WW&F No. 52 - Official Work Thread

[Stephen Piwowarski]

And just think, those aren't anything more than truck horns. Just imagine if we could get the 5 chime train horn that Maine Narrow Gauge has. I love that thing. Believe it or not, the horns on the 52 should actually be louder than what they are now. The FRA requires a train horn/whistle to be between 90-92 decibals.

Joe

I’ve always been a big fan of the Nathan air whistles that the New Haven used on many of their engines. That being said, I don’t believe that those particular “horns” meet the FRA’s decibel requirement. I think that is why you don’t see many of them operating in preservation.

Steve

[Bill Piche]

I’ve always been a big fan of the Nathan air whistles that the New Haven used on many of their engines. That being said, I don’t believe that those particular “horns” meet the FRA’s decibel requirement. I think that is why you don’t see many of them operating in preservation.

Steve

Those actually do come in above the minimum requirement, but not overly so. If they didn't then places like Essex wouldn't be allowed to use them.

[Stephen Piwowarski]

Those actually do come in above the minimum requirement, but not overly so. If they didn't then places like Essex wouldn't be allowed to use them.
[/quote]

Interesting Bill, when I was working on the Berkshire Scenic, I was under the impression that our FRA inspector wouldn’t allow them for that reason. If they are allowed, that would be such a nice choice for 52. In my opinion, you couldn’t ask for a better sound that isn’t so harsh as to destroy people’s ears on open cars etc.

[Bill Piche]

You can always do what we did down in Portland. Rig up a not overly large whistle (the one on #1 right now is a 2.5" live steam whistle from a locomotive I had years ago) to handle the regular operational load and have the loud air horn for emergencies. Works out pretty good for a busy place like Portland and would probably go over well with neighbors on Sunday mornings.

[Mike Fox]

We need a horn from an F unit. Sounds like a sax..

[Wayne Laepple]

There are (or at least there were) a couple of Westinghouse air whistles in Alice's Room that would do nicely on No. 52. I have a three-inch Crosby that would probably work, too.