Whistles

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hoppercar
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Whistles

Post by hoppercar »

Does anyone out there build a good sounding whistle for 1 1/2 locomotive?....I've tried making several my self over the years, never really had a lot of luck....they were always gurggly sounding. watching YouTube videos I hear some pretty nice ones, ...don't care for the european, style, screechy...Thomas the tank engine PEEP PEEP peanut whistles.....
BClemens
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Re: Whistles

Post by BClemens »

There is an excellent article in Live Steam Magazine on the construction and tuning of steam whistles. I built a four chime one from the article and it sounds pretty nice. It is made using 1 1/2" brass tubing - it's about 10 - 11 inches long....

There is one on the Green Goddess that does that gurgle.... I haven't had time to see what might be wrong with it.
BC
ccvstmr
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Re: Whistles

Post by ccvstmr »

Which way are your whistles oriented? ...upright...or horizontal?

Wouldn't expect any gurgling from an upright whistle. Horizontal whistle...that's another matter. I put a 1/8" thick spacer bar under the rear whistle support. Wanted to make sure any condensate in the whistle chambers had a way to drain/run out. In addition...with a 4-note whistle...make sure the chamber dividers are at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o-clock positions so condensate in ANY chamber can drain out. This helped my whistle some. Hope that helps. Carl B.
Life is like a sewer...what you get out of it depends on what you put into it!
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Wayne Davis
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Re: Whistles

Post by Wayne Davis »

November/December 1992 of Live Steam has an article called Whistle Clinic. This has symptoms then tells why it happens. I have used this article to help improve the sound of a whistle.

Wayne
BClemens
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Re: Whistles

Post by BClemens »

Carl,
The whistle on the GG is under the firemans side cab - it trys to resemble an air tank. I'll try giving it a slight slant and see what happens next time we're steamed up.
Thanks, BC
BClemens
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Re: Whistles

Post by BClemens »

Would it be OK to copy and post that article from LS? I ask because because of the magazine being out of print for a while.
BC
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Dan_M
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Re: Whistles

Post by Dan_M »

Try these guys out. They make excellent whistles.
http://rizzolilocomotiveworks.com/
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Whistles

Post by Greg_Lewis »

BClemens wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:29 am Would it be OK to copy and post that article from LS? I ask because because of the magazine being out of print for a while.
BC
No, the copyright is still in effect.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Whistles

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Hoppercar:
There have been several threads here on whistles. A search will bring them up. I believe that others have mentioned the Mintz whistle as a good one.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
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dnevil
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Re: Whistles

Post by dnevil »

More info on scale whistles can be found here:

http://ibls.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Steam_whistle

Daris
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Harold_V
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Re: Whistles

Post by Harold_V »

BClemens wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:29 am Would it be OK to copy and post that article from LS? I ask because because of the magazine being out of print for a while.
BC
Considering copyright, it likely wouldn't be acceptable. However, there are exceptions to the "rule". Perhaps one of the attorney's who frequent this board could offer a professional opinion.

Mean time, don't post anything that carries a copyright. We have to protect the owner of the board, who provides this venue free to those who enjoy his offering.

H
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kenrinc
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Re: Whistles

Post by kenrinc »

That was a peculiar article with the author sighting 6 chime whistles as "out of tune messes". I was like, Huh? Anyway, I've built nearly 20 whistles, some of which work some of which don't :) I've bought pre-made whistles that worked on air and not steam. Horizontal whistles are a pain but it's traditionally the way WE integrate them since they look like an air tank. The key is keeping them hot. Some pipe the blower line through the center stem of the whistle others just nick the valve so it's always got a slight leak. I've done this and it works quite well. cbrew had a whistle mounted vertically through the running boards that I thought was a great idea. You could have the majority of the whistle in the cab with just the bottom sticking out. Although I agree the english whistles aren't my cup of tea, they are easier to find mounting places for since their generally shorter. I have experimented with single note hooters since they are so easy to make. I have a single note on my A3 that I tuned to a pretty good approximation of a PRR banshee hooter. Quiling isn't as pronounced (or even exists) on smaller diameter whistles.

Ken-
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