This is something I have noticed for a long time and I am curious about something. It seems like steam locomotive engineers in the southern parts of the United States are much more artful at whistle artistry than our Northern or western counterparts are. Is it because engineers in the south were more musical, more opportunity to practice...or what? The diesel era also produced some pretty good quillers. Since this is also part of railroad history, anybody have any input?

Methinks it's as much a cultural imprint as anything. Remember also that in the "South" more so than the North or west, locos were more apt to be assigned to specific engineers, not pooled; thus the tendency (especially on the Southern Railway) for customization with decorative motifs, eagles, brass stars, etc. This often extended to customized whistles.

Mechanically, two things are needed to effective "quill" a whistle: a variable-flow whistle valve (no, they're not all "the more you pull, the more it blows"), and a longer whistle valve lever, the better to exploit the abilities of said valve with more precise pulling.

Atmopspheric condtions also affected the sound of whistles being played. For example the time of day, hence Day-quill and Nyte-quill. Sorry, just had to do it.

IIRC it originated with the steam boats in the South.

CD

As Walter Dove said "You gotta have that ball bearing in your wrist".

I think it also depends on how certain white hats interpret the rules. If you were trying to communicate with a crew with the whistle, you wouldn't want any confusion. However, I strongly feel that with any experienced crew, a knowledge of the road would not lead them to confuse a pretty grade crossing whistle against a check for sticking brakes.

Whistles, especially in this country, are a part of our culture. Some of the songs that have been written that try to capture that past time in our history were strongly inspired by hearing a mournful whistle echo in the distance. On and off has its place entirely, but you aren't going to create fond memories by mimicking the sound of a car horn.

Some video from Youtube, last weekend with 765 on the Cuyohoga Valley. My friends, fireman Zack McGinnis and whistle owner Larry Evans are practicing quilling. It's not an easy task with an N&W Hancock 3-chime steamboat passenger whistle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhlUvWB ... re=related

I like that! Now you gonna make me post one of a Santa Fe six chime I had the pleasure of playing with on the Texas State Railroad:

http://youtu.be/StYf-5MpuLk

I've heard some good ones at Dollywood and Cass as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKI-AklqgJo

Usually we do not do this level of quilling, but we prearranged to do something a bit more expressive on the way back light engine at the end of the day for the camera. The whistle is a Rayonier home made for Willamette #2, which served on Rayonier's Clallam Bay operation. Playing the whistle is enjoyable, but during our normal operations we keep things a bit more business-like.

Best,

Stathi

Great stuff, guys. I was up at Cass on July 4th, and the engineer that day was a good "whistle artist" also.

That was nice as well! One of these days I got to run a Shay....

Well don't let us or Cass have all the fun. If anyone is in Tennessee this week, I should have an LS&I 5 chime a friend is loaning on one of our engines tentatively. If not, we still have a long bell Hancock 3 (not the high pressure like on 765 this week) that I recently spent some time filing and tuning so it sounds really great.

John, Do you know Lee Alley? He was a fireman on the N&W in the 50's, and owns what is probably the greatest "Quilling" whistle in the southeast. The modified into a 3-chime N&W hooter used on the N&W Abingdon Branch by engineer "Fitz" Nichols, made famous on O. Winston Link's recordings. It is the prettiest sounding, and possibly the ugliest looking whistle I know of. Lee lives in western North Carolina near Bristol. You could probably talk him into coming down.

No I haven't but I love to learn about them when I can. I was going to make a replica N&W hooter. The tube is still sitting in my living room. I do have a feeling a C&O whistle may come out of the woodwork soon, and it could be at Cass this year.

I think East Broad Top Railroad has anyone in the NorthEast beat as far as consistent quilling. To me, it's a trademark of theirs.