OT:air horn-IH train sound

When on the fire dep"t. I liked the sound of an air horn the IH chassis had. Also, I liked the horn on the Milwaukee Road diesel locomotive. In a pickup, anyone have something "good sounding" w/o spending big dollars, they could recommend? It would be nice not to have to install an air compressor; would something electric make me happy? I"m not going to "blast at every crossing. Thanks in advance.

No. Nothing will make you happy without installing air and spending BIG money. Train horns take TONS of air to operate properly. Some dump trailer jockeys were installing them and they had a tough time finding a valve that would flow the air required for the train horns. The ebrake on the column from a Mack was about the best.
Most fire engines are specked out with certain air horns, not the air horns that are standard for IH, Mack, Kw, Pete, etc. An example would be our Am Tanker Mack tankers had one horn, but our Marion Heavy Squad had a different horn on the same series Mack chassis. For a decent sounding fire horn you should get something >12" long.
Two horns is the min, but three is better. Expect to spend $200-300 on your entry level good horns.

On a side note, you should see what a Q2E siren costs!?! Crazy. Then look at the amp draw!!! It takes light battery cables to run!!!

Be careful what towns you use it in. Ours has a 88 decibel max for all noises. The trains horns are soon to be outlawed here also. The residential areas will be quiet zones for trains. And that involves almost all of the town.

Thanks for your reply. Our 'rural truck' had an IH horn that was > 12" and was a single unit. On a call, I would give it the railroad 'two long, one short and one long' coming onto "Main" from the station. Yup, Q sirens are pricey, but what a sound. I still like it so much better than any electronic siren; they just belong on a squad car. Back in late '70's and '80's they ran just short of a grand. Can't imagine what they cost now. My late fire chief used to say anyghing with a maltese (spelling) fire service cross on it...zoom, up goes the cost.

We ran all doubles on our stuff. I think it fills the sound in a little nicer. I remember one day going into Lk Geneva some car wouldn't pull out of the way and the MPO was on the horn so long the air buzzer started going off Very nice.

Hi Al, I have two chrome air horns,34" and 37"
long if you need. Old,and don't remember,or know
what they were on. Chuck (in Minnesota)

(quoted from post at 18:26:25 02/21/10) Hi Al, I have two chrome air horns,34" and 37"
long if you need. Old,and don't remember,or know
what they were on. Chuck (in Minnesota)

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Buy them! Otherwise I will. My BIL would love them for Christmas.

chuck41, thanks for the offer but, with the cost of the rest of a system - sflem879 you best be doing your Christmas shopping early. I hope you two can strike a deal. The '05 Silverado horns will have to do me. Thanks again for the replies.

Al,

Why do you think the air system has to be expensive?

All you need is a cheap, small capacity 12V compressor from eBay, an air brake tank with brackets off a truck, and a pilot operated quick release valve off the same truck. $50 max. Ya, you will need some hoses and a small hand operated air valve to handle the pilot air. That could be on the truck as well. Air shifter valve, tandem axle locker valve, air seat valve, brake release valve, horn valve, air shifted PTO valve, windshield wiper valve, and on and on.

I probably have most of this stuff in my barn. It seems likely you have a neighbor with the same kind of inventory. Ask him how to build your system with what he has available.

(quoted from post at 22:25:13 02/21/10) Al,

Why do you think the air system has to be expensive?

All you need is a cheap, small capacity 12V compressor from eBay, an air brake tank with brackets off a truck, and a pilot operated quick release valve off the same truck. $50 max. Ya, you will need some hoses and a small hand operated air valve to handle the pilot air. That could be on the truck as well. Air shifter valve, tandem axle locker valve, air seat valve, brake release valve, horn valve, air shifted PTO valve, windshield wiper valve, and on and on.

I probably have most of this stuff in my barn. It seems likely you have a neighbor with the same kind of inventory. Ask him how to build your system with what he has available.

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Good call. That would save a ton of money over a new system. IIRC you are by LaCrosse. If you were down here there are a few big truck junk yards. I am sure they are up there also, I just don't know them.

My BIL doesn't have a pump in his truck. He just uses a portable air tank and fills it up when it empties. He only gets a few good blasts from the tank then the volume fails. This is the reason I didn't mention this "system."

The horns you liked the sound of on the Milwaukee Road train engines were probably Nathanel chime horns. The freight engine horns usually had three chimes (trumpets) and the passenger engine horns usually had five chime horns.
It is almost impossable to supply enough air to properly operate these horns unless you install a very large air tank and then they will probably be good for only two or three blows.

Harold H

I have a set of IH dual Trumpet airhorns on my grandpa's old suburban. Does anyone know if I can get replacement parts for these? I want to keep them original and repair them and use them as he did. Thanks for any help with this!!!

(quoted from post at 15:06:27 02/21/10) When on the fire dep"t. I liked the sound of an air horn the IH chassis had. Also, I liked the horn on the Milwaukee Road diesel locomotive. In a pickup, anyone have something "good sounding" w/o spending big dollars, they could recommend? It would be nice not to have to install an air compressor; would something electric make me happy? I"m not going to "blast at every crossing. Thanks in advance.

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