Mystery whistle and other issues

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Shortline, Narrow Gauge and Industrial Railroading : One Thread

I work at the Outer Banks History Center, a branch of the North Carolina State Archives located on the Outer Banks, and I'm in uncharted waters (if I may use a maritime metaphor in a terrestrial setting).

Just now a patron came in with a whistle that he wished to have identified. The ultimate source of the whistle had connections to the nearby mainland, which supported a logging industry well into this century. So I concluded tentatively that it may have come from a locomotive, sawmill, or other steam apparatus associated with that industry. (It may have come from a boat instead, but somehow I think not.) Our collections include several photographs of rolling stock and other things used by the Buffalo Lumber Company, the Dare Lumber Company, _et al_. All the locomotives shown are evidently steam-powered, but I have no idea of their makes, models, or ages. Consequently, I can't begin to guess whether the whistle in question could've come from any of them.

The whistle is approximately 9.5 inches long from the top of the cap to the base of the valve, and the sounding tube is about 1.6 inches in diameter. It seems much smaller than those in our photographs. I'm not great shakes at estimating sizes, however; a couple of the locomotives shown are pretty tiny; and some don't have any visible whistle. In any case, the whistle bears the inscription

McH&H Mfg Co NY

Can anyone suggest a printed reference that might help me identify this item or the locomotives in our photographs or both? Will anyone try to identify the whistle or any of the locomotives from either photographic prints or digital images?

I shall be grateful for any information or suggestion that increases my sum of knowledge, which at this moment is zero.

Wynne Dough, curator Outer Banks History Center P.O. Box 250 Manteo, NC 27954 252-473-2655 (voice) / -1483 (fax) If replies to this e-mail address bounce, try pretzel14@hotmail.com

-- Wynne Dough (ncs0017@mail.interpath.com), February 24, 1999

Answers

The whistles maker is McNab and Harlin of New York City.This is an older make of whistles and from the size, probably from a steam traction engine, stationary boiler for the mill or a steam launch.

-- Bill Conklin (heisler1607@earthlink.net), July 19, 1999.

Wynne, The whistle you describe is a bit small to have been a locomotive whistle. Loco whistles were usually from 4-6 inches in dia. The top portion of the whistle (from the bottom of the openings around the rim) to the top is called the "bell" of the whistle. This chamber length determined the tone. Your whistle's bell sounds from your description to be about 6-7 inches tall or long. Also, does the whistle have separate chambers in the bell, or is it a single chamber or single tone whistle? These smaller whistles were often used on various types of logging equipment like log loaders, etc. It could also have come from a steam traction engine (precursor of the tractor). Does the whistle have any identifying brand name or marks on it like "Star" "Powell" or "Lonergan?" You might try looking in older editions of industrial equipment and mill supply catalogs. I have several, and will be glad to do some further research for you. Is is possible for you to get a photo of the whistle and send me a scan of it? By the way, these antiques are pretty valuable to collectors. So, be careful not to give it away. David Price 608 Woodland Hills Drive Hattiesburg, MS 39402 sprice@netdoor.com

-- David S. Price (sprice@netdoor.com), March 08, 1999.

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