Re: 473 to Silverton Video

The reason 493 has a mushier exhaust is that 482 is doing most of the work. 493 is not working hard at all and the engines are not sharing the load equally.

480's and 490's have the same cyclone front end setup, and the same size cylinders, so they sound pretty much the same doing the same amount of work, taking in such variations such as valve timing, Johnson Bar and throttle positions, weather, condition of valve and piston rings, etc. Tight rings have a lot to do with how snappy and engine's exhaust sounds. An engine with worn rings will be less sharp but actually louder as live steam gets past the rings and goes up the stack.

480's and 490's really don't sound off until you load them down to 50% capacity.

Comparing modern audio recordings to 1960's recordings tells you nothing as you have no idea what kind of equipment was used, with different frequency response, etc.

When 493 was converted to oil firing the same exhaust nozzle was used. The petticoat pipe was extended down further, replacing the cyclone assembly. To me, 493 sounds pretty much like any other freshly shopped 480-490.

The 470's have Master Mechanic front ends with higher exhaust nozzles. Simply pulling baffles and floor plate out, and leaving the nozzle and petticoat pipe in place would probably work pretty well. The result would sound pretty much like it did before.

It does seem the 473 has taken quite well to its oil conversion.