I'm doing some research in the history of American music, and the connection between music and technology. I'm wondering if steam engines started to sound noticeably different after the general adoption of superheating and piston valves.
I suspect the whistles might have sounded different, but did the exhaust as well? It's not an easy question to answer, because there aren't many operating examples to compare
Any thoghts?
Generally the way a steam engine sounds is a function of how well the valves admitting steam to the cylinders are set up. When an engine is "tight and square" it's exhaust is sharp and clear. When the engines is "lame" the exhaust sounds mushy. After experiencing superheated engines traincrews took to calling saturated steam engines "old slobbermouths" because a lot more moisture eminated from the stack when the engine was working hard. I can't swear to it but I'm guessing that non superheated engines didn't bark at the stack quite as crisply as their superheated counterparts.
Perhaps superheated locomotives inspired the Gershwin song "Fascinating Rythm"
I have heard that compound locomotives do not have as sharp an exhaust as simple locomotives, such as the difference between an A and a Y-6.
CSSHEGEWISCH I have heard that compound locomotives do not have as sharp an exhaust as simple locomotives, such as the difference between an A and a Y-6.
The sharp sound of the A class was due to the high PSI cylinders and the exhaust stand in the smoke box. I got to watch the N&W in 1956 when they were still 100% steam and the Y6 class sounded loud also when they started a train in simple mode. In compound mode, the Y6 class in sounded very hushed since the steam exhaust had been used twice and the large cylinders in front received a much reduced PSI. The higher the exhaust PSI and the exhaust stand makes the difference.
The 1522 Frisco mountain had one of the loudest sounding exhaust I have heard in the post steam era of excursion locomotives.
CZ
First, to address the whistle. Most used saturated steam directly from the steam dome - not superheated.
Then, the 'sharpness' of the exhaust is purely a function of the pressure at the blastpipe. Some very modern steam locomotives had low-backpressure exhausts, were relatively quiet when operated at normal cutoff - and frequently needed smoke lifters to get the exhaust off the top of the boiler. OTOH, I have seen (and heard) some elderly teakettles - saturated steam and all - that sounded like a Bofors AA gun when running at their normal speed under load.
Chuck
lownote,
Saturated and superheated steam locomotives do sound quite different to each other. In 'your place' (USA) there'd be very minimal chance to compare the two. here in Oz, it's a little bit easier (or was in the past couple of decades).
In Oz, NSW, we've had saturated & superheated examples of essentially the same design running, in preservation, from 1973 to 2004. The examples that come directly to mind are 5096sat and 5367/5461, all three are 2-8-0s, and 3001TS/3016TS and 3026T/3028T/3102T/3112/3137, these seven locomtoives are 4-6-4T or 4-6-0 rebuilds of the tank engines. Look here http://www.australiansteam.com/nswgrframe.htm, to see what they look like.
Basically, the saturated locomotives have a wet, woofy sound whilst teh superheated locomotives have a sharper bark. The superheated locomotives are a tad louder too, about 10 - 20% louder than their saturated brethren.
I was a steam fitter till the end of stream in New South Wales, Govt. Railways. We had two classes of locomotives that had both superheated and saturaed boilers. C30., 4-6-0 and D50., 2-8-0. Both classes had 160psi boilers. When working hard, the sat. engines, did not bark as sharp as the sup. locomotives. The sup. locos had piston valves, with inside admission, while the sat. locos had 'D' slide valves, balanced. We used to call the saturated locos 'Snotty Noses' I lived next to the Belmont Line, at Adamstown and I could always tell, whether it was a superheated or saturated locmotive.
Not an expert on anything but I do know that an N&W J whistle sounds very different when applied to an NKP 2-8-4. I have recordings of the NKP 759 that pulled the last Pocahontas and used a J whistle. While still sounding very deep and nice it lacked the J sound. The J's had 300psi and I think the Berk had 245psi.
Roger Huber
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