All, some amazing "behind the scenes" imagery from pattern maker Bernie Perch.

Aside from the many wonderful patterns and parts that Bernie makes for numerous museums and other groups, he is also very involved in the operational restoration of CNJ No 113, a standard gauge Alco 0-6-0 built in 1923 in Schenectady. The 113 is currently located in Minersville, PA.

Below are photos of an all-new reproduction Jersey Central RR three chime steptop whistle created by Bernie. The reason for 'building new' was that originals were scarce -- none could be found for purchase or donation. Then several years ago one became available for measurement. Without knowing if an original would ever become permanently available, or if he might end up having to "make one," Bernie took the time to record its exact dimensions. The 113 group spent several years inquiring through a multitude of sources and the internet, to no avail. Finally Robert Kimmel, Jr., president of Railway Restoration Project 113, asked Bernie to make the patterns for a brand new whistle.

Active Brass in Telford, PA was chosen as the foundry. Casting such an object is a complicated endeavor, and it took considerable effort to explain how to set it up. The first two castings were OK and worked under air pressure, but the pattern and core box took quite a bit of tweaking to finally come up with the excellent casting seen in the photos.

The following images show the plans, pattern and core box (which represent about 125 hours of work), the partially finished rough casting, and the finished bell atop a Western Locomotive supply (westernlocomotivesupply.com) bowl/valve assembly. Jeff Hosford of WLS prefected this assembly for his own projects and it was the exact design the group wanted, so there was no reason to duplicate his excellent efforts.

The Project 113 group doesn't intend to actively market this whistle. A few will be cast for those close to Project 113 and friends. On December 28th, the whistle was tested on NH&I #40 and worked beautifully. It is being shown here on RyPN to show what can be done when exact parts are not available, and to honor the many others out there working toward similar goals.

Big THANKS to Bernie Perch for the infomation and wonderful photos!!

Stephen

Awesome stuff. Thanks for sharing. It heartwarming that she is getting so close.

Not only are the wood patterns real works of art, so is the casting and machining work on the whistle. Absolutely fantastic. Great work Bernie.

Howard P.

I was down at the New Hope & Ivyland on December 28th. I can tell you that the whistle sounded great on #40. The crews were disappointed that the whistle was only on for one day.

That is a beautiful reproduction. It's a Shame the 113 guys have decided not to market the whistle. I'm sure there are quite a few collectors out there who would be interested in a CNJ whistle.

Kevin

I would like to thank everyone for their comments and especially Stephen Hussar for posting everything. My computer skills do not extend to posting pictures. We decided to show this material to demonstrate some of the steps that it takes to reproduce new parts. This is happening at many restoration projects and unfortunately goes unnoticed and unrewarded except for the personal knowledge that some old piece of equipment is being saved. My work wouldn't be shown here if it wasn't for Stephen.

We are also showing this to encourage others to show what they are doing no matter how "ordinary" it may seem like the Catskill Mountain guys and the Strasburg are doing. I can say that I really like seeing what others are doing. We are also doing this to encourage others to learn how to make patterns because I know of few amateurs like myself who do this. I learned out of necessity when WK&S #2 broke a grate and there were no spares. The rest is history many patterns 40 years later.

We decided to make the CNJ three chime steptop whistle for its aesthetics and not the tone. It pretty much sounds like any other 12" three chime whistle.

We decided not to market the whistle at this time because there is not just enough time to do it. Most of my work was volunteer and I will complete several others and this interferes with my making patterns for other projects. To make more would require the work being done by a professional shop and that adds considerably to the costs. Once #113 and the passenger and business cars are restored, there may be time. The cost of a new whistle would probably be more than that of an original.

Ron, I wish I was there at New Hope on December 28th with you to hear it. Personal commitments kept me away--bummer. Bill Hessler recorded it and from that I inferred that the engineer was enjoying it. He later emailed me with his comments.

Bernie Perch