I had to wait 6 YEARS to hear my steam whistle.

In this video, we tell the adventure of a story of the 6 chime whistle I built back in 2016, and you get to see me blow it for the first time. Why does it look like hell? Well, it's been through it... Huge thanks to Austin & Dylan at the Cumbres and Toltec for reuniting me with my whistle, and to Brett & Dusty at the CRRM for actually making it work after all these years. Also shout out to Leo of @coverlandadventures for providing the sweet drone footage of the freight train, and to the @crrm for letting me film all this madness.

We also take 491 out for a spin with a freight train in tow - a lot of good fun :)

0:00 intro
1:02 The Huber 6 Chime Story
14:30 Problems with putting the whistle on
16:49 The first time I've heard the whistle in person
18:53 First full blow
23:35 Running 491's freight train
33:48 First Person Steam cam
34:30 My reaction
36:20 Outro

[kuhljager]

Hearing that whistle just makes me smile. Nice work making it.

And a side effect - since its such a custom made whistle, 491 now truly has a unique voice, you will probably never be able to get a whistle that will sound the same

[thebanananacam]

17:04 that is the laugh of a man who has waited too long to hear something so sweet.

[alericjohansen]

I don't know if anyone else has mentioned it, but I think its AWESOME that the railroad place you work for allowed you to put your own whistle on there. I mean, i don't know much about the operations of that kind of stuff, but to be able to say that you designed and built a whistle, and have it mounted on a real steam engine, is a feat by ITSELF, but then to have some company say, go ahead, put it on there, is just icing on the cake.

The sheer joy you got from hearing it and using it, just....wow. That is REAL contagious laughter. I smiled along with you just because you were so happy to finally have it on there and working.

Good job man.

[jamesgroccia]

19:05 In case y’all wanna relive the magical sound of the Santa Grande Screamer, a.k.a. the Huber 6-Chime.

[JonsGarage]

This is awesome. Im so happy for you man. How many people can say that not only are they an engineer, they're an engineer WITH THEIR OWN WHISTLE? Thats like god tier status. It sounds amazing.

I hope to hear this in railroads online one day. Thatd be epic.

Also yes to whistles 101 and yes to seeing the switching for 20 and whatever prep was involved.

[Quackagate]

I say use your whisle for at least one of the "paper" engines that were never actually built. Or a possible upgrade that can be placed on any engine.

[daveedson]

I just ran across your channel today. I watched the video where you brought 491 up from cold, then saw this and could not resist. It didn't disappoint. I'm also an engineer, electrical/mechanical who has designed systems that used steam to automatically heat water for industrial purposes. I saw the pride you had after your first run with the whistle, it was justified. The sound is amazing. I could tell you were emotional, rightfully so. I know I took a great deal of pride in the systems that I had worked on.

[stampycatfanlol]

If I’m gonna be honest, I’d love to see this whistle as the new permanent whistle on 491 for some reason. It sounds beautiful!

[dagger-]

Sounds a bit like a Nathan 6 chime. A deep but commanding tone. Absolutely fantastic. I wish I had the resources to build a whistle like that, what a cool thing to say you own!

[ryano.]

That whistle sounds amazing! Also, I can't tell you how much I appreciate these videos! It's so nice to have someone who is so willing to share what all that is like, and I suppose it helps that the Colorado Railroad museum is full of lovely folks like yourself too! Thank you for "pulling back the curtain, " so to speak, for us lay people! ...and I know other railroads I'm sure are touchy about camera use in the cab, so I know it's not always something that's even possible to share. Of course, I still very much appreciate all the other staff/etc. without a youtube presence, believe me! I'm just saying that it is nice to have such a transparent and candid look at what running a steam locomotive is really like! Thank you! (I say, with full knowledge that I'm at risk of getting a little foamy...but damnit! That's on you! You started it! lol)

[overpoweredsteamproduction]

Now that is one of the most beautiful examples I’ve ever seen of home made whistles. It’s deep, the tone is right, and it gives the authority a whistle should have.

[colinwallace]

The local tractor museum has a steam tractor with a train whistle on it (found one somewhere, thought it should get to roar again). It’s a ghostly sound on a still evening, because it just doesn’t belong. It’s awesome you guys get to help keep this alive.

[A_person]

I love how happy he sounds and looks when he hears him blow his own whistle, and I also love those beautiful sounds of a steam train, can't forget that 6-chime!

[kaipu]

Pretty cool. I would love to see a whistle 101.

[weylinwest]

Well, we all know what Hyce's new censored whistle is gonna be!

[bardinkurtis]

Dude you're killing it on this YouTube stuff! And that's coming from a professional YouTube watcher 😆. Keep up the good work. Stay as consistent as possible. I can see a 100k subs soon!

[coverlandadventures]

Happy yer able to use my footage Mark! Thanks again for the shout out as well, I appreciate it greatly brother. I really hope to hear the 6 chime more often, next time you are out! Not only does it give 491 it's own personality when yer here, I hear a chilling Reading 6 chime tone to it also.

[Pamudder]

As a former player of a stringed instrument I would be very interested in seeing the internal details of how a whistle works. (Some of my organ friends might be very interested too)

[Branwhin]

Toot TOOT! That sounds amazing. My husband's granddad started his career in the railroad as a fireman. I'm personally a history geek, so I love that people are maintaining these old beauties.

[thomaswilkinson]

This is the kind of whistling I always connect with the old Hollywood Movies my Grandpa, my brother and me used to watch on Saturday nights when we had sleepovers at our Grandparent's appartment. I love it. Feels so warm and dear to me. Thank you for repairing this wonderful piece.