Steam & Excursion > 4014 Whistle Question

I’ve noticed in videos of other locomotives that the engineers it seem have to tug really hard to activate the whistle. Doesn’t seem like Ed has to exert much force on 4014. Is this my imagination?

Posted from iPhone

johnambrose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I’ve noticed in videos of other locomotives that
> the engineers it seem have to tug really hard to
> activate the whistle. Doesn’t seem like Ed has
> to exert much force on 4014. Is this my
> imagination?
>
> Posted from iPhone

If you’ve seen the UP video when they first blow the whistle, there’s a segment where Austin Barker seems to say (or something similar) “There is no strain.”

I've blown the whistle on the 3985 and was supprised as how mucn effort was needed. I have no other experience blowing any other steam whistle than that one.

Looks to me that it pulls pretty easy. It should have a long "screen door" type return spring in the middle of the lever to help it seat after its blown. UP used a fabricated 90° side pull lever to the engineers side on those, with a drilled hole in the middle for the spring.

Posted from Android

Air operated whistle valve?

PHall Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Air operated whistle valve?

The UP "big three", i.e. the 800s, 3900s, and 4000s, all have manual pull whistle control. No, air operated whistle valves like the SP had on their cab forwards and Daylights., to name a few.

I can vouch for the hard pull needed on the 844 and the 3985 whistle cords, especially the 844.  Those old hoggers must have had quite an arm!

John Bromley - Omaha
 

JMT-844-97 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> johnambrose Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I’ve noticed in videos of other locomotives
> that
> > the engineers it seem have to tug really hard
> to
> > activate the whistle. Doesn’t seem like Ed
> has
> > to exert much force on 4014. Is this my
> > imagination?
> >
> > Posted from iPhone
>
> If you’ve seen the UP video when they first blow
> the whistle, there’s a segment where Austin
> Barker seems to say (or something similar)
> “There is no strain.”

I believe he there is no spring.
The lever is 90° from the whistle, the whistle is at the top and parallel with the boiler. The lever is about 18" long, halfway between the pull cord attachment point and the piviot pin of the lever is a provision for a spring that goes towards the stack. This is the resistance as mentioned. Resistance is needed to properly "play" the whistle or to vary the tone rapidly. If I had to guess there was no spring on it when barker pulled that day.

Posted from Android

This is how the pull arm is situated on the Hancock whistle UP used on the Big Boys and late Challengers. It pulled from the right side, and had a bend just beyond the 90° that let it lay down along the curve of the smokebox. It had a drilled hole at about half its length for the spring. It was made of 5/8" steel, but was tapered from about half way to the hole end to about 3/8". They also had this very odd 15° pipe fitting so that the end of the whistle angles up slightly, not exactly parallel.

---

---

LocoPilot750 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is how the pull arm is situated on the
> Hancock whistle UP used on the Big Boys and late
> Challengers. It pulled from the right side, and
> had a bend just beyond the 90° that let it lay
> down along the curve of the smokebox. It had a
> drilled hole at about half its length for the
> spring. It was made of 5/8" steel, but was tapered
> from about half way to the hole end to about 3/8".
> They also had this very odd 15° pipe fitting so
> that the end of the whistle angles up slightly,
> not exactly parallel.

Ignoring the angle upward the whistle runs parallel to the boiler. Not only did the 4000's and late challengers use this type of lever but the 800's did as well. The point of the discription was to illustrate the use of the return spring.

The narrow guage K's in Southern Colorado, cords are along the top of the cab, not that difficult to pull. 

Mike ONeill
Parker, CO