New York Wire’s whistlemaster about using air in lieu of steam: ‘It’s going to sound very close to it’
Whistlemaster Don Ryan tries out the New York Wire Factory Whistle using compressed air instead of steam. The test passed muster. (See photo below of where all the air comes from.) Background posts: The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument and The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument – Part II and New York Wire factory whistle concert: ‘We’d stand out on our driveway to hear it’.
The New York Wire Christmas Factory Steam Whistle Concert will be renamed Factory Whistle Concert.
And the steam will no longer stream from the roof of the East Market Street factory at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve.
But the sound will be much the same.
“It’s going to sound very close to it, and I’m very pleased with it,” whistlemaster Don Ryan said, after a recent test of the whistle using compressed air… .
The air compressed used to test the New York Wire factory whistle.
All this is good news.
The cost of transporting and operating a portable boiler endangered continuation of this rite of Christmas Eve.
The whistle is a loud symbol of the heyday of York-area industries. Its red-brick factories put York on the map in the Industrial Revolution, and each factory had a whistle that organized workers’ days – start of work, lunch and end of work.
Now, the successful test of compressed air means that Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area show will go on.
A York Daily Record/Sunday News story (9/20/10) provides details: Christmas whistle concert in York to continue with air instead of steam.
Also:
See, hear the whistle in action.
A sampling of other factory whistle posts:
– York County enthusiasts could find historical event, site to visit every day.
– World War II-era air raid siren discovered atop Yorktowne Hotel.
– Unusual valve gave steam whistle prominence in World War II.
– The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument
– The world’s loudest music without amplification from a non-musical instrument – encore
– All factory whistle posts from the start.
Also:
All York Town Square posts from the start. (Key word search by using “find” on browser.)
