November/December 1970
L. G. Simpson
 |
The Joe Dennis whistle. Courtesy of L. G. Simpson 26 Valley View Drive, Dayton, Ohio 45405.
L. G. Simpson
|
26 Valley View Drive, Dayton, Ohio 45405.
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In the days of the old steam locomotive, there were many men
with a practiced art on the whistle cord. Few however, really
mastered the art to the point of wide fame, as did our hero
described here. The exact dates herein are unknown to me, but we
can establish the general era as being from about 1920 and going
into the middle 1940's. Many of you older folks may well
remember the events related here. If you do, I will welcome more
information and would indeed, appreciate hearing from you.
The location of this story is in the deep south, in the state of
Georgia that is well known for its railroad romance. Centered at
Atlanta, are three railroads of fair size, all jointly owned by one
company. The Georgia RR, the Western Railway of Alabama, and the
Atlanta & West Point Route, like many other roads, had some
fine examples of steam motive power. These three roads, who catered
to the needs of both shippers and passengers alike, were very proud
of their ability to be able to serve them with high
efficiency. We are concerned here with the passenger service. Among
the finer and noted passenger trains, were the Crescent Limited,
and the Piedmont Limited, both famous in railroad circles and the
local traveling public. These runs were also recognized for their
'on time' record.
Among the many engineers that were employed by the company, was
Joe A. Dennis, whom in addition to being a hogger, was also the
town's mayor of Palmetto, Georgia. Both of these jobs gave just
cause for his popularity. Another good cause was his art of being
able to make a locomotive whistle somewhat human, or something
alive at least. He had his own very special style that was
recognized by all who knew him, especially those living near the
railroad's mainline. Many other envious hoggers tried to
imitate Joe's style, but none of them could fool the public
into thinking that they were Joe doing the honors.
After trying out several different types and sizes of whistles,
Joe settled on the 6 inch diameter 'CROSBY' 3-chime type
with a built-in valve. Its deep mellow steamboat tones were sure
to, and did do, the job he expected. He constructed his own design
of blowing lever for the whistle. This lever being quite long,
almost as high as the whistle itself, when attached. The lever was
forged at the Montgomery, Alabama, shops, and being an extra long
affair, it gave Joe a very sensitive control of the of the forth
giving sounds. By keeping the slack in the cord, at a minimum, he
could make the whistle respond to his every desire. Joe once said
that he could get just about every note found on a violin, from
that whistle. He could imitate a haunting laugh, a whippoorwill,
play tunes on it and make it scream like a banshee.
Joe ran several engines while working for the railroad. One was
the still living Atlanta & West Point No. 290, a Lima built
pacific type, constructed in 1926. The last engine that he ran
before retiring, was the Western Railway of Alabama No. 181, a
4-8-2 mountain type built by Richmond Works, in 1920. Whenever Joe
changed engines, he removed his whistle and transferred it to the
newly acquired engine, for wherever Joe went, so did the
whistle.
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