My enjoyment of model railroading continues to lead my imagination in new directions. I would like to acquire a working prototype steam locomotive whistle, and not surprisingly, they are in short supply. I have contacted all the local antique shops and museums, and have Googled the topic as well. The Google search has resulted in the discovery of two companies that make locomotive whistles, but due to the weekend, I haven’t gotten in contact with them. Western Locomotive Supply is a custom whistle maker, and from what I’ve seen on their website, their products are very impressive. Boothman & Johnson appears to make several types, the Kinsley and the Southern Railway whistles. Realistically, I don’t expect to find a particular prototype except by chance.
Do any of the Forum members have any insight into this topic?
A good friend of mine has a whistle from a small 0-4-0. Back in 1950, we fired up his trusty air compressor and let it build up pressure for about an hour. Then, the moment we were waiting for. He opened the gate valve and we were treated to one second of joyous harmony!
Be sure you have enough air volume before spending a whole bunch an a whistle.
Thanks for the hard-earned advice. I have given some thought to the “power source”, and thought maybe a small boiler would work. At this point in the process, a conversation with one of the above-mentioned manufacturers will be helpful.
As an addition to my original post, Ebay is not an option for shopping for a whistle.
Don’t forget that a steam whistle sounds very different when powered on compressed air instead of steam! There are several videos on youtube that shows the principle…
A small boiler will still only give you a quite brief moment of full whistle, although your neighbors might be happier. Many years back, at a steam traction engine rally, we tried to give a full crossing whistle signal (long, long, short, long) on a locomotive whistle that had been installed on the tractor. The boiler pressure, and tone, were fading before the last long note could be sounded.
Blowing the whistle was also a known method of reducing boiler pressure on a locomotive, if it was desired to avoid the safety valve activating. Your small boiler may be better than compressed air, but likely still inadequate.
If you are still interested, it might be an idea to post your question on a prototype forum. There are some on this Kalmbach site and many more out there. I assume you realise that acquiring an using a prototype steam whistle will probably be an expensive proposition.
Could be a whole lot cheaper to acquire recorded whistle sounds and play them through a very powerful speaker system.
Thanks to all who responded to my post. Following-up on u-3-b’s suggestion, I contacted whistle maker MD Whistles in West Virginia. Their whistles are priced starting at about what an upper end HO DCC sound-equipped articulated steam locomotive would cost. The model I am interested in, the GTW 6 chime weighs about 40 lbs and is 26" tall, and requires about 150psi to operate. Mike at MD told me that they test their whistles with a compressor, and I would need a compressor with a 50 - 60 gallon tank to handle to the volume requirements, and that the whistle should give good performance with air as opposed to steam. This sounds like it might be a lot of fun - I’m glad I live out in cow country…