Topic starter
16/09/2006 11:45 pm
Greetings from Marietta, OH.
Today, at approximately 2:15pm Capt. Nelson Jones and his crew from Madison Coal and Supply succesfully blew the steam whistle of the Str. WP SNYDER Jr at the meeting of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen in Marietta, OH.
We took the whistle down at 11am this morning and found massive amounts of corrosion in the bowl and languid of the individual whistles. It took several hours work to free the corrosion and get the wind ways clear enough to blow. But, our work paid off and the whistle blew successfully several times at the luncheon. Most likely the first time since the late 1960's when it was blown for a recording of historic steam whistles. As locals report the whistle has been blown at S&D meetings since, but the smallest whistle has not functioned until today.
Several members will surely be sharing their experiences with hearing the whistle as a major fund-raising effort was launched to raise money to restore the historic vessel.
We were also entertained by Capt. Clarke C. "Doc" Hawley on the steam calliope aboard the ANNA MARIE. Beautiful weather made for a wonderful day to have the S&D luncheon at the Ohio River Museum. A great day was had by all!
~Travis~
17/09/2006 5:12 am
Here is how the whistle did sound like in the 1960s: http://www.steamboats.org/audio/wpsnyder.mp3
Any differences noticed as of today's sound?
Franz
17/09/2006 5:42 am
Hello Travis...
I have been on the WP SNYDER Jr a couple of times. Its been a long time ago, but I remember standing on those pedals and looking "up" at the huge wheel imagining piloting it down the river.
Great to hear that the whistle is in working condition! 🙂
-Nick
18/09/2006 8:22 pm
Steamboating colleagues:
Thanks to Travis for his timely posting Re: whistle on W.P. SNYDER and to Franz for his follow along with Nick. It was something this past weekend at Sons & Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen meeting during the picnic under the buildings of the River Museum in Marietta seeing Travis, Nelson Jones, Doc Hawley and others 'fiddle' with the SNYDER'S whistle. They mounted, remounted, tightened, looked, mumbled toether and tapped with a big monkey wrench. Steam bellowed with no sound. More hard work ensued. It's amazing how just banging on pipes to break the dust and dirt of years free had such a result. They pulled the lanyard again and again until the whistle gurgled with a sudden gush of dirty water. Unfortunately much of it landed all over Travis and he was a mess at the end. The steam hit the whistles and it sounded out loud and clear. Spectators applauded with comments, "I remember when she blew that whistle back in '55."
Travis Vasconcelos and Doc Hawley hit the keys on the steam calliope masterfully with music erupting like never before. In celebration of Helen Hughes Prater's 94 birthday, Doc ticked the keys belting out 'Happy Birthday.' David Baker of Marietta gave the welcome comments for the Campaign Kickoff for the W.P. SNYDER recalling the boat's arrival 51 years ago with memories of the docking crew and spectators flying in all directions when lines were run ashore stirring up a hive of nasty yellow jackets. It was a day filled with memorable sights and sounds. I saw the SNYDER for the first time later in the fall of 1955 as a teen and she was still pristine with the smell of coal dust still lingering down below.
Cheers,
R. Dale Flick
19/09/2006 8:20 pm
Good to see that this whistle was cleaned up and blown. Dale Flick sent me some photos of the W.P. Snyder whistle a while back. It was a 3 bell chime consisting of two Lunkenheimer dome tops and a flat top of another manufacturer. Lonergan?
Travis Vasconcelos;1324 wrote: Greetings from Marietta, OH.
Today, at approximately 2:15pm Capt. Nelson Jones and his crew from Madison Coal and Supply succesfully blew the steam whistle of the Str. WP SNYDER Jr at the meeting of the Sons and Daughters of Pioneer Rivermen in Marietta, OH.
We took the whistle down at 11am this morning and found massive amounts of corrosion in the bowl and languid of the individual whistles. It took several hours work to free the corrosion and get the wind ways clear enough to blow. But, our work paid off and the whistle blew successfully several times at the luncheon. Most likely the first time since the late 1960's when it was blown for a recording of historic steam whistles. As locals report the whistle has been blown at S&D meetings since, but the smallest whistle has not functioned until today.
Several members will surely be sharing their experiences with hearing the whistle as a major fund-raising effort was launched to raise money to restore the historic vessel.
We were also entertained by Capt. Clarke C. "Doc" Hawley on the steam calliope aboard the ANNA MARIE. Beautiful weather made for a wonderful day to have the S&D luncheon at the Ohio River Museum. A great day was had by all!
~Travis~