Re: Bell(e)s . . .

To my somewhat musically-trained ear, and as far as the D&RGW goes, most of the Baldwin bells seem to sound the same, except for those that are on the K-36 locos. The only difference would be in Durango, where I understand some of the bells had to be replaced after the roundhouse fire. Some of them seem to have been swapped around between locos as well, so a K-28 may sound just the same as a K-36, or maybe the Alco factory bells sound like the ones on the K-36s??

This may have nothing to do with size, but something is definitely different with the bell; whether its the physical shape or material used to cast. I've often wondered just how interchangeable they are.

Here are some photos of a D&RG bell that Casey and I had the pleasure of restoring for a friend. It came from an unknown standard gauge loco. Just for grins, we fabbed up a new anti-rollover bar. Note the Dark Olive Green paint we found on the base