have very little use.
Sad Sprinter
Established Member
The trumpet sound! That’s the one, they synthesised it and is still around at Norwood Junction. Did Connex South Eastern ones make that sound as well?
I can’t remember the name of the late 90s one, I was born in 95 so I would have heard it but can’t remember, the memories of it are clearly buried deep in my subconscious somewhere because the Only Woman sounded so familiar. When did they start using Celia on Connex South Central? But I’ve definitely heard it before on the YouTube Channel you reference.
Lots of nuggets of info in those videos, for example what was the “Network Expess”? I know NSE used it as a holding name for Thameslink CTRL services via Warwick Gardens but the name seemed to be in regular passenger service
Yes indeed both the Connex South Central (Amey) and Connex South Eastern (Thales) boards made that same trumpet sound. They both used the same Data Display (or Daktronics as they are now called) boards and both used Ditra based systems. I used to hear it a lot at many Southeastern stations too before they switched to Atos Worldline in 2012.
Anerley, Clapham High Street, Crystal Palace, Brockley, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, New Cross Gate, Norwood Junction, Penge West, Sydenham, Wandsworth Road, West Croydon, all still have the old circus horn sound. These are the last stations with this sound. They are also the last stations left still using a Ditra based announcement system.
Celia Drummond and Phil Sayer were introduced at Connex South Central stations some point in the very early 2000s. It is difficult to find an exact date or month but i believe it was around 2000 or 2001 that they began being used. But it was quite a gradual slow rollout. I remember for the first couple years of Connex South Central in the late 90s they continued using the old British Rail voices.
Yes some interesting announcements in those videos. I forgot about a lot of the old brands used in Network South East days. I vaguely remember Network Express and hearing it on announcements on my travels in the 80s and 90s but have no idea what it was. It was so many years ago so my memory is a bit vague.
Did SE use Thales I thought it was Amey. Plus Trumpet sound wasn't used in SE some stations in the early 2000s were still running BR Ditra and then Atos Anne until in the mid 2000s when SRA (Strategic Rail Authority) rolled out Ditra to the rest of the SE network due to Connex financial situations.
Southeastern used Thales for their system. Amey was never used by Southeastern at any time. It should be noted that Amey and Thales were both Ditra based systems running on Ditra computers which is why they had identical scripts. So they were two different CIS providers but the scripts were the same and the two systems were almost identical other than the voices. Celia Drummond and Phil Sayer were used at Southern stations. Pauline Cavilla and Mark Stutter were used at Southeastern stations.
The trumpet horn only played at stations with CIS boards provided by Data Display (which has been bought by Daktronics now) and running a Ditra based system. So the Amey and Thales systems at SE and SN stations were the only ones to play this trumpet horn. The original BR Ditra system was removed before these CIS boards were installed which is why it was never heard on that system.
In their early years Southeastern kept switching systems every couple years. Upon privatisation Southeastern continued to use a mixture of BR Ditra and Infomat for a few years until they installed the Racal system with the "Boofay" lady which only lasted a few years before then switching to Atos Worldline with Anne and Rob which also only lasted a few years before switching again to Thales which lasted about eight years until 2012. But since 2012 they have switched back to Atos Worldline with Anne and Rob for the second time.
Robert Payne has a large amount of old Julie Berry recordings from the 80s and 90s on his Youtube channel.
This is his channel with all of the recordings:
Here are some of the Julie Berry recordings i found:
https://youtu.be/6-AxO4f_6VI?si=TQ8oALVOqZ8Typ1O
https://youtu.be/dVjyrqLfcb4?si=MXhpGCegrpC9uOXe
https://youtu.be/KBjjEjUOmZ8?si=R-9d6P6UWzJdmD1L
https://youtu.be/JFMtVyof7aQ?si=CSEtPqR39Fb_sos5
https://youtu.be/IsFzA4i-63Y?si=B2CFZuiCX2PV9PbN
If you search through his channel there are plenty of other Julie Berry recordings too.
Thank you
Mark Stutter was AKA "Roger". I have heard of Thales but I wasn't sure if it was I heard that it was used on the Bakerloo line or something like that. I suppose it explains some of the functions that were different with Amey and Thales such as "The next train at this platform is not for customer use". Also don't forget Funkwerk was another sort of Ditra based system used by Phil Sayer used at Thameslink and Northern Stations and before Network Rail for a short while until they switched to Anne in 2002.
Yes "Charlotte" and "Roger" were names made up by enthusiasts before their real names were found out. Just like Anne Jermy was originally referred to as "Sarah" before we knew who she was. Pauline Cavilla and Mark Stutter were their real names. Mark Stutter sadly passed away in 2017. He moved to Spain in his later years and can still be heard at some Spanish airports doing the English language automated announcements.
Thales has only ever been used for the automated announcements at all Southeastern stations and at the ELL core stations (Canada Water, Dalston Junction, Haggerston, Hoxton, Rotherhithe, Shadwell, Shoreditch High Street, Surrey Quays, Wapping, Whitechapel) but neither use it any more.
LU has never used Thales for their automated announcements. However they have used Thales for various other unrelated things such as signalling and infrastructure. Telent is the company that provides the LU station announcements. However it should be noted that both Pauline Cavilla and Mark Stutter have been used for automated announcements at London Underground stations in the past. Pauline Cavilla did the next train announcements and Mark Stutter did the safety announcements. They were used at ex Metronet stations so they were certainly at Bakerloo Line stations so this may be what you are thinking of. Unfortunately they have almost been completely removed these days.
Amey and Thales certainly had a few differences such as the fast train announcement you mention. Also on Thales it would say "alight here for" on the standing announcement where as Amey would not. But other than that it was almost identical. All systems based off Ditra are very similar.
Yes indeed Funkwerk was used at Thameslink stations and Northern stations for many years. Funkwerk did not stitch together their announcements as well. The words used to have longer gaps in between them and the announcements did not flow as well. I remember FCC used Funkwerk on the TL route and Amey on the GN route and there was a big difference in quality between the two even though they used the same voices.
Funkwerk with Celia Drummond and Phil Sayer was also used at SWT stations for about a year in the very early 2000s before then switching to the QSL system with an unknown male voice which was very unreliable and only lasted a couple months before switching to Amey with Celia Drummond and Phil Sayer which lasted well over a decade.
Shame Mark passed away in 2017 a year after Phil Sayer passed away. I had no idea Funkwerk used Phil in the early 2000s there were archive videos of trains at Clapham Junction when they were using Robert Lister using Infomat at all platforms. In 2001 when Phil was installed (Originally Connex Screens) on the Southern platforms it was a mix of Robert Lister and Phil Sayer. Yes GN used Amey as Finsbury Park used Amey using both Phil and then Celia and then back to Phil. KeTech is now the only surviving Ditra system left but wether it will carry on for more years to come now Celia has passed away is unknown or wether a new voice will be annoucning on that system. Northern don't plan to ditch theirs anytime soon.
Ketech is not a Ditra system. It is a bit confusing as Ketech purchased Ditra and are the successor to Ditra but the current Ketech system is a brand new system that they have created and is unrelated to the old Ditra system. So the current Ketech system is not Ditra based and is not running on Ditra computers.
I think that Ketech will remain for quite a while longer. Chiltern, Eurostar, Irish Rail, Northern, Scotrail, are all still using it. In fact Irish Rail have only just recently signed a new eight year contract to continue using it. So i think Ketech will continue. Of course there is a chance that they will replace Celia Drummond at some point in the near future. Northern have already started using "Only Woman" for a couple newer recordings like "Lumo" and "for a connecting bus service" and a couple others.
The only remaining Ditra system is the Amey system used at London Overground stations. The is still a Ditra system running on Ditra computers. So this is the last remaining Ditra system. However the system is planned to be removed soon. Support is no longer available for the Amey system and London Overground have already issued a tender to replace it. So it is in its last days and will likely be removed this year or some point next year at the latest. It already got removed from the GOBLIN line as they were unable to add "Barking Riverside" to it.
londonmidland
Established Member
I’ve heard a few YouTube videos of Phil Sayer at Huddersfield, before TPE replaced him with their own Siemens system, utilising Rob(?)
Yes indeed FTPE used Phil Sayer at their stations for a few years in the mid 2000s before switching to the Siemens system voiced by Rob Radnall who was an FTPE employee.
Phil Sayer can be heard in these two videos:
Getting rid of Phil Sayer was a huge downgrade. I though the Siemens system sounded terrible. There was almost no gap between the words so the announcements flowed far too quickly. It sounded like such a cheap poorly set up system. Thankfully though Siemens have improved in recent years and the Emma Hignett version at the Elizabeth Line core stations sounds fine.
Oh KeTech isn't a Ditra related system I thought it was because of the scripts that KeTech used from Amey. It sounds like Ditra will be gone for good when LO switch to Atos or a different system I dunno if KeTech has Emma Hignett recordings when the person copied all the files over. Will be a shame once Ditra goes because its been around for over 40-50 years since British Rail. Seems like Worldline Atos has taken over alot of the network except the ones that have different systems.
BurtonM
Member
It's great to finally see some info about the circus trumpet, I always used to wonder about that. It was used to annnounce fast trains through platforms -you'd hear it quite a lot at New Cross Gate (as the fast lines had seldom used platform faces there) and East Croydon.
TPE's in-house system sounded dire, it was clear that the chap recording it wasn't a professional VA. I was relieved when he got replaced with Atos Anne.
TPE's in-house system sounded dire, it was clear that the chap recording it wasn't a professional VA. I was relieved when he got replaced with Atos Anne.
TT-ONR-NRN
Established Member
While I don't mind Anne - and certainly prefer her to Matt and Neil - she hardly sounds like a professional VA either. More like the mother of a TOWIE star.
Ketech purchased Ditra which is why you can notice some similarities between Ketech and the Ditra based systems. Some of the scripts are a bit similar. But yes Ketech is a completely new system and is not a Ditra system.
Yes once London Overground switch that will truly be the end of an era. Ditra started in the early 1980s so it has been around for just over 40 years now. It will be a shame to see it go.
I guess London Overground will probably choose Atos Worldline as that is the system they went with on the West Anglia lines and GOBLIN line and ELL core so it would probably make sense to use the same supplier. There is a small chance they could pick someone else like ASL or Ketech or Siemens but it is unlikely.
Yes these days Atos Worldline are everywhere. They are not as good as the Ditra based systems but they are a lot cheaper. I have been told they are about half the cost of what Amey charged. Atos Worldline also use staff members instead of professional voice over artists which cuts down costs a lot.
The circus horn used to be at every Southern station and every Southeastern station at one point. It was used for both fast trains and platform alternations.
If anyone wants to hear the circus horn it is played at, Anerley, Clapham High Street, Crystal Palace, Brockley, Forest Hill, Honor Oak Park, New Cross Gate, Norwood Junction, Penge West, Sydenham, Wandsworth Road, West Croydon, these are the last remaining stations that still have it. Norwood Junction is probably the best station to hear it as it has the largest amount of fast trains passing through the platforms.
Between 2012 and 2018 there was also an updated trumpet horn at East Croydon station. It was a more electronic sounding one. East Croydon was the only station that had this noise. I think it was a newer version that the newer Data Display (Daktronics) boards had. I think they were trialling it as an updated version. I have attached both versions below to compare.
SWT also had a couple of fast train jingles on their Ferrograph CIS boards when they had their Amey system. But these are all long gone now.
I agree. You can tell she is not a professional voice over artist when listening to her announcements. She sounds decent enough but she is not on the same level as the professional voice over artists. She always sounds like she has a slight estuary accent. I am not much of a fan of any of the Atos Worldline voices except maybe Ruth Mitchell and Eryl Jones who both sound quite good.