Having been a "yute" in the early 1960's, I was transfixed to that TV program, long before I was old enough to appreciate the three beauties swimmin' in the water tank.

Sierra #3 has always been one of my favorites, tho I have yet to see her run in person. (wrong coast) The Tyco model set was my very first HO train (still have it, wish I had the box.)

The opening title-scene every week featured a long beatiful chime whistle blowing, which always made me "all goose-pimply" and still does today on the TVland re-runs.

Can anyone positively identify that whistle?
5-chime ? . . .6-chime ? what RR heritage ?
and does any steamer operating today have one on it?

I would love to get a good tape or CD of that sound.

Better yet, would pay good money to find the actual whistle, or one like it if there's more than one, and put it on steam myself.

Drucker's Store got any ?
____ ____ _ ____

The "Petticoat Junction" whistle sounds like an SP short "desert chime" 5 chime whistle. It's not #3's normal whistle which is also a 5 chime but sounds very different. Sierra #34 used an SP Desert Chime back in the 1970's when the Sierra was in the pass biz. There area few still out there, but don't know offhand if an engine is wearing one.

I know the the feeling of that whistle, X-Santa Maria Valley #100 had one when it ran on the White Mountain Scenic RR in AZ when I was a kid. Between the TV show and #100, I though ALL locomotives sounded like that.......

> Having been a "yute" in the early
> 1960's, I was transfixed to that TV program,
> long before I was old enough to appreciate
> the three beauties swimmin' in the water
> tank.

> Sierra #3 has always been one of my
> favorites, tho I have yet to see her run in
> person. (wrong coast) The Tyco model set was
> my very first HO train (still have it, wish
> I had the box.)

> The opening title-scene every week featured
> a long beatiful chime whistle blowing, which
> always made me "all goose-pimply"
> and still does today on the TVland re-runs.

> Can anyone positively identify that whistle?
> 5-chime ? . . .6-chime ? what RR heritage ?
> and does any steamer operating today have
> one on it?

> I would love to get a good tape or CD of
> that sound.

> Better yet, would pay good money to find the
> actual whistle, or one like it if there's
> more than one, and put it on steam myself.

> Drucker's Store got any ?
> ____ ____ _ ____

>

> I know the the feeling of that whistle,
> X-Santa Maria Valley #100 had one when it
> ran on the White Mountain Scenic RR in AZ
> when I was a kid. Between the TV show and
> #100, I though ALL locomotives sounded like
> that.......

I take it that this is NOT the same whistle the No. 100 had at Heber. I've been told that it was given a bad sounding junker they had removed from the No. 35 after it was put out to pasture. I've been trying to find any recordings or sound movies of this engine and Reed's No. 36 (ex-Sierra) for years. Anyone have any sound recordings of either of these at White Mountain (or at Heber, for that matter?)

Jeff Terry

jterry618@msn.com

> I take it that this is NOT the same whistle
> the No. 100 had at Heber. I've been told
> that it was given a bad sounding junker they
> had removed from the No. 35 after it was put
> out to pasture. I've been trying to find any
> recordings or sound movies of this engine
> and Reed's No. 36 (ex-Sierra) for years.
> Anyone have any sound recordings of either
> of these at White Mountain (or at Heber, for
> that matter?)

Jeff, find a copy of Mobile Fidelity"s "Steel Rail's Under Thundering Skies". There are cuts of Sierra #34 as well as WMSR #36 wearing both its ALCO 5-chime and #100's ESpee 5 Chime.

I have some VERY bad recordings of both of them done on an old 1960's Sony 3" reel to reel.

Earl Knoob

> The "Petticoat Junction" whistle
> sounds like an SP short "desert
> chime" 5 chime whistle. It's not #3's
> normal whistle which is also a 5 chime but
> sounds very different. Sierra #34 used an SP
> Desert Chime back in the 1970's when the
> Sierra was in the pass biz. There area few
> still out there, but don't know offhand if
> an engine is wearing one.

> I know the feeling of that whistle,
> X-Santa Maria Valley #100 had one when it
> ran on the White Mountain Scenic RR in AZ
> when I was a kid. Between the TV show and
> #100, I though ALL locomotives sounded like
> that.......

Anybody out there have an SP short "desert chime" 5-chime they would consider selling ?

OR - how about a good copy of the blueprints for same.

No promises, but maybe you might someday hear it on 425, or at R&T.

Steve Gilbert


passenger@readingnorthern.com

> Jeff, find a copy of Mobile Fidelity"s
> "Steel Rail's Under Thundering
> Skies". There are cuts of Sierra #34 as
> well as WMSR #36 wearing both its ALCO
> 5-chime and #100's ESpee 5 Chime.

> I have some VERY bad recordings of both of
> them done on an old 1960's Sony 3" reel
> to reel.

> Earl Knoob

Like Steve, I wondered about this whistle, and this is what I know about it.

The whistle that is on the Hooterville Cannonball (Sierra #3) is a five chime whistle. Several closeups in the pilot episode confirm this.

However, the whistle that you hear on the Petticoat Junction theme song is definitely a 3-chime whistle that is dubbed into the soundtrack whenever the whistle was blown.

I asked the question many years ago of Petticoat Junction creator/producer Paul Henning, and he said that he didn't like the sound of the 5-chime whistle, as it wasn't what he envisioned for the Cannonball. When the pilot was being planned, he happened to visit some steam threshing show in the midwest, heard a whistle he liked, and arranged to have it recorded for the soundtrack. He didn't remember much about what kind of whistle it was, but he did say it had a round top, something he noticed because he had never seen a whistle with a round top.



yeknod920@aol.com

A "round top" could be either a Lunkenheimer "dome top" or a Powell "bald top" depending on whether it had a finial or not.

Neither brand is traditionally considered a "pretty" sounding 3-chime, as the highest notes are often too shrill, leaving the chords sounding modal at best. Size? I honestly dunno since I haven't seen the show in years, I would guess at 4-6" with a 5" the most likely.

> Like Steve, I wondered about this whistle,
> and this is what I know about it.

> The whistle that is on the Hooterville
> Cannonball (Sierra #3) is a five chime
> whistle. Several closeups in the pilot
> episode confirm this.

> However, the whistle that you hear on the
> Petticoat Junction theme song is definitely
> a 3-chime whistle that is dubbed into the
> soundtrack whenever the whistle was blown.

> I asked the question many years ago of
> Petticoat Junction creator/producer Paul
> Henning, and he said that he didn't like the
> sound of the 5-chime whistle, as it wasn't
> what he envisioned for the Cannonball. When
> the pilot was being planned, he happened to
> visit some steam threshing show in the
> midwest, heard a whistle he liked, and
> arranged to have it recorded for the
> soundtrack. He didn't remember much about
> what kind of whistle it was, but he did say
> it had a round top, something he noticed
> because he had never seen a whistle with a
> round top.

I would have bet that the Cannonball's whistle was more than three chimes.

Then again, the one on E.B.T. 15 has a pretty nice sound for a three chime.

Can someone who KNOWS explain why each E.B.T. engine's whistle sounds different, yet they all look basically the same size, three chime, etc.
17 has the same screemer on recordings from regular service in the early 50's. How long has it been that way?
It's wierd, but I still like it. After all, it's the 17.

If I were able to determine the make and model of a particular whistle, would any of you guys be able to tell me the relative pitches sounded? (Which would spare me doing a good bit of potentially ugly math.)

Sincerely,
David Ackerman

david_ackerman@yahoo.com

There is a really nice book on Steam whistles that just recently came out:
The Engine's Moan: American Steam Whistles by Edward A. Fagen, Paperback: 277 pages

Engine's Moan

A lot of whistles look the same at even short distances, but there are subtle differences.Two whistles of the same diameter and apparent height can have different chamber lengths and differences in the arched openings. Some whistles were customized by their owners by lengthening or shortening individual chambers to get lower or higher tones respectively. Even such items as how the whistle is plumbed affects the way it blows- the variables are infinite. Theres some real whistle experts that haunt this board who could go on for hours if you are really interested.

staybolt@bellsouth.net

> Like Steve, I wondered about this whistle,
> and this is what I know about it.

> The whistle that is on the Hooterville
> Cannonball (Sierra #3) is a five chime
> whistle. Several closeups in the pilot
> episode confirm this.

> However, the whistle that you hear on the
> Petticoat Junction theme song is definitely
> a 3-chime whistle that is dubbed into the
> soundtrack whenever the whistle was blown.

> I asked the question many years ago of
> Petticoat Junction creator/producer Paul
> Henning, and he said that he didn't like the
> sound of the 5-chime whistle, as it wasn't
> what he envisioned for the Cannonball. When
> the pilot was being planned, he happened to
> visit some steam threshing show in the
> midwest, heard a whistle he liked, and
> arranged to have it recorded for the
> soundtrack. He didn't remember much about
> what kind of whistle it was, but he did say
> it had a round top, something he noticed
> because he had never seen a whistle with a
> round top.

I can't comment on the above, however, I have a copy of Brad Miller's record as well as home brewed recordings of Sierra #34 at work in 1977. It's whistle is a perfect match of the the TV show. It would make sence for Hollywood to make use of something off the shelf in Jamestown. I always thought #3's 5-chime never really fit the engine, but it IS #3's signature. When recording a whistle, unless you are 1/4 mile away, you really only hear the chimes facing you. The sound you hear will vary with what chimes are blowing in your direction. Then the engine is moving you then get into the Doppler Effect, stuff, etc.

> I can't comment on the above, however, I
> have a copy of Brad Miller's record as well
> as home brewed recordings of Sierra #34 at
> work in 1977. It's whistle is a perfect
> match of the the TV show. It would make
> sence for Hollywood to make use of something
> off the shelf in Jamestown. I always thought
> #3's 5-chime never really fit the engine,
> but it IS #3's signature. When recording a
> whistle, unless you are 1/4 mile away, you
> really only hear the chimes facing you. The
> sound you hear will vary with what chimes
> are blowing in your direction. Then the
> engine is moving you then get into the
> Doppler Effect, stuff, etc.

Okay, follow this link and give a listen to the original Petticoat Junction theme song, and you will hear what is undeniably a 3-chime whistle, 4-5 inch diameter. Don made a correct call on this one.

http://www.timvp.com/junction.html

There is no way in the world this can be a 5 chime whistle, unless two of the five chimes are completely blocked off.

And, as someone else suggested, it is probably a Lunkenheimer chime whistle. Powell chimes don't come close to this note blend.

>Theres some real whistle experts that haunt this board who could go on for hours if you are really interested.

I WISH THEY WOULD! :-)

Semper Vaporo,
Charles T. McCullough
CMBY RY