American Flyer Whistling Billboard

[Anonymous]

I read the article about how to maintain a whistling billboard by Ted Hamler in the March 2005 issue of Classic Toy Trains and did exactly what he said. The whistle wasn't up to par, so I took the unit apart and performed the necessary lubrication. I discovered how the whistling sound is created, but when I put the unit back together the whistle still isn't true. Can the tiny slits in the air chamber be adjusted so that the sound is more true. Any other suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[pbjwilson]

hmmm, I've got one of these and the sound is pretty good. It's about the same as a whistling tender. You get alot of whirring noise but the whistle does come through. I did notice it sounds better on a soft surface like a piece of cloth or carpet. I sprayed electrical cleaner in mine when I got it, probably had'nt been used in decades. And then it did take a while to sort of break in. Keep working it. Give it a few long blasts with plenty of power. Those mechanisms seem to last forever.