Without painting with too broad a brush, there seems to be a tendency for the unusual (such as boiler tube and other one-off or home-made whistles) in the areas most associated with the Mississippi and Ohio River steamboat trade as well as southern railroads in general. I believe Ed Fagan just touches on the locomotive aspect of this this in his book "The Engine's Moan." Nonetheless, "making do or doing without" is a tradition that is probably less geographical than economical once one scrapes the top layer of paint off (metaphorically speaking).

Not particularly germane to the preceding post but peripherally pertinent to the thread in general, there was minor crossover in best - and occasionally worst - practices in whistles as used on locomotive, steamboat or stationary use. There was also some crossover in application as well. In one of Fred Way's steamboat directories (IIRC, it was Way's "Steam Towboat Directory" but may possibly have been his "Packet Directory") there was a boat entry that went into a bit of detail about one particular whistle that migrated from locomotive to boat use or vice-versa. There is some truth to the old saw that a "steamboat whistle" could not stand up to locomotive use, but that is probably more due to multiple bell chime construction and the use of bells longer than 2X or 3X the diameter than it is in the wall thickness of castings, etc.

I have a DM&IR three chime, as far as I know, they were only used on the Yellowstones. I also have a drawing listing all the parts. At first glance you would think it was a regular long bell Hancock three chime step top, and it kinda is. The drawing specifies a Hancock bell, but the bowl/valve is all Viloco. It has a balance valve actuated by a built in air cylinder and can also be blown with a lever (which DMIR didn't use) or it can be blown with an air line to the cylinder portion, by a small whistle valve in the cab near the engineers right knee by the window, fireman side had one too. (tried to post a photo, but can't figure out how on this site, says my photo is invalid). By the way, Hancock dropped the flat top bell design in 1938, and thats when the step top design began.

The whistle on 9 is from the Norfolk & Portsmouth belt line railroad. They made boiler tube whistles for their engines. So most of the running gear on 9 came from 7. Before 7 went to the vbr it worked for the belt and had one of these whistles. When 9&7 were at new hope 9 often wore 7’s whistle because most people didn’t like the single chime 9 came with. At some point the whistle disappeared. This isn’t 7’s whistle but from another belt engine. Listen to semaphore records NH&I recording to hear 7’s whistle and compare it to the whistle on 9.

I just recently remembered that Saginaw Timber/Polson Logging 2-8-2 #2 also uses a boiler tube whistle. I've heard somewhere that she is wearing a Great Northern 7 chime. I haven't been able to see any pictures, or videos, that are close enough to try and count the tubes on the whistle. Does anyone have any information that can help shed some light about this unique whistle? If it isn't a GN 7 chime, what is it?

I have questions about multiple 3 chime whistles.

1) Is a Princeton 3 chime the same as a normal Southern 3 chime, or is there a difference between the two? If they are different, what makes them different from each other?
2) What exactly is a Kenny Fannon 3 chime?
3) Is a Manns Creek 3 chime the same as a normal Crosby 3 chime, or is there a difference between the two? If they are different, what makes them different from each other?

There are photos of Sim Webb and Mrs. Casey Jones with what is supposedly one of Casey's multi-chime whistles. Does anyone know the provenance of the whistle pictured?

I guess there is no end to the questions one can ask about steam whistles.

1) Is there a difference between a UP & a SP 5 chime?

2) Is there such a thing as a NKP 5 chime, or was it just a Nathan 5 chime?

Polson 2 has a home built 7 chime whistle. This whistle has been on engine for at least 70 years, based on photographic evidence. If she sported a different whistle is was for a short time. If you want to hear the whistle any current Youtube video will be sufficient. The attached photo is a close up I was able to take a few years ago when I was working on the engine.

A UP 5 chime and an SP 5 chime are completely different animals. The UP one was made by Star Brass, while the SP version is a home-made SP casting.

I had both on a work bench once and measured them both. I have lost the notes I made but found the SP whistle was about a 1/2-3/4" longer in all the chamber lengths. I have recordings of both, and while the chord created by both is similar, the SP one is slightly lower pitch.

Doyle McCormack would be the man to ask about that. When he got 1361 running back in 1987, he was able to replicate that raspy, deep-throated sound most common in old Pennsy recordings.

OK. Here's a question I never thought I'd ask.

Regarding the 3 chime whistle used by the LNER streamlined A4 class 4-6-2s, is that whistle a LNER 3 chime based off of a Crosby 3 chime, or is it Crosby 3 chime? I'm very curious.

All the LNER histories I've seen called it a stock Crosby 3-chime.