A picture of Sierra Railway #28 (The engine that was used for the recordings.), outside the main station at Railtown 1897. (Date unknown)
An exclusive black-and-white photo provided by a viewer of "Railroad Street" showing Will Files atop Sierra Railway #28, likely before or during the time the sounds were recorded.
A picture of Sierra Railway #3 (The engine that was originally thought to be responsible for the recordings.), idling on the tracks at the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. (Circa 2015)
This is a Skywalker Sound effect that was recorded by either Randy Thom or Tim Nielsen, and it is not available on the Lucasfilm Sound Effects Library. It's most notable usage was being used as the whistle sound on the locomotive in the 2004 motion-capture animated Christmas film, The Polar Express. It is also where the sound effect debuted.
The whistle that is heard in this sound effect was widely believed to be the whistle from Hollywood famous steam locomotive, Sierra Railway #3. (An 1891 Roger's built 4-6-0 "Ten-wheeler" steam locomotive.)
However, according to YouTube user "Railroad Street", it has been revealed that #3 had not been used, as he had managed to get in touch with both Skywalker Sound and Railtown 1897 (the park that owns the engine), with both later confirming she was, in-fact, not the one used for the recordings. Plus, #3 had been out of service since 1995, and wouldn't return to service until 2010.
Both parties also confirmed that #28 (another steam locomotive owned by Railtown) was the one who was actually used for the recordings, but they didn't specify what or where the whistle was from. But it is confirmed that it was a Western Pacific 5 chime, and not #3's Lima 5 chime, as it wouldn't have been able to be mounted on #28. Although they both sound almost identical to each other even though there is a bit of a difference in the whistles, it’s also entirely possible that Skywalker Sound may have pitch shifted #28’s whistle to make it sound very similar to #3’s whistle.
Used In
Movies
- My 4th of July Experience: The Movie (2022) (Used after when Christopher mentions that the ride he, Ellie and Meaghan rode on together was named the Polar Express.)
- The BFG (2016) (Used as the whistle sound on a big model steam engine one of the giant’s ride on near the end of the film.)
- The Fabelmans (2022) (Used as the whistle on the Lionel steam locomotive Sammy uses to make his home movies.)
- The Polar Express (2004) (Debut; used as the whistle sound on the locomotive multiple times throughout the film.)
Video Games
Trailers
- The Polar Express (2004) (Trailers)
- Disclosure Day (2026) (Trailers)
YouTube Videos
- CBProductions # (Used in his video (which counts as a film/movie) "My 4th of July Experience: The Movie".)
- Charlie Studios
- Super Foxy Railway Productions
- Walt’s Nephew