As Jason said, he and I kicked around the idea to reproduce #9's whistle a little while ago. While we can look at images of #9 in service, and have a pretty good idea of how it will look once the work is finished, we have no record of what #9 used to sound like- and there probably aren't many people around who could tell us either. So I think there is tremendous value in trying to replicate not only the mechanical nature, and asthetic appearance of the engine, but also in acknowledging that the way the exhaust sounds, and the whistle resonates is also a part of what we have the chance to restore. So I am very excited to help out by making the patterns for a new Portland Co. whistle and valve. I expect to have the patterns and core boxes done by next summer, but my hope is that they are finished much sooner than that. I'll be sure to post updates in the #9 thread at major milestones.
That said- I once read in "Goin Railroading", that engineers on the C&S would often plug some of their chimes with wood, so that each engineer would have their own accompanying sound. I've always liked the idea of that practice, simply for the variety it affords. Even if it wasn't fitting, I still loved the sound of that CNJ whistle on #10. I guess we'll just have to build a 2ft 2-10-4 underneath it for John
. Can't wait to hear the new one sometime!
Bernie, thank you for the offer for the boiler tube! But I think Jason and I are pretty set on casting the chime. I think I've come up with a few tricks to make the core boxes a much simpler affair.
