COLLECTORS Chris and Andrew Johnson go to extraordinary lengths to acquire old steam whistles.
It took Chris Johnson 20 years of negotiating and old-fashioned pestering to get his hands on his John Valves factory whistle.
Chris first spotted the whistle at the top of the old foundry and manufacturing factory in Ballarat in 1991, and set about making it his.
"Every time the factory changed hands, I would go in there and ask about the whistles," he said.
"When I was told 'no' I would just say that I would be back in a few years to see if their response had changed."
Despite the knockbacks and the passing years, Chris remained as committed as ever to acquiring the whistle.
"One of the later owners said that he actually wanted it for himself, so I wasn't getting anywhere there," he said.
"But I kept trying and going back."
When the factory closed - falling victim to the same fate as many other manufacturing businesses in regional Victoria - Chris saw it as a chance to not only get his hands on the factory whistle, but to keep a part of Victoria's heritage alive.
"It was liquidated at auction, and I bought it for $1400," he said.
"It is now one of my favourite whistles because of its history and how long it took me - 20 years - to get my hands on it."
Luckily for Chris and brother Andrew, who shares the passion, most were not so hard to come by.
The identical twins have been collecting steam and air-compressed whistles seriously for close to 20 years, and are fascinated by the old-fashioned way of signalling the arrival of trains and ships.
Their remarkable cache includes 200 different whistles from 26 countries, largely from decommissioned ships, trains and factories.
There are also a handful of steam sirens from ships, and air horns which later replaced the whistles on ships and trains.
"A lot of the collection includes whistles from the early 20th century as after 1950 many businesses started switching to diesel," he said. "A lot of the whistles are old factory whistles, but we also have some from old US locomotives."
A Big Boy steam locomotive from the US, worth up to $6000, takes pride of place in the collection.
Chris and Andrew also own a 1920s Ransome steam truck, and a 1917 Foden and a 1921 Sentinel steam wagon.
Powering the whistles is an impressive steam boiler the pair found in an old junkyard in Albury.
Their collection is estimated to be worth more than $200,000.
Such a stash requires a significant holding yard, and the brothers have bought a 2.8ha property at Windermere, which allows them to let off the whistles with impunity.
The brothers often let their loud whistles loose for visiting tour groups and club rallies, and, most recently, played host to the Ballarat Morris Minor Club.
"Our nearest neighbour is 1km away," said Chris.
"Which is very deliberate. We actually bought this property so we could sound the whistles without bothering anyone.
"The whistles can be as loud as 120 decibels, so it's important to have a big property - and I am always protected with ear muffs."
It is unsurprising that both brothers work in rail - Chris works as a signal-maintenance technician with V/Line and Andrew is a train driver with freight operator Pacific National.
But Chris hasn't always been a fan of whistles.
"When I was a boy, the steam engines would come to Ballarat and I was terrified of them - they were very loud and I had my fingers in my ears the whole time," he said.
"But as I grew older that fear became a fascination and later a challenge.
"I really love the challenge of acquiring the whistles, phoning people and working out who you have to talk to to get your hands on it."
Demand for the brothers' whistle displays at shows and local events is high - especially after their appearance on the ABC's Collectors program last year.
"We get lots of calls to appear at shows and we would do more if we could but our equipment weighs four tonnes so it isn't that easy to transport," he said.
Chris is pleased by the increasing number of enthusiasts beginning to collect whistles in Australia.
"It is a much bigger deal in the US, and they have their own society for collecting whistles," he said.
"It is starting to take off a little more here and there is quite a demand for them at auction which can drive up the prices."
Less pleasing, according to Chris, is the changing way of doing business.
"Not long ago you could see a whistle on top of a factory, head inside and walk right into the boiler house and talk to someone about it," Chris said.
"These days you need a security pass, and have to go through all these checks just to get a meeting with someone."
