Thank you, Alexander. That was very helpful.

Listening to the whistle, I'm a little confused. To me, it sounds similar to a Southern Pacific 5 chime (which is one of the few whistles that I, personally, am not a fan of). If that is a Baldwin 3 chime, why does it sound so different than usual?

I've said this before; I'll say it again:

Always remember that steam whistles were considered interchangeable parts by most railroads, and that there was little to no motivation to remain consistent with "factory-built" or original-issue parts. As long as the whistle fulfilled the function of warning people, and in at least some cases was acceptable to passengers' ears (you tried to not put a high-pitched screaming whistle on a flagship passenger train, for example), AND the whistle could fit the steam outlet pipe or valve, they weren't terribly concerned.

There were exceptions, of course. CP whistles reportedly had a different thread type from most locomotive hardware. And some of the last whistles made were designed for higher boiler pressures (N&W articulateds, UP 4-8-4s and articulateds, etc.). Also, some Southern railroads persisted in allowing engineers to customize their locos, including whistles.

But it's like replacing a starter in a car. Do you insist on factory-issue from the same manufacturing run, do you use the "name brand" part the dealer and factory shop manual call for with a stiff price but a one-year warranty, do you go get the aftermarket starter with a lifetime warranty at half the price, or do you take one out of a junkyard for $10-20? And all for a car that you just want to keep running for another year or two, not 50 years and going to car shows? The same thing happened with whistles back then, and it continues today with air horns.

The concept of "the original whistle" is at times a farce, even if you have original documentation.

BLW 60000 did run on the Southern Pacific. Maybe that's where it got that whistle.

If you look at 60000 it has an SP-style smokebox front and an SP-style Vanderbilt tender as well, although on the SP it used an SP oil tender, rather than convert 60000's coal tender to oil.

Earl's note is a good point. The whistle is one of the easiest things to change on a steam engine, and makes a big change in how the engine presents itself.

RDG built the T-1's with a high-pitched single-note whistle (possibly inherited from the I-10 2-8-0 donor engine) and in Ramble service RDG usually substituted a Reading passenger chime on one of the T-1's, and the 60000's whistle on some Rambles. After the Rambles, I've heard recordings of 2102 with a PRR passenger chime.

Interestingly, 60000 has an SP-style 5-digit numberboard next to the stack, but since the engine has a 5-digit number itself, there's no place to put SP's "X" for an extra train!

Phil Mulligan

Looking at this pic, it very well seems as though 60000 has a Star Brass/SP Desert 5 Chime.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=1146013

So, I have 2 more questions to ask regarding steam locomotive whistles.

1) I know that there are DM&IR 3 chimes. Are these whistles shop-made by the DM&IR, or are they just Hancock long-bell 3 chimes?

2) I saw a steam locomotive whistle compilation video on YouTube, and they identified the whistle on U.S. Army/Huckleberry Railroad #152 as a Pere Marquette 5 chime. Did the Pere Marquette make their own whistles, and, if not, what whistle does #152 use?

I'm just asking these questions again since I never really got an answer, and I'm very curious about these whistles.

As a rule, railroad-made whistles are MUCH rarer than you seem to think. They tend to be the product of either a major railroad with the capacity to build its own locos (PRR, N&W, etc.), or a remote backwoods line cobbling something together by trial and error. Even with railroads that had their own shops and production facilities, many of them still tended to order whistles from makers like Hancock or Star. I would be staggered to hear that PM or DM&IR made their own whistles.

To be honest, even the self-professed experts in specific railroads are often clueless about actual whistle usage and origins on those lines. The PRR guys are a step ahead with the actual drawings, and numerous examples of both the noted three-chime passenger and screeching freight "Banchee" whistle abounding with unique angular dome mounts, valve levers, etc. But even they can never give us a straight story on how the original three-chimes were modified to give the deeper sound heard prominently on "7002," 1223, and the many recordings of K4s's on the New York & Long Branch.