Whistle

‘Whistle’ is a large-scale temporary art installation that explores the layers of narrative within the city of Newcastle. A series of replica steam locomotive whistles surrounding the city will sound once a day, mapping the ancient town wall and centuries of stories of the development of Newcastle as a great northern city.

The installation, triggered just once a day at precisely 1pm, marks time in the present that recalls a myriad of narratives stretching back centuries. The steam engine whistles - exact replicas of the distinctive bell whistles unique to North Eastern railway locomotives, recalls the role Newcastle and the greater north played in the development of railways and locomotive engineering. The control and time precision is achieved through current ‘internet of things’ digital technology fusing historic with contemporary engineering solutions. The 1 o’clock triggering, while immediately reminiscent of the 1 o’clock gun across the border in Edinburgh, has overtones of the factory whistles once commonplace in northern industrial cities. The whistles are positioned close to the route of the ancient town wall of Newcastle. As they are triggered - first cascading in a domino fashion once around the wall followed by a unison blast at precisely 1pm - they will draw an audible line right around the city. From a central position visitors will be able to hear the complete circle being drawn. Triggered at 1/2 second intervals the entire circle will take less than 30 seconds to complete the 2 mile circuit. The full 1 o’clock blast will be all whistles at full volume at the same time. A formidable sound across the entire city. Powered by compressed air the whistles will be the same volume as the originals on steam locomotives and will be clearly audible above the background noise of a modern city centre. In still weather ‘Whistle’ will be audible for up to 5 miles. The whistles along the quayside part of the walls in particular will echo off the valley sides interacting with the very landscape that underpins the tyneside cities.

‘Whistle’ is a dynamic and ambitious art installation, delivered on a scale that is just not possible in many other cities. Culturally it speaks of and to the communities of the north, yet is as accessible to visitors from anywhere in the world and celebrates the engineering foundations of the North of England. The piece combines the traditional engineering skills of small local enterprises with current digital technology to create a piece of absolute precision. As an experiential piece it promotes the need to be there to experience a truly unique moment.

The piece is a once a day event, happening at a precise moment in time every day. It is as much about the experience of being there as it happens as the narratives it suggests. As an audio work it has very little visible presence yet it can be experienced right around the city and from all three proposed routes. Over the course of the exhibition it is anticipated that visitors and locals will identify prime locations to experience the work. The experience will be very different along the riverfront and bridges than at Greys monument or even Central Station itself.

Some background:

The whistles are based on a drawing in the National Railway Museum Archive in York originally produced by William Armstrong & Co., Stephenson Works, Newcastle in 1928. This was produced for all locomotives built at North Road Works in Darlington. in the 20s and 30s.

The whistles have been cast in brass by William Lane Ltd - the last remaining foundry in Middlesbrough and a brassworks since the 1890’s

The whistles are engineered by Thomas Jones in Darlington. Tom has been continuing the tradition of engineering for steam locomotives, building whistles for a number of preserved locomotives and engineering new components for ‘Tornado’ and the North East Locomotive Preservation Group among others. Each whistle is built by hand and each is unique both in build and in its tuning. The whistles have been specially tuned to sound exactly the same as if they were powered by steam, but use compressed air instead.

The whistles are controlled by Raspberry Pi (small micro computers) running bespoke software developed by Nebula Labs based in Newcastle. The internal clocks on the Raspberry Pi are kept in sync with the atomic clock via wifi and the internet to ensure the 1 o’clock blast is as accurate as the radio 4 pips. The control system makes each whistle an ‘internet of things’ device. A bit like the way you can control your lights with Alexa or Google. This allows the whistles to be tested and fired remotely to check it all works. The system also lets me know if everything is working OK and how many whistle blasts have been sounded so I know when to change the air cylinder.

The Town Wall dates back to the 13th Century and encircles what is now the city centre. It was typically 24 ft high (8m) and seven feet (2.5m) thick. There were six main gates - including Westgate and Newgate - and 17 towers - of which parts of six still remain. At its prime it was considered the most impressive town or city wall in the whole of England and was only breached once - by the Scots during the English Civil War. Although over the centuries it fell into disrepair, most of the wall survived into the late 19th Century and there are photographs of all of the gates and most of the towers before the late Victorian redevelopment of the city centre.

‘Whistle’ follows all 2.2 miles of the Town Wall and sits within 10m of the line of the wall at every point - most of the whistles are actually on the wall or modern replacements. Every site has its own historical or architectural interest as part of the story of the wall. Of the 14 permanent sites, eight are listed buildings, scheduled ancient monuments, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site or all three.