
The locomotive that used the whistle. (Canadian National S1b Mikado #3254.)

A picture of Canadian National #3254 (The engine responsible for most of the recordings for the sound effects in the Series 6000 library.), undergoing a maintenance check, while pulling an excursion train sometime in September of 2011.

A picture of the locomotive, when it served it's time on the Gettysburg Railroad in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (Circa 1986)
This sound effect can be found on The General Series 6000 Sound Effects Library, which was made by Sound Ideas. An identical copy of this sound effect, WHISTLE, STEAM - WHISTLE BLOWING FROM A STEAM TRAIN 02, can be found on The Mix I Broadcast Music Library.
Info
- First recorded: 1986
- Creator: Unknown
- Owner: Sound Ideas (1992-present)
- Origin: Gettysburg Railroad in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- Year debut: 1988
- First heard: Technological Threat (1988)
- Area used: Worldwide
The whistle that heard is in this sound effect, along with the other variants from the Series 6000 library, is a fouled Canadian National 5 chime step-top steam whistle, which was recorded from Canadian National Railway S-1-b class 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive #3254 in the 1980s. Eventually, it would get replaced by a better tuned whistle, due to the old one being a bit too loud and squeaky.
The site/location where the sound effect was recorded was probably at the Gettysburg Railroad in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, as it was the place at the time where the locomotive operated at, before being sold to Steamtown USA in Scranton, Pennsylvania sometime during August of 1987.
As of now, this sound effect is the most commonly used train whistle sound effect, as it has made a number of appearances across 100+ pieces of media.
Clean, Full Length and Unedited Link to the Sound Effect
Used In
TV Shows
- The Addams Family (1992 Series)
- America's Funniest Home Videos
- American Dad!
- Anne of Green Gables: The Animated Series (Heard once in "The Best Partner" and "A Welcome Hero".)
- Animaniacs
- Animaniacs (2020) (Heard in "Warner, She Wrote".)
- Art Alive (Heard once in "Sam the Train Driver".)
- Arthur (Heard often in "Strangers on a Train".)
- Barney & Friends (Heard once in "Who's Who on the Choo Choo?" and heard often in "The Magic Caboose".)
- Bear Behaving Badly (Heard once in "Out of Control" and "Nev the Bear Wizard".)
- Between the Lions
- Blaze and the Monster Machines (Used for Blaze when he turns into a steam locomotive in "The Bouncing Bull Racetrack".)
- Bonkers (Heard once in "Trains, Toons and Toon Trains".)
- The Busy World of Richard Scarry
- Chuggington (Heard once in the intro.)
- Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (Heard once in "All Aboard!".)
- Dinosaur Train (Heard occasionally in a normal pitch in Season 1-present, and several times in a higher pitch in Season 4-5 as the train's whistle.)
- Disney's American Legends (Heard twice in "John Henry" and heard once before "The Brave Engineer" segment.)
- Doki
- The Doodlebops
- Dora the Explorer (Used in a higher pitch for the Big Gray Train's whistle.)
- Endangered Species (Heard twice in "Cliffanger".)
- The Fairly OddParents
- Fairy Tale Police Department (Heard in three episodes.)
- Fievel's American Tails (Heard in "The Gift".)
- Go, Diego, Go! (Used as Chucho the Train's whistle in "The Tapir's Trip Home".)
- Henry Danger
- Johnny Test
- Justin Time Go!
- Katie and Orbie (Heard once in "The Steam Engine".)
- Kid-E-Cats
- LazyTown (Heard once in "Sportafake" and "Prince Stingy".)
- Let's Go Luna! (Heard once in the intro.)
- Little Bear
- Max & Ruby (Heard twice in "Go to Sleep Max" and once in "Conductor Max".)
- Mister Maker (Heard quadrice in one episode.)
- Odd Squad (Heard once in "Odd Moments in History: Hofferville, 1904".)
- Pakdam Pakdai (Heard briefly in “Train Ride”.)
- Peppa Pig
- Pepper Ann
- Pocoyo (Heard 6 times in Let's Go Pocoyo episode, "Travel with Pato".)
- Postman Pat
- Puppy Dog Pals (Heard once in "The Great Shirt Rescue".)
- Ruby Gloom (Heard once in "Misery Loves Company" and often in "Last Train to Gloomsville".)
- Sheriff Callie's Wild West
- Star Trek: Voyager (Heard once in "Spirit Folk".)
- Swan Boy (Heard once in "Swan Boy Goes to Hell".)
- Teen Titans Go!
- Thomas & Friends
- ToddWorld (Heard once in "A Trunkful of Trouble".)
- Totally Spies!
- Tricked Out Trains
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
Movies
- An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island (1998)
- Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
- Christopher Robin (2018)
- Coco (2017)
- Dinosaur Train: Adventure Island (2021) (Used for the Dinosaur Train's whistle.)
- Disney's American Legends (2002)
- Everyone's Hero (2006)
- The Fox and the Hound 2 (2006)
- The Greatest Showman (2017)
- Home on the Range (2004)
- Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008)
- Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
- Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure (2010)
- Meet the Robinsons (2007) (2nd whistle only; used for Aunt Billie's Toy Train in various pitches.)
- Mickey's Twice Upon A Christmas (2004) (Heard a few times in "Mickey's Dog Gone Christmas".)
- Oggy and the Cockroaches: The Movie (2013) (Used when Jack and other characters are angry.)
- Pearl Harbor (2001) (2nd, 3rd and 4th whistles only; used as the whistle on Southern Pacific #2353 near the end of the film.)
- Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014)
- Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
- Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) (Used as The Rainbow Sun's whistle.)
- Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor (2017) (Used as Lexi's whistle.)
- Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue (2010) (Used as Ferdinand's whistle in a low pitch.)
- Thomas & Friends: The Great Race (2016) (Used as Carlos' whistle.)
- Water for Elephants (2011)
Home Video Series
- Mighty Machines (Heard once in "At the Train Yard".)
Home Videos
- Baby Moves (2004) (Videos) (Can be heard in a higher pitch.)
- Barney - Barney's Sense-Sational Day (1997 video) (Heard once during the song "Listen".)
- Barney's All Aboard for Sharing (1996 video)
- Muppets on Wheels (1995)
- William Wegman's Alphabet Soup (1995)
Video Games
3DS:
GameCube:
- The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Jet Fusion (Used during the Cindy Vortex boss battle.)
- Animal Crossing (Used as the whistle on the steam locomotive that pulls the passenger car you ride on at the start of the game.)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Used as the whistle on the Hogwarts Express.)
- Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
- Super Mario Sunshine (Used when the Wiggler boss blows steam from its nostrils out of anger after being damaged.)
Mobile:
- Brave Train (Used as Legendary's Whitsle.)
- Paper Train
- PlayKids (Can be heard in a higher pitch.)
- Trollface Quest: Video Memes
N64:
Nintendo Switch:
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Used as the train's whistle in the Rainbow Road track.)
Other:
- XD Dark Ride (Used as the train's whistle on Los Banditos.)
PC:
- I Spy
- I Spy School Days
- The Last Express
- Lego Soccer Mania
- Lionel Trains Presents: Trans Con!
- Monopoly CD-Rom
- Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
- Need for Speed: High Stakes (Used as the whistle on the steam locomotive on the Kindiak Park route.)
- Paper Train
- Roblox
- Heard in multiple train games:
- The Lackawanna And Newport RO-Scale Railway (Used on the locomotive from Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.)
- TrainDude3985's RO-Scale Strasburg Railroad (UNOFFICIAL) (Used on the Rainbow Sun.)
- Heard in multiple train games:
- RollerCoaster Tycoon
- RollerCoaster Tycoon 2
- Sid Meier's Railroads!
- Stuart Little: Big City Adventures
- Toy Story 3
PlayStation:
PlayStation 2:
- The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Jet Fusion (Used during the Cindy Vortex boss battle.)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Used for the Hogwarts Express.)
- Lego Soccer Mania
PlayStation 3:
Unsorted:
- Monopoly Millionairies Club
Wii:
- Active Life: Explorer
- Kirby's Epic Yarn
- Mario Party 9 (The 2nd whistle is used in a high pitch when Wiggler becomes enraged in the boss game, "Wiggler Bounce".)
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii
- Super Mario Galaxy (2nd whistle only, higher pitch; used whenever a Wiggler becomes enraged.)
- Super Mario Galaxy 2 (The 2nd whistle is used in a normal pitch whenever Gobblegut blows smoke out of its nostrils and in a high pitch whenever a Wiggler becomes enraged.)
- Toy Story 3
Wii U:
- Mario Kart 8 (Used for the train in the Rainbow Road track.)
- New Super Mario Bros. U
Xbox:
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Used as the Hogwarts Express' whistle.)
- RollerCoaster Tycoon
Xbox 360:
Shorts
- Animaniacs: I'm Mad (1994)
- John Henry (2000) (Shorts)
- LEGO City Mini Movies (Heard in "Train Ride".)
- Technological Threat (1988) (Debut, used for the Dweeb; 2nd and 1st whistles only; used for the Blocky Boss when he fell down a trapdoor.) (?)
Music
- Britney Spears - Oops!...I Did It Again (2000) (1st whistle only; used during the spoken-word bridge.)
- Jim Johnston - Gonna Punch Someone Tonight (2007)
- Kastytis Kerbedis - Sustok, Traukiny
- Tom Hanks - Hot Chocolate (Heard twice.)
Audiobooks
- The Polar Express (1985) (2009 Liam Neeson edition) (Heard once from a far away distance and again close up.)
Promos
- ABC Family 25 Days of Christmas (2010)
Bumpers
- USA Network Cartoon Express (1991)
Trailers
- Dinosaur Train: Adventure Island (2021) (Trailers) (Used as the Dinosaur Train's whistle.)
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012) (Trailers)
- Mandie and the Cherokee Treasure (2010) (Trailers)
- Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021) (Trailers)
- Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) (Trailers)
- Thomas & Friends: The Great Race (2016) (Trailers)
Miscellaneous
- Brainpop Jr. Annie and Moby Video Series
- Crayola: Vehicle Mixer
- Choo-Choo (Read Aloud)
- FAO Schwarz Train Set Motorized with Sound 30pc
- Fisher-Price - E-Z Play Railway Motorized Steam Engine
- Toy Story 3: Daycare Dash
- VTech Roll & Surprise Animal Train
Theme Parks
- The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride
- Magic Kingdom Welcome Show (Heard until January 9, 2017.)
YouTube Videos
- Aiden Andrews (Heard once in a normal pitch in Apostrophe the movie part 65, train whistles that were used as stock sound effects, and in a higher pitch trainz 2009 railfanning with dubbed audio part 1 and Apostrophe the movie part 69.)
- amtrak 2022 productions
- Eddsworld
- Fast Freight Productions
- J.T the blue pannier tank productions (Heard in the video "Testing out my bachmann Durango and Silverton H.o set".)
- JulianTrainKid 2021 Productions
- Imperial Potato (Used for Thomas the Tank Engine in "The T-Pose Apocalypse (20K Sub Special)".)
- Inacio Studios Media
- IOSStudios
- MajorEngineStudios
- MrConductorFan1406
- SML Videos (Heard once in "Bowser Junior Pierces His Nose".)
- SPdaylight4449 YES booba NO
- Super Foxy Railway Productions
Anime
- Black Butler
- Chibi Maruko-chan
- Fullmetal Alchemist
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (2011)
- Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu
- Night Raid 1931
- Pani Poni Dash! (1st whistle only.)
- Pikachu's Vacation (Used in various pitches when Charizard blows fire out.)
Image Gallery
Audio Samples