Charles M. Beeghly: 17 Years of Salutes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 เม.ย. 2023
- Interlake Steamship Company's classic laker Charles M. Beeghly - sailing today under the name Hon. James L. Oberstar - has one of the most unique whistle histories on the Great Lakes. Featuring audio clips and pictures of my own along with those contributed by an anonymous friend, this video documents the vessel's changing voice throughout her past 17 years of service.
When built in 1959 as the Shenango II, the Beeghly was outfitted with a rare triple set of Leslie Tyfon-series steam horns arranged in a vertical line down the front of her stack. From top to bottom, these models included the 200 DVE, 300 DVE, and 425 DVE. While the 300 DVE and 425 DVE were commonplace among vessels of the 1950s, the 200 DVE was an exceptionally rare sight and sound on the lakes. This unusual combination was supposedly chosen to mimic the sound of the classic triple-chime steam whistles of years past. The 200 and 300 were eventually positioned off to the starboard side of the stack, and the 425 was moved over to port. The 200 (top) and 300 (bottom) are pictured at 0:50 and 0:56; the 425 can be seen at 0:33, partially at 0:50, and prominently at 1:07. Look closely at 0:56 to see the closed holes from which the whistles used to protrude when aligned with the center of the stack.
The 200, 300, and 425 models were typically tuned to factory pitches of 194 Hz, 129 Hz (or 138 Hz), and 87 Hz, respectively, according to the Leslie Co., but these frequencies often varied in real-world use. The Beeghly's trio can be heard in a rare recording at 0:17, at which point the 425 was beginning to falter. Only the 200 and 300 were used for the latter half of the 2000s and produced an ugly chord that easily set the Beeghly apart - hear the unique sound and its many variations at 0:33, 0:43, 0:50, and 1:01.
A 94-Hz Kahlenberg Triton S-120 electric piston horn was eventually installed atop the Beeghly's pilothouse as an alternative to the steam horns; it can be seen and heard at 1:11. A KPH-130C of the same product line was added to the stern conveyor housing years later; it can be seen and heard at 1:56 followed by a return salute from the Aerial Lift Bridge. Both the S-120 and KPH-130C sound together in a great master's salute at 1:24.
Repowered from steam to diesel in 2009, the Beeghly bid farewell to her set of Tyfon horns for good. The trio now resides in a private collection.
More recently, the now-Oberstar's pilothouse-mounted S-120 was replaced with another KPH-130C. Once carrying up to five distinct whistles at a time, the vessel is now a one-trick pony. The "new" KPH-130C can be seen at 1:52 and heard briefly at 2:14.
All audio and photos from 1:46 to the end of the video are my own. The rest are courtesy of fellow ship horn enthusiast MK, whose contributions to this channel are greatly appreciated. Used with permission. Featured images are not necessarily from the dates the recordings were taken.
Waves video by Engin Akyurt, pexels.com, free license.
Waves audio by kbeezy88, pixabay.com, free license. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Just love those horns, the louder the better
Louder is ALWAYS better! 😁
For most of my early life - 1970s through 1990s, she regularly blew her 200/425 combo. She was very distinctive sounding. Thanks for the audio/video.
That’s awesome! What a treat. I sure wish I was around for those days.
Chuck Beagle had a delightful voice back in my day… those days are Ober(star). Sad!
I’m glad to hear you were around to hear it, even if you were but a tadpole.
YES I'm in love with this video. The Beeghly's steam salutes are among my favorite because it's just so unique! I've never heard a steam driven Leslie 200 since her repowering. Her salutes as the Shenango II were so melodic, almost like a cruise ship! As the years went on and her horns faded out of tune as the Beeghly, I found myself that much more fascinated with her one of a kind set. I find myself unable to get enough of these recordings, and hope more of them surface in years to come!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! The Beeghly has such a rich horn history with so many great sounds coming from her stack. I sure wish I could have heard them at least once. I have my fingers crossed for more recordings as well, especially of all three whistles at once! That must have been a powerful chord to hear in person.
In the 1959 documentary "Long Ships Passing" there are few recordings of the Beeghly (as Shenango II) when it was blowing all of it's horns and the 425 wasn't f****d up at the time.
Someone also recreated the triple-Leslie salute of the Shenango using editing software.
That is one of my favorite documentaries here on TH-cam! The 200-300-425 recording is the best I’ve ever heard of the Beeghly’s triple set. I plan to give it a plug sometime soon.
@@captainssalute I'm also pretty sure that in video by the name of "See the ships volume 4" in the first 15 seconds of the video there is recording of the Beeghly blowing the 200 and the 425. I am not 100% sure because the ship is in a distance and there is high chance of the horn just being edited in.
@@s.s.amazon5152 yes, it's the 425-200 combo.
I’ll have to check that out - I haven’t gotten around to purchasing all of the “See The Ships” volumes yet, but I know they have some great whistle sounds.
She's beautiful ❤️
Perhaps the most handsome boat on the lakes!
Each voice a gift of the God of all Machines
Very well put! And we're all very blessed to hear them.
Towards the end of her steaming days the 425 probably suffered a cracked diaphragm which is why they switched it to just the 200-300 combination. I wonder if there are other steam powered Leslie 200's out there, so far the Beeghly is the only documented vessel that had one.
That’s definitely a possibility! I believe the Herbert C. Jackson suffered something similar with her 425 diaphragm, though I’m not positive whether or not it was outright cracked.
I’ve often wondered the same about the 200. The Beeghly’s is the only one I’ve found to have been confirmed as of now, though there may very well have been others. The 300 dominated the era for sure.
May I have Permission to use the recording at 0:33? I repost great lakes ship whistles and horns. Also, her steam horns makes appearances at the St. Clair whistles on the water events.
Thanks for asking, but I would prefer that that content stays on my channel. Thanks for your understanding! I sure wish they would hold the Whistles on the Water event again sometime soon… The Beeghly’s old horns are always a highlight. Fingers crossed for this year! 🤞
That first video is raaaaaare
A real piece of history - I was ecstatic when my friend sent it to me!
Umm why did it say 450 on the first clip?
Whoops, that's a typo... Thanks for pointing it out. I've put a correction in the video.
@@captainssaluteok
The 425 even sounds bad in the ship rip beeghlys 425
It was sure missed for the rest of her steaming days!
@@captainssalute if I was alive and old enough to know about the Great Lakes ships and if I was 5 at the time I’d probably be crying LOL
Haha, I definitely had my scared-of-loud-noises phase as a kid too!
@@captainssalute I still haven’t heard a salute.
@@captainssalute I finally saw her a week ago
th-cam.com/video/8U7hF7EieRE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NLE-PumB2LRI_Rmu a better recording of all 3 in action!
That's the best recording out there of all three horns! I believe that's a clip from the 1959 documentary "The Long Ships Passing" - the Shenango II was practically brand new at the time!
@@captainssalute i was born in the wrong generation... in another life, I would have gladly captained this amazing vessel!