Is Dianne Thompson the (F) Train Voice? Maybe Not!

[TheSubwayStation 908]

I've been reading some things which have suggested that the train's voice, which we all thought was Dianne Thompson, is actually a different person named Kathleen Campion. If this is true, no wonder that the train announcements sound so different from the announcements...

 

Here's the subchat thread on this:

 

http://www.subchat.c...122&p=1#1151523

 

And, a recording of Kathleen Campion's voice:

 

http://www.patriceregnier.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/bloombergpart1.mp3

 

What do you guys think? If anybody has any more information on this, it would be interesting to hear. People have been thinking that Kathleen Campion recorded the new countdown clock announcements at 23 St and 28 St on the Broadway Line (video by bebo2good1):

 

In any case, I think I figured out who Dianne Thompson is, whether or not she's the train voice:

 

http://www.facebook....hompsonstanciel

[Threxx 1,833]

They seem very similar... why would the lie about something so trivial?

[JubaionBx12+SBS 417]

The still sounds like Dianne.

[Mr Railfan 702]

I still say it's Dianne . If you listen to the 34 st bound announcements and compare it to the count down voice , its almost the same tone. Also Dianne sounds very similar to the announcements on the and the announcements and those sound similar to the announcement. My guess is that the announcements were recorded first followed by the and and then followed by the and reroute announcements she recorded. That's why there's a difference in the tone.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Mr Railfan

[TheSubwayStation 908]

They seem very similar... why would the lie about something so trivial?

 

When did they lie? If I'm remembering correctly, they never said who recorded the and announcements; it's just that people assumed it was Dianne.

 

In the audio recording of Kathleen Campion, I think the way she says the word "computer" sounds COMPLETELY like the train voice.

Edited July 30, 2012 by TheSubwayStation

[Threxx 1,833]

When did they lie? If I'm remembering correctly, they never said who recorded the and announcements; it's just that people assumed it was Dianne.

 

In the audio recording of Kathleen Campion, I think the way she says the word "computer" sounds COMPLETELY like the train voice.

 

 

Then why would people assume without good information. You know what they say about people who assume...

[TheSubwayStation 908]

Then why would people assume without good information. You know what they say about people who assume...

 

Railfans had never heard of Kathleen Campion before just recently, so they probably just picked out of the three (Dianne, Jessica, Catherine) the person that sounded the most similar to the train voice.

[Mr Railfan 702]

I'll make a vid with all three voices used , you guys decide for yourself . Ill post it soon.

[TheSubwayStation 908]

If anybody can find a recording of Dianne Thompson that isn't a subway announcement, it would be helpful since we can compare it to Kathleen Campion.

[Mr Railfan 702]

Alright here's a vid with all the voices used, make your own assumption but I still say it's dianne.

 

 

 

Credit to JamaicaQnzFreak for some of the train announcements.

 

The rest of the announcements are from my collection.

Edited July 30, 2012 by Mr Railfan

[TheSubwayStation 908]

Or, I heard one guy say that Dianne did the main announcements, but when they update them (Jay St-MetroTech, Newkirk Plaza, Atlantic Av-Barclays Center, for example), Kathleen Campion does the recording since Dianne is no longer available.

[Q10 Airport 134]

The voices sound so similar . . . who knows???

[TheSubwayStation 908]

Well, the train voice seems to have a weird rhythm to it, sort of like a computerized voice. Same with Campion's voice in the recording I posted...The voice doesn't seem to have it.

 

For example, "This is a manhattan bound-F, (pause) local train.

[Vistausss 678]

Or maybe it's just the difference between IRT and the rest. I mean, throughout IRT lines you don't hear no pause. Throughout the rest, you do. So maybe she just did the pause to fit the other announcements on non-IRT lines?

[Mr Railfan 702]

I think there's pauses for clarity reasons , so the speech doesn't sound jumbled up. Also , im sure the along with the rest of the A division announcements were recorded before the R142s ran in service (1998-1999) and the and reroute announcements were recorded in 2005 when the 160's were delivered.

[Guest Lance]

@TheSubwayStation: It may be because the "local train" part of the announcement is spliced into the recording. Listen to any of the destination announcements, like "Coney Island-Stillwell Av-bound", "Kings Hwy-bound" or "Jamaica-179 St-bound". The inflection sounds exactly the same, doesn't it?

 

As to this Kathleen vs Dianne thing, I doubt we're going to find out who voiced these announcements unless either the MTA or the people in question actually answer that inquiry. I will say that people's voices do change over time and that the 7th Avenue announcement were recorded in 2000 while the F-line was recorded in '07. Look at (or listen to) the announcements that Catherine did starting in 2006-07. We start off with a very hyper Catherine on the N, Q and W, then she gets a little muted on the R, a bit more on the B and D and so on and so forth until we get to the G and V where she sounds half-dead.

[TheSubwayStation 908]

21queensbridge on SubChat says this:

sorry to bump this thread but it is Kathleen campion who voices the f line. i did a little research and asked Kathleen myself, and she basically confirmed it.

Well, we read it on subchat so we know it's true, right???

Edited July 30, 2012 by TheSubwayStation

[Quill Depot 1,570]

Hmm... It is her.

[Vistausss 678]

Hmm... It is her.

 

 

And you conclude that based on ...?

[Q10 Airport 134]

The voice for the definitely sounds different than the one for the !!! Thompson does the voice for the , but it does not sound like her voice for the .

[RookiePhenom 92]

Sounds like a frog got into her throat (or had some listerine) but you can tell it's Dianne.

[INDman 412]

They seem very similar... why would the lie about something so trivial?

 

Who said they lied, I think they have more important things to worry about.

[Q10 Airport 134]

Who said they lied, I think they have more important things to worry about.

 

 

That's the issue I keep on grappling with. Why would the lie over something so trivial?

[INDman 412]

That's the issue I keep on grappling with. Why would the lie over something so trivial?

 

Again, who said they lied? Maybe who ever is giving out the info to the press was just given the wrong information. No one aside from buffs really care.

[r40s 4501 13]

who care Dianne Thompson the Train Voice?