For sound enthusiasts of the railways of Victoria, Australia...

In the damp drizzle of an almost winter's day, I ventured to the town of Emerald and into the State Forest near Cockatoo to capture the last remnants we have of an operating VR A2 steam locomotive whistle. The Victorian Railways 5 chime whistle from A2 986 (the last to be retired) was removed from said loco and fitted to one of the narrow gauge locomotives of the Puffing Billy Railway fleet. Out in the forest, it's all very quiet, no trucks, no construction, no voices, and therefore an ideal spot to record the beautiful sounds of an approaching steam whistle. Short, medium and long whistles produced from today's recordings will be integrated into a future sound project for the A2, with cross-compound air pumps as fitted to goods hauling VR steam locomotives.

Mike