OK, this is going to be pretty esoteric, so if you continue reading, don't blame me.

Train whistles are pretty fancy things, usually cast of brass. Back in the days of steam they really were whistles, a verticle tube with a notch cut in it. A whistle has only one note, and that was unstisfactory, so multiple compartments were added above the notch. Multiple notes were thereby added, and they (notes) were called "chimes". This was actually developed for steamboats. Individual boats had their own distinctive sounds.

Steam locomotives adopted this practice. Baldwin made their own whistles, which were 5 chimes. Today so-called 5 chime whistles are not whistles at al, but are 5 horns.

Today's switch engines have from one to five horns, often only two, one in forward, one rear. Line, or long haul locomotives usually have five horns, three forward, two back.

In 1934 at the Chicago World's Fair, General Motors introduced a lightweight two cycle diesel motor. It was developed for submarines for the anticipated WWII, but GM wanted to sell it to the railroads. They invited several RR excecutives to a test ride from Chicago to New Oleans. The execs said they didnt have time for the 3.5 day ride. GM said, "It'll only be 11 hours." This was due to no stops for water and fuel, and a steady 79mph. The steam locomotives were only 2% thermodynamically effcient, whereas the diesel was 37% efficient. Your car is about 28% efficient.

Oh, now where was I going with this? Each engineer (Train driver to some readers) has his own personal and distinctive manner of blowing the whistle/horn. This is called his "quillen". Your ignorance has now been reduced ever so slightly. You're welcome.

Yeah. The cat's outta the bag, huh?

our place is just close enough to the line to hear the whistles blow as they signal coming thru at night.

It is like rain beating on a tin roof, a childhood memory.

thank you for the information.

Grew up maybe a half mile from NYCS and Nickel Plate tracks. At night under all the noise a passing train would make, you could hear the wheels ring.

I worked as a boilermaker for Conrail, my father's father was an engineer.

Does anyone know of a video of a steam locomotive taking on water on the fly from a track pan?

BTW I used to see a deaf old guy at the range. He had hearing aids in both ears and the batteries were constantly going dead. He got that way from driving trains on the Texas and Pacific from Ft Worth out to near Wink. Then he picked up an east bound train and drove it back to Ft. Worth. He started that about the time WWII started and he was exempt from service and the draft. He drove some steam lomotives until they were taken out of service about 1955.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Does anyone know of a video of a steam locomotive taking on water on the fly from a track pan?

BTW I used to see a deaf old guy at the range. He had hearing aids in both ears and the batteries were constantly going dead. He got that way from driving trains on the Texas and Pacific from Ft Worth out to near Wink. Then he picked up an east bound train and drove it back to Ft. Worth. He started that about the time WWII started and he was exempt from service and the draft. He drove some steam lomotives until they were taken out of service about 1955.

My grandfather similar, died in 1959 having made the change to oil.

In 1977 I took the registration plate off an engine commissioned in 1955 as he might have driven that particular unit.

My grandfather drove from Cleveland to Baltimore twice a week, and if you ever met my grandmother you'd wonder why he didn't make that three times.

Retired from The RR,My Dad was an engineer who
also retired,anyway some engineers of old had their own whistles which they would put in place when they went to work and remove at the end of their shift or run.
The old steam whistles were something to hear.
Other than that don't miss it at all after 38 yrs.

quote:

Originally posted by crabyx78:
Retired from The RR,My Dad was an engineer who
also retired,anyway some engineers of old had their own whistles which they would put in place when they went to work and remove at the end of their shift or run.
The old steam whistles were something to hear.
Other than that don't miss it at all after 38 yrs.

I nailed one lantern, the pin out of a coupler (bears my initials by chance- "GB"), and an old-style bronze bell in a swinging cradle(funny story involved).

and- a dead man's whistle off the foot pedal(I've forgotten the proper term for that pedal), nice little brass affairs that were pretty much laying all over the place because the engineers would remove them. There was also always a coupler knuckle in the cab to put on the pedal so the engineer didn't have to keep his foot on it all day.

We'll leave the subject of removing the toilet for another time.