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  • STEAM WHISTLES,ANYONE?

  • General discussion about locomotives, rolling stock, and equipment
General discussion about locomotives, rolling stock, and equipment

Moderator: John_Perkowski

 #1521692  by Rick A
 
Would that be something the ship's captain would do? I have read about locomotive engineers bringing their favorite whistles with them when they changed locomotives. I wonder if that holds true for ship captains too.
 #1522396  by phillyrube
 
Rick A wrote: Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:25 pm Would that be something the ship's captain would do? I have read about locomotive engineers bringing their favorite whistles with them when they changed locomotives. I wonder if that holds true for ship captains too.
Custom goes back to when ships had bands attached to them. Ships would go alongside for refuel/replenishment, and the band on the larger shops would assemble and play for entertainment. That mostly has gone away. Sometimes on the carriers there would be an impromtu ships band that might assemble and play. As the ships detached and pulled away, they would play a song, so each ship had their own song. USS Nashville, my first ship, played "Nashville Cats", by The Lovin' Spoonful. One of the big oilers, AOR or AOE, played BTOs, "Takin' Care of Business". USS Saratoga kept a fighting cock as a ships mascot, up on the signal bridge. When they pulled away, they played a recording of a rooster crowing. USS Nimitz, my second ship, played the movie theme from "The Final Countdown", old Kirk Douglas flick.

Not sure how the Higbee got their whistle, I'll reach out to the Great Esteemed Chief Petty Officer community and see what I can find out.
 #1525011  by phillyrube
 
phillyrube wrote: Sun Oct 13, 2019 11:47 am
Rick A wrote: Fri Oct 04, 2019 8:25 pm Would that be something the ship's captain would do? I have read about locomotive engineers bringing their favorite whistles with them when they changed locomotives. I wonder if that holds true for ship captains too.
Custom goes back to when ships had bands attached to them. Ships would go alongside for refuel/replenishment, and the band on the larger ships would assemble and play for entertainment. That mostly has gone away. Sometimes on the carriers there would be an impromtu ships band that might assemble and play. As the ships detached and pulled away, they would play a song, so each ship had their own song. USS Nashville, my first ship, played "Nashville Cats", by The Lovin' Spoonful. One of the big oilers, AOR or AOE, played BTOs, "Takin' Care of Business". USS Saratoga kept a fighting cock as a ships mascot, up on the signal bridge. When they pulled away, they played a recording of a rooster crowing. USS Nimitz, my second ship, played the movie theme from "The Final Countdown", old Kirk Douglas flick.

Not sure how the Higbee got their whistle, I'll reach out to the Great Esteemed Chief Petty Officer community and see what I can find out.
A few of the guys remember the Higbee whistle, but not how the tradition started.

A couple of "Breakaway traditions" I found out about. USS John F Kennedy, CV-67, played "Big John" as she pulled away.

One of the big oilers broke a Texaco flag when she pulled away, and played "You Can Trust Your Car, to The Man That Wears the Star".

USS Ranger took the junior ensign, dressed him as the Lone Ranger, and had him sitting on the flight deck sitting on a fibreglass horse mounted to a bomb trailer, pulled by a tractor while the ship played the William Tell Overture.

USS Bagley sometimes played "8 Days a Week", "A Hard day's Night" or "On the Road Again", depending on the skipper's mood.

More to follow
 #1525033  by Rick A
 
Great stories Phillyrube. I never knew about those traditions. I'll bet there are some nice pictures out there somewhere. I want to see the Lone Ranger on a horse! On a ship!!
 #1527307  by Rick A
 
Goulds catalog 1900
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catalogue Goulds Mfg 1900.jpg
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 #1529703  by alchemist
 
Don't know when it started or ended or if it's still done but in the 1960's each destroyer in the Atlantic had what was called a "p**s on you" flag that was flown when alongside for replenishment. O'Hare's was green (of course) and featured an embarrassed-looking tiger who had obviously been caught relieving himself. Ellison's was just a depiction of her mascot - a Viking warrior.

And I always thought this was a railroad forum :wink:
 #1553909  by Rick A
 
I was recently contacted by a man who purchased an Ashton 3 chime whistle at a sale a few years back. It's a beauty. He sent me some pictures of the whistles. Take a look.
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 #1565078  by Rick A
 
I found a few more companies on aarchive.org
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