Some time back, when I was at a railroad fan web site (was it this one?), a moderator informed me that the air horn on a diesel electric locomotive is referred to as a “whistle”, and NOT as a “horn”, because that is in keeping with a tradition of the railroad.
But, I have yet to read ANY posted comment, either in this forum or in any other, identifying an air horn on a locomotive as a “whistle”.
Does anyone know anything about this?
Since being told that, I now refer to a locomotive air horn as a locomotive whistle, but I think I’m the only person doing that.
I wonder if that moderator is a die-hard steam fan who simply will not acknowledge that some terminology has changed with the advent of diesel locomotives? I do not recall ever seeing or hearing a diesel horn called a “whistle” by anyone truly familiar with railroading.
Ed, Larry, Carl, Balt, Zug, Jeff, anyone?
The only whistle I ever knew of on a diesel locomotive was the whistle in the cab that trainmen used to communicate to the engineer in the days before the use of radios in railroading.
Oh, yes, writesong, welcome to the forums! I see you are not afraid to ask questions, and we are always to answer, helping others to understand this wonderful way of transportation.
Horn is pretty much the accepted term, but whistle still pops up in various contexts - like the “whistle board,” the sign on the ROW that indicates it’s time to start sounding the horn/whistle for a crossing. Those signs still use a “W,” not an “H.”
Back in the day, we used to refer to the fire alarm in my old hometown as the “fire whistle,” even though it was actually an air-raid style siren…
Don’t worry about the purists. Sometimes they get a little carried away. Live and learn…
I still miss the days of the steam whistle. Horns suck by comparison.There were engineers who could almost play a tune on them, and many could be recognized by what was their “signature” when using them. In the middle of the night an experienced engineer could make them sound as lonesome as could be. They were a joy to hear and I laid awake many nights wishing to hear them. Steam whistles rule when played porperly.
The only steam whistle ever heard on a diesel was the steam whistle installed on a SOU RR passenger e unit. When on front of SOU’s Crescent not used often but when used was sweet. Believe it was only on one unit but cannot confirm ?
Whistle or horn - completely interchangable. I think the rulebook calls them horn signals, but don’t quote me on that. I’d check, but it’s in my locker. On newer engines, the lever/button has a picture of a little trumpet next to it.
Can’t speak to SOU, but I believe NH and possibly some other railroads used Hancock Air Chimes, which sound distinctly like a steam whistle (and they are, in fact, whistles).
I have two friends that are “Engineers” (another misnomer) and they both have referred to “Whistling a crossing” or “Whistle signals for the man on the ground…”
Whistle or horn - completely interchangable. I think the rulebook calls them horn signals, but don’t quote me on that. I’d check, but it’s in my locker. On newer engines, the lever/button has a picture of a little trumpet next to it.
Zug,
A button with a picture? Kind of takes the fun out of the mental image for me.
In my opinion, you need to find the reference, and the railroad involved. It would be THEIR tradition alone that would apply, and certainly not constitute a general rule for you to follow about when to use ‘horn’ or ‘whistle’.
Part of the fun, of course, is that current references still use the word ‘whistle’ when referring to signaling: I believe both FRA and the current GCOR do this. But that doesn’t mean that the physical device used to do the signaling has to be referred to as a ‘whistle’ when it rather obviously isn’t. That’s where the semantic confusion has come in.
If it is a device with a vibrating diaphragm producing the sound, it’s probably a horn even if the classic ‘trumpet’ bell or megaphone isn’t present (car horns, and some cab-car horns, curl the bell but it’s still needed) If it uses aerodynamic flow instability across a gap or orifice to produce the sound, it’s a whistle. (It might be noted that steam locomotive whistles generally use mostly air to produce their sound, which is why blowing them on compressed air isn’t that different in most cases from blowing them on steam.)
The Hancock air whistle is a special case, because while it appears to have a bell (similar to what’s on a ‘horn’ PA speaker) that is just a bowl reflector. The 4700 for example has a languid plate just like a Hancock steam whistle; the bowl concentrates the sound ‘forward’ rather than omnidirectionally radially as the whistle would if mounted as usual for a steam-locomotive. (At least theoretically this reduced the size and air consumption n
I own a Nathan P5 “whistle”. I have the maintenace sheets and some other data from Nathan that refer to this huge and loud creature as a “whistle”. I accept that term even though to me it’s a “horn”. Either way it sounds great and echos well when I blow it to scare the cows in the surrounding fields here at the farm.
Many terms are improperly used with some being hold-overs from days gone by. I know several folks who still call it a “perculator” no matter how it makes and provides coffee in the morning. I’m sure everyone has heard someone call an engine (car, truck, airplane, boat) a “motor”. Look at the lengthy discussions concerning “turnouts” vs “switches”.
Interesting, because the official Nathan site now doesn’t refer to the AirChimes as anything but ‘horns’.
You might provide the date of the material you have, and perhaps document numbers or even scans, as it would be interesting to identify when their policies changed.