Hancock Air Whistles

Brian Hebert · **Posted:** Thu Aug 16, 2001 8:54 pm

I was visiting Danbury Connecticut(one of my favorite railroad haunts) a couple of years ago,and had the good luck to see a commuter train approch the Danbury Station with a pair of FL9s leading the train. As the lead engine blew for a crossing,I noticed that it's Hancock Air Whistle was sharp and very pleasing to the ear. It was loud and had a sharp pitch to it.
Lately,I've noticed these same whistles on a few northeastern tourist railroads,and for some reason they sound different.If you could hear them(on the tourist trains) they sound like the wooden whistles that you'd buy in the gift shop. They don't sound the same as the FL9s did in Danbury.
Do the whistles on the FL9s have a higher air pressure,or was it just my disance from the train that made the sound seem different?
Just why did the New Haven use these whistles?
Was it that at the time that the New Haven railroad was changing from steam to diesel,that the public became outraged at the horrible blatting noise from the air horns of the first diesels,that it prompted the New Haven to experiment with and then employ these wonderful sounding Air Whistles? Did the public find the sound of a whistle more pleasing than a horn?
I'll bet they did!
So,did these whistles operate at a different pressure than todays standard air horn? They just seem to sound different on a road unit than a switcher.What was the New Haven on to here?

Brian Hebert

http://www.conwayscenic.com
btamper@hotmail.com

David M. Wilkins · **Posted:** Thu Aug 16, 2001 10:24 pm

The L&N used Hancock Air Whistles on quite a few of their diesel locomotives up to the 1960s. I know most used a reflector, like I have seen in photos of the FL-9s. At the Kentucky Railway Museum, our Alco S-1 used such a whistle, until it was sidelined with prime mover trouble. It did sound different then those I have heard with a reflector.

wilkidm@wku.edu

Howard Pincus · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2001 2:42 am

Seaboard, C&EI, NYC (and probably some others) all used these, to one degree or another. The reflector-less versions were on NH's 1954 "washboard" MU cars; 100 cars, two whistles each. Each of the 60 FL-9s had one of each type. Apparently NH was by far the largest user. Hancock was "on-line" to the New Haven, in Boston (and parent company Manning-Maxwell-Moore was, also, in Stratford, CT).

Standard main res. air pressure was used for these whistles.

hpincus@mindspring.com

Seth Jackson · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2001 11:19 am

Hi Brian. Here's a link from 5-chime consultants that talks about the Hancock Air Whistles. Got some wav sounds on the page too! Seth

http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/h4700.html
sethajackson@hotmail.com

Stephen Hussar · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2001 2:34 pm

That's a great link and it brings up an interesting question. Brian, what type of air horn
array is on the CSRR GP-7 #573?And is it original?
(if you know...)
Steve

sjhussar@aol.com

Brian Hebert · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2001 5:33 pm

As far as I know the horn on #573 is not the original one it had when the Maine Central owned her.It's just your basic five chime air horn.Not sure who manufactured it.

Brian

http://www.conwayscenic.com
btamper@hotmail.com

Pete · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2001 9:06 pm

Hancock air whistles used on the New Haven are 3 chime but had a blanking plate over one of the chambers so only two notes sounded. I think it was the lowest note which was blanked off. A friend also claims Colonel Hancock inveted these, and he also owned the Santa Maria Valley RR. Whether this is true or not, the SMVRr 70 tonners had these air whistles until very recently (and may still have them).