Whistle Categories > Railway Whistles
Where did railway whistles originate?
Likely railway whistles originated where the railway originated in the UK. Glasgow was the front runner of railways. Railways had workshops and could order whistles, then modifying them, making them almost unique to their railway line.
The States would go on later to only name a couple of railways, lie the B&O. Other countries did very little with this category with few exceptions
How are railway whistles identified?
By looking for stamps or even plates that described the railway. Unusual modifications were made to set apart railway whistles.Sometimes, they used flat tops instead of the standard top ring doing this by putting a side knop or ring attached to the side. Then still others used special attached plating with lettering to set them apart. Some fine modifications have been used.
Many variations were used but invariably the railway would need to be identified. Initials standing for the different railway systems were often used such as LMS, NSW, etc. Dates would suggest that the railway was a government railway issue.
In summary: Plates attached, tops moved to the sides, buttons on the sides of escargots, engraving, any or all methods could be done by these workshops. It was very common for letters to be stamped into the sides of escargots.
It is possible that railways made their whistles from scratch in the UK, while other countries just used generic whistles. It is good to keep in mind that in France and a few surrounding nations short almost looking like boson whistles were used for railway purposes.
Why were they made?
Signaling to avoid danger on such large moving ‘structures’ was vital for the conductor. There were constant dangers from boarding and unloading and conductors’ whistles became a mainstay.
Additionally, watchmen for security purposes have used whistles since the 1860s for a certainty, possibly even earlier.
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