Question about the N&W freight "hooter" whistle

[NW Mailing List]

My theory on whistles is that there are many factors at play. Two identical whistles will sound different from day to night , weather , fog, water level in boiler, steam pressure, the whistle blower himself, the echo factor in the hollows and hills of the coal country. 1218 sounded different on the flatlands of Alabama than it did in W. VA.. Ron H.

--- On Mon, 9/22/08, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:

From: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: Re: Question about the N&W freight "hooter" whistle
To: "NW Mailing List" <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 4:50 PM





Steve: The "hooter" whistle is much higher pitched than the whistle on the J. Thus, it seems louder, even though the steam used may be the same pressure. Actually, the lower notes require more volume of steam (or air) than the higher ones, I say this based on my experience singing in a chorus. The tenors sound louder than the basses, but the basses are using more air to sing than the tenors are. Sorry, but I don't know anything about the 8 inch and 12 inch hooter, but I can say that the 475 has a lower boiler pressure than the 1218 or the 611.    Jim Nichols

----- Original Message ----- 
From: NW Mailing List 
To: nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org 
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 12:12 PM
Subject: Question about the N&W freight "hooter" whistle

I have a question regarding the N&W's hooter whistle as featured on the N&W 1218 as well as the Y classes and other freight power. While I am a big fan of steam, I don't fully understand the mechanics of whistles. When I was younger, I remember being terrified of 1218's whistle as I was riding in the car with my parents. We were pacing the 1218 around Arcadia, South Carolina on it's ferry move north in April 1987 on it's way to Roanoke for it's debut excursion trips. While my memory is vague, I do remember that my dad had the windows in his AMC Spirit rolled down and when the 1218 blew it's whistle for a grade crossing, I jumped from the front seat into the rear floorboard.

In the years since the end of the NS steam program and since 1218 last ran, I have come to appreciate and miss the A, but memories of that whistle still rattle me to the core. My impression was that 1218's whistle was louder than the 611's, but maybe I'm wrong. For those with steam experience, what controls the volume of the whistle? I thought that the size of the locomotive possibly had something to do or maybe the boiler pressure. However, I was just watching a video of C&O 614 on an excursion from Hoboken, NJ to Port Jervis, NY back in the late 90's carrying a N&W hooter and the whistle sounded the same as on the 1218, although to be fair it's hard to judge fairly on a YouTube video. Also, while I have not seen this locomotive in person, footage I've seen of the UP 3985 suggest that it's whistle is not as loud as the 1218's and sounds similar but not identical to the 611's.

I have also watched clips of the Strasburg's ex N&W M 4-8-0 475 and I must say I like the hooter whistle it carries better, which I believe is the 8-inch version. I am curious what are the main differences were between the 8-inch and 12-inch hooter whistles?

Steven Ashley 
Spartanburg, SC




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