Did anyone see this one?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/170886934111?ss ... 4853wt_932

Thank you for the link, Tom. Assuming this is not a stolen whistle and legitimately purchased, is $500 a good price for a steam whistle? Should it go much higher?

I get a red flag from this, absent any direct information from people who work on 763.

Seller: a model RC dealer
Reference: an unnamed 'railroad expert'
Payment: No PayPal as eBay requires; only a cashier's check...

I suspect this is a fishing expedition to see what the 'market value' of the thing is. Note that you can't see what the 'reserve price' is; a test of my 'hypothesis' would be that the reserve would be artificially high -- justified if you asked by reverting to the 'value of the piece' or some similar gallery-speak.

Anyone want to ask the seller questions about provenance? If you do, and you get answers, post them or note them here.


RME

A few years back, the numberboard from CPR 1278 turned up on eBay

Perhaps Rich or some other NKP Berk expert could say for sure, but I was under the impression that Berk whistles were four chime? I thought I heard someone around 765 once say that is what the regular whistle is on it. It is a very distinctive sound, I always know what engine I'm hearing when I hear that whistle.

If it is the whistle from 763, someone want to let JJJ know?

Also, neat that it has the Viloco Whistle Operator piston still attached

I may be wrong, but I seem to remember the whistle still being on 763 during the years it was in Roanoke. All the local thieves were after N&W and VGN stuff

I've passed this on to better experts in "the game " (yep, you just lost the game....) than me, but I spy a couple things on this whistle that make me question the description/given history a bit.

The Viloco control manifold is indeed a rare bird, but insofar as the standard Nathan six-chime steptop bell, I have to remember the advice given to me by Ed Fagen, author of the definitive steam whistle tome The Engine's Moan years ago: "Remember, of twenty-five Nathan long-bell three-chimes that graced Union Pacific Big Boys, about a hundred and fifty are allegedly in collectors' hands, and of 278 Leslie A-200-156 air horns that were on PRR GG1's, about seven hundred and fifty are in collectors' hands....." The meaning of this glib comment, of course, is to "know your source." We've all seen people perfectly willing to exaggerate the provenance of their artifacts in hopes of garnering more money for them, and in some cases they're just failed examples of oral history, people confused as to which artifact their grandfather was referring, or deceived (maliciously or no) by dealers, neighbors, or the like. And heaven help you if you dare question them as to just how that steam locomotive whistle (actually a safety valve) is supposed to work, or how it dates from the "1820's", or how a bell that can be picked up with one hand could have been used on a big steam locomotive...........

Are there photos of the whistle being removed from the loco? Did the guy's grandfather work in the Nickle Plate shops? Was there a bill of sale? Is there an auction listing for the estate sale the guy got it from, and that estate was from a NKP employee or known fan?

Regarding number board from CPR 1278. I hope the buyer did not pay too much for it since this was a replication. G5 class engines did _NOT_ have number boards!

Ray, (illuminated) NumberBOARDS, or number PLATES?

Apologies in advance for contributing to thread drift, but I distinctly recall that both CP 1286 and CP 1238, both CP G-5 engines, on which I had the privilege of working years ago, had a single illuminated number board at the top of the smokebox front.

Yes the 763 had a whistle, but I can't guarantee it was the original. Looking at old pictures, it appears the whistle on the locomotive at VMT is not a 6 chime. We have to remember that 763 left Roanoke in the 70's for evaluation for the Freedom Train, and when 763 returned it was missing a few things original. The biggest thing it was missing was most of it's flues. They were cut out in bundles by cutting the sheets. So, remembering that things were removed without VMT knowing, it is possible that the whistle on ebay is legitimate.

George

The Berkshires had Nathan six-chimes.

KL

I bolted the whistle shroud back on the 763 in the mid 90's because it was loose, but I don't remember the details of the whistle. I looked at a few pictures, and it appears that the chambers take up more circumference than a 6 chime. However, the whistle may have had broken vanes just like the whistle on the ebay page. I am just saying its possible that the original whistle could have been traded for a broken one. The museum at that time had allowed things to be borrowed if a replacement was put back on the locomotive.

George

I hate you.

Anyway, to anyone that can answer, whether it's 763's whistle or not, is $500 a good price for a Nathan 6-chime in general?