Steam & Excursion > UP 844's Current Whistle is from UP 4014?

Keep your ears peeled as you follow UP 844 on it's current trip. Here's a quote from (5/1/2017) Ed Dickens email to me, after I sent him some pics of mine, from 1992 Steam trip..BTW, Eds Email address was volunteered to me by another TO Member, whose name shall remain anonymous here, unless they want to "chime in" also!..And Please Don't "Shoot the Messenger"(Me)!!!..So here is what Ed wrote:........
What do you think of the whistle on the 844? Back in early 2011 we swapped it out as the whistle that had been on the 844 for years was beat up, Steam cut and sounding quite weak.

Interestingly enough, the whistle is from the 4014 (removed by Neil Miller and Ed Gerlits in 1958 while the engine was stored in Cheyenne) from the collection of Ed Gerlits. He was our biggest supporter and a personal dear friend of mine for over half my life. He eagerly allowed us to borrow the whistle and after his passing I purchased it from his estate. I have several other whistles from his collection one is off a  Rio Grande L 131 3614 that I would like to put on the big boy as a second whistle when we run that locomotive...

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/14/17 14:46 by Boomer92.

Additional note: I was wondering about the sound of 844's whistle, as I watched and listened to the recent videos (posted here on TO), of
The Boise Turn. It didn't quite sound the same as I remembered in 1990's.

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA

In case anyone wants to know what a Big Boy Whistle looks like, here is the whistle (and headlight) off UP #4022.

Martin

---

That certainly answers why she got a whole lot louder.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That certainly answers why she got a whole lot
> louder.

OK, please explain. The UP 800s, 3900s and 4000s all carried the same whistle.

Interesting!! I thought for a while now that the whistle sounded a lot different (mainly higher pitch). That being said since I'm used to the original whistle I prefer her original one.

Posted from Android

The swap happened in September of 2011. The 844 traveled east to North Platte for their railfest celebration carrying the 3985s whistle, then while on display in North Platte, that whistle was swapped for this current one that as far as I know, has been on her ever since.

To me it's really hard to believe what is really fact. In 2012 when Ed rolled into town with the 844 I spoke with him and specifically asked what locomotive that whistle came off of. He told me at that time the 4014. This was even before the U.P. announced that the 4014 will be restored. Fast forward to last year I believe, Ed did a special presentation at the Rocky Mountain Train Show or just before the CFD special departed from denver (dont remember which) and during that time he was asked once again what locomotive that whistle was from and he said it was from Ed Gerlits collection and he tried to pin it down which one it came off of and Dickens said Gerlits couldn't remember. So I ask myself how it is that Dickens story changes all the time???

When my frirnds and i chased it from laramie we discussed this. He said he thinks its 4014s.

Posted from Android

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MaryMcPherson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That certainly answers why she got a whole lot
> > louder.
>
> OK, please explain. The UP 800s, 3900s and 4000s
> all carried the same whistle.

Yeah but Jack everyone wants to pass out from the excitement of hearing the whistle off the 4014..... Even though all the 800's, 3900's, and 4000's had the same whistle. As usual according to the DL there was something wrong with the original whistle on the 844 when he took over from the old crew.

CS

bankshotone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To me it's really hard to believe what is really
> fact. In 2012 when Ed rolled into town with the
> 844 I spoke with him and specifically asked what
> locomotive that whistle came off of. He told me at
> that time the 4014. This was even before the U.P.
> announced that the 4014 will be restored. Fast
> forward to last year I believe, Ed did a special
> presentation at the Rocky Mountain Train Show or
> just before the CFD special departed from denver
> (dont remember which) and during that time he was
> asked once again what locomotive that whistle was
> from and he said it was from Ed Gerlits collection
> and he tried to pin it down which one it came off
> of and Dickens said Gerlits couldn't remember. So
> I ask myself how it is that Dickens story changes
> all the time???


This has been a big problem with the current manager, ever since he "took over". He is not able to remember the various lies he tells from one week, one month, or one year, in order to maintain credibility.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MaryMcPherson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > That certainly answers why she got a whole lot
> > louder.
>
> OK, please explain. The UP 800s, 3900s and 4000s
> all carried the same whistle.

Rather than try to explain, I grabbed a couple of video files to illustrate what I mean. The first shot is in 1996, and the second is in 2012. Even though it doesn't translate perfectly due to the cameras adjusting to sound levels, you can hear how the whistle currently on the locomotive is louder than the whistle that used to be on it. It's much more noticeable in person.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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I would agree it does sound different. As i have learned in the past if you had 2 new casted whistle bells from the same mold they would both sound a little different.

But back to the big boy whistle,
The 844 had the 4023s whistle for quite a while as I understand, I also heard it had the whistle from the 841 regardless, when the 3985s whistle was installed it's original owner was the 4004 and now this one so I guess one could say the 844s whistle has almost always been off of a 4000

Posted from Android

Also, the sound of a whistle changes over time and as it is maintained (or not). Listen to some of the Big Boy recordings made by Stan Kistler in their latter days. Some of those engines sounded like Hell!

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

MaryMcPherson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, the sound of a whistle changes over time and
> as it is maintained (or not). Listen to some of
> the Big Boy recordings made by Stan Kistler in
> their latter days. Some of those engines sounded
> like Hell!


Another thing to take into consideration is, the boiler pressure at the time the whistle is being used. The lower the pressure, the more "different" the whistle, ANY whistle, sounds.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MaryMcPherson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Also, the sound of a whistle changes over time
> and
> > as it is maintained (or not). Listen to some
> of
> > the Big Boy recordings made by Stan Kistler in
> > their latter days. Some of those engines
> sounded
> > like Hell!
>
>
> Another thing to take into consideration is, the
> boiler pressure at the time the whistle is being
> used. The lower the pressure, the more "different"
> the whistle, ANY whistle, sounds.

This happens on my 1" scale 0-6-0. At 40 psi vs 100 psi. Totally different.

The sound is also related to how hard you yank the chain. The tone and volume can be regulated a bit.

But if all you do is yank it wide open all the time, indeed it will be much louder and less artistic.

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> MaryMcPherson Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Also, the sound of a whistle changes over time
> and
> > as it is maintained (or not). Listen to some
> of
> > the Big Boy recordings made by Stan Kistler in
> > their latter days. Some of those engines
> sounded
> > like Hell!
>
>
> Another thing to take into consideration is, the
> boiler pressure at the time the whistle is being
> used. The lower the pressure, the more "different"
> the whistle, ANY whistle, sounds.

Great example of this changing the sound of a whistle's sound was the IC whistle owned by Don Morice and Mike Haper. Sounded noticeably different on Frisco 1522 than it did on CO&E 17 since it had more pressure behind it on the 4-8-2.

Heck, it gets a big change in sound just by the speed the locomotive is going (Doppler effect).

Of course thirty-four years of doing sound work in the great outdoors has taught me a lot about sound and how it travels through and is shaped by the natural environment. The further you are from the source atmospheric conditions such as temperature and humidity affect the way the sound carries, as does wind speed and prevailing air current. Then of course you have land formation and topography that can block or channel sound. I've been burned before by topography and air currents working differently than expected at an unfamiliar location, resulting in a recording that I thought would be spectacular ending up much less impressive than anticipated.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Realist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The sound is also related to how hard you yank the
> chain. The tone and volume can be regulated a
> bit.
>
> But if all you do is yank it wide open all the
> time, indeed it will be much louder and less
> artistic.

That is exactly right, Steve or Bob or Lynn or Roger each had their own way of pulling the chain after twenty plus years of hearing the 3985's and 844's whistle you could tell who was in the cab by the tone! Class acts!

LoggerHogger Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In case anyone wants to know what a Big Boy
> Whistle looks like, here is the whistle (and
> headlight) off UP #4022.
>
> Martin

Ahh!..I didn't know they have 2 (?) Arms/valves? Or that 2nd arm on bottom in picture just an extra one?

Jim Baker
Riverside, CA