#10132
rosalinde
Participant

@Patrick wrote:

Single bell whistle. On the Mopac, only on the oldest engines although I think I saw a 4-8-0 with a short one.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_short_long_whistle.jpg

Three chime whistle. Most had flat tops. These were in favor until around maybe 1910. Steamboat whistles were large, very long 3 chimes.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_single_bell_chime_image.jpg

5 chime/6 chime whistle. Began to find favor after 1900. The 6 chime is usually longer to add a deeper note to the 5 chime sound; these are the “moaning” whistles. Many roads used the mellower 6 chimes for passenger engines but the MP put them on everything including switchers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_6_chime_b.jpg

Study prototype photographs. Identify the whistle type and listen to the (admittedly model) whistle sounds on this website:

https://soundtraxx.com/reference/sound-samples/tsunami2-steam-sounds

Match the whistle type to the appropriate sound samples, there will be several. Pay no attention to the road name given, we will never know exactly how MP whistles were tuned. If you have the Tsunami2-2, Pick the one out of the appropriate type selections that you like best. No one will be able to fault you.

I’ve been reliably informed by an avid whistle collector since originally posting that Missouri Pacific’s 5 and 6 chimes were cast by MP shops and were tuned exactly the same as Nathan’s 5 and 6 chime whistles.