Over the years of her excursion career, Chesapeake and Ohio 614 has had many whistles. In the '80s, she wore a K5LA 5-chime. In 1996-97, she had a Reading 6-chime, Later on in 1997, she wore what I assume to be an AT&SF 6-chime. She also wore a long-bell 3-chime in 1998, although I've always wondered, what whistle did C&O 614 wear during revenue service? Anyone have some insight on this?
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I was always told a Nathan three chime and this diagram shows it was a Nathan.
Interesting. I honestly wouldn't have expected a 4-8-4 like that to have a 3-chime, although it probably sounded more powerful when superheated. I wonder if any old audio recordings of the J-3s exist, because it's hard to find videos online of Nathan 3-chimes, let alone superheated.
@GameBreaker64 posted:Interesting. I honestly wouldn't have expected a 4-8-4 like that to have a 3-chime, although it probably sounded more powerful when superheated. I wonder if any old audio recordings of the J-3s exist, because it's hard to find videos online of Nathan 3-chimes, let alone superheated.
Just curious, but how do you know that the whistles on the C&O were supplied with superheated steam?
I think he's making the assumption because the whistle specified in the erection drawing above was apparently made to be used with superheated steam.
@DaveSlie posted:See this video below...
The first whistle on the left, but the 2nd whistle that was sounded in the video, is identified as a
C&O 3 chime.
Maybe it's just me but, your explanation is a bit misleading:
1) Is the whistle on the left, i.e. the first one being blown, a C&O whistle?
2) The second whistle being blown, which sounds like a typical "hooter" whistle, is also a C&O whistle?
I believe both were C&O whistles, yes. I think the J-3 class whistles were probably superheated Nathan long-bell 3-chimes, which sound more close to a Union Pacific whistle. 614 did wear a whistle of that sort in 1998, and I must say, it sounds odd hearing that sound come from a passenger engine like that.
@GameBreaker64 posted:I believe both were C&O whistles, yes. I think the J-3 class whistles were probably superheated Nathan long-bell 3-chimes, which sound more close to a Union Pacific whistle. 614 did wear a whistle of that sort in 1998, and I must say, it sounds odd hearing that sound come from a passenger engine like that.
The whistle the 614 had in 1998 was a Hancock Three Chime off a N&W Class J. That very whistle can still be heard today when a certain streamlined 4-8-4 is fired up in the Virginia or North Carolina area.
@Hot Water posted:Maybe it's just me but, your explanation is a bit misleading:
1) Is the whistle on the left, i.e. the first one being blown, a C&O whistle?
2) The second whistle being blown, which sounds like a typical "hooter" whistle, is also a C&O whistle?
The description was rather inelegant.
I'll try: The C&O whistle is the one in the first position on the left and is the second one blown in the video.
The plain bell whistle (hooter) is from a C&O freight locomotive. The Alleghenies, Kanawhas and various other freight classes were equipped with them. They were also Nathan products, unlike the N&W's which were shop built at Roanoke.
Incidentally, B&O freight classes also wore plain bell whistles. The B&O EM-1s , C&O H8 Alleghenies, VGN AGs (Allegheny copies) and the N&W As and Ys all had very similar though slightly different sounding whistles.
Of course, whistles not being precision musical instruments, varied in sound, even from others of the same model.
Compare the difference in sound of UP 844, SP 4449, and N&W 611. All three have Hancock long-bell 3 Chime whistles but each has its own "voice". I believe the current whistle on 4449 is the pre-1939 flat top version while the other two have the later step top design.
@Nick Chillianis posted:The description was rather inelegant.
I'll try: The C&O whistle is the one in the first position on the left and is the second one blown in the video.
Please view the video again, as the first whistle being blow, is indeed the whistle in the first position, on the left.
The plain bell whistle (hooter) is from a C&O freight locomotive. The Alleghenies, Kanawhas and various other freight classes were equipped with them. They were also Nathan products, unlike the N&W's which were shop built at Roanoke.
Incidentally, B&O freight classes also wore plain bell whistles. The B&O EM-1s , C&O H8 Alleghenies, VGN AGs (Allegheny copies) and the N&W As and Ys all had very similar though slightly different sounding whistles.
Of course, whistles not being precision musical instruments, varied in sound, even from others of the same model.
Compare the difference in sound of UP 844, SP 4449, and N&W 611.
The whistles on both SP 4449 and UP 844, are supplied with superheated steam, while the whistle on N&W is not.
All three have Hancock long-bell 3 Chime whistles but each has its own "voice". I believe the current whistle on 4449 is the pre-1939 flat top version while the other two have the later step top design.
@Hot Water posted:
The description was rather inelegant.
I'll try: The C&O whistle is the one in the first position on the left and is the second one blown in the video.
Please view the video again, as the first whistle being blow, is indeed the whistle in the first position, on the left.
Go back and look at the video again. It is indeed the whistle second from the left that was blown first. As Nick said, it was the first whistle on the left that was blown second.
@Big Jim posted:Go back and look at the video again. It is indeed the whistle second from the left that was blown first. As Nick said, it was the first whistle on the left that was blown second.
OK, it finally sunk in! That first whistle blown sounded just like an SP freight whistle.
@Big Jim posted:Go back and look at the video again. It is indeed the whistle second from the left that was blown first. As Nick said, it was the first whistle on the left that was blown second.
Thanks Jim.
I watched it three times before commenting, just to be sure I got it right.
@Hot Water Thanks for reminding me about 611's whistle. I had forgotten that the J's whistle is currently blown on saturated steam. If I recall correctly, it's position has been changed a few times during its excursion career. At one time it may have used superheated steam tapped off the superheater header. I know that when new, they had Viloco whistle operators, backed up by pull ropes on both the engineer's and fireman's sides. Both ropes were attached to a common bar that ran across the top of the backhead. It appears from listening to many, many recordings by O.Winston Link and others, that the crews preferred the whistle cord over the push-button, on-off Viloco system.
This image of 600's backhead shows the dual pull ropes, the crossbar and the Viloco valve on the brake stand.
Well that was clear as mud.
Poor blond in the back. No one offered her their ear muffs....
Here is 604's whistle at Cass back in the day.
@JoelMarksbury posted:Here is 604's whistle at Cass back in the day.
That sounds pretty awesome!
Very interesting. You'd never expect such a deep whistle to come out of a passenger engine like that. I would've expected a 6-chime but I guess it's a long-bell 3-chime.
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