Large Steam Whistle

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cyberbadger
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Large Steam Whistle

Post by cyberbadger » Fri Jun 04, 2021 9:19 pm

I am familiar with single tone and step chime whistles.

Does anyone understand how the whistle in this video is constructed?

Some seriously large steamhose and a small dry firebox vft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEXYs9_T22U

-CB
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barts
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Re: Large Steam Whistle

Post by barts » Fri Jun 04, 2021 10:16 pm

https://patents.google.com/patent/US48921 shows a two bell version. A four bell whistle along the same idea is an obvious extrapolation.

- Bart
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Bart Smaalders http://smaalders.net/barts Lopez Island, WA
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Re: Large Steam Whistle

Post by Steamboat Mike » Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:40 am

The construction of the whistle is pretty clearly shown in the patent drawings.
After reading the patent application and how the inventor referred to his design as a "signal gong" I realized that it refers to what would later be manufactured by the Worcester (Massachusetts) Water Meter Company and marketed as the Worcester Fire Gong Whistle. I was lucky enough to be in Maine during my college years. I had the further good fortune to find a factory in Vassalboro, Maine that no longer used steam but still had the Gong Whistle mounted on the roof where it had served faithfully for seventy-five years as the town fire signal. The property owner was most obliging and not only took the whistle down and loaded it in my pickup but also threw in the six inch diameter factory day whistle. All this for the princely sum of fifty dollars. It is interesting to note that a resident of the town said to me as it was being loaded in my truck, that back in the day, in the winter when the air was cold that the whistle could be heard in Whitefield, some 23 miles away.
The whistle has two lower chambers of 12" diameter, one blowing down, the other up. One bell is 24" long, the upper one is 18" and just for good measure there is a 12" long 8" diameter bell mounted on top to round out the chord, I suppose. I spent a lot of time making new supporting pipes to replace the originals that had rusted through. The whistle itself stands over 8 feet tall without the valve, over 10 feet with it.
Several times I took the gong to Pratt Institute for tha New Years Whistle Blow put on annually by Conrad Milster. How did it sound, you might ask? Well, the whistles from the 1940's French liner Normandie, that were salvaged by Bethelem Steel after she sank at her slip in New York were there. Now in Conrad's they care we're mounted on a 4" steam main that came from the Pratt steam plant next to my gong. It was impossible to distinguish betewwn the two whistles. The sound was so powerful that it made my chest vibrate to the low frequency of whistles. A very melodic, nostalgic sound, indeed.
I have often thought it would be interesting to make a steam launch size version of this whistle. Most likely the patents have run out so there should be no royalty or licensing issues........... perhaps a good winter project.
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Re: Large Steam Whistle

Post by cyberbadger » Fri Oct 22, 2021 3:46 pm

Steamboat Mike wrote:
Fri Oct 22, 2021 1:40 am
... in the winter when the air was cold that the whistle could be heard in Whitefield, some 23 miles away.
It's interesting how the sound carries, and how weather can affect it. I think that deeper sounds generally go further.

A few times I have whistled back and forth across lake Chautauqua with the Chautauqua Belle. But on other days I've been on the phone with someone only about 1 mile away on shore and they couldn't hear my whistle.

Lake Chautauqua is 18 miles long, being between 1-2 miles wide. My launch Nyitra is usually moored in Point Chautuauqua, and the Chautauqua Belle is in Mayville, about 1.7 miles away across the lake.

In the last year I mostly reach for my larger steel step whistle, 3 note. I think it is a deeper sound and generally carries further then the more shrill Crosby brass 3 note chime.

I have never had a chance to personally hear my boat from afar because I'm always the one running it. From neighbors in Point Chautauqua have said they generally enjoy hearing the whistles.

Boiler pressure definitely affects the amplitude of the whistle.

-CB

Steel Step whistle (3 note) on left. Brass Crosby whistle (3 note) on right.
nyitra-whistles-n-safety.jpg
nyitra-whistles-n-safety.jpg (58.57 KiB) Viewed 3687 times
Chautauqua Belle and Nyitra Whistle Conversation up close
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APK-EC-6gPs&t=35s
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