Pan Am Locomotive Horns

All this talk about the 216, 373, 72 and the like finally made me break down and put an amateur video of BA-1 on youtube with 216 leading back in 2008. I normally don't do video, but every so often something makes me. Such was the case when I heard that GP35 leaving Verso.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_l32RgP0W7s

What model horn is installed on MEC 601, 603, and 613? I can see that 601 and 603 horns are installed on the long hood. 613 horn is above the cab. I can't tell the model(s) from the photos I have found and in any case am no expert.

Thanks

Jim Connolly

I believe the 601 has a Nathan K3, and I believe the 613 has a Leslie of some sort. I know the 300 series have Leslies but the 600s are a mix.

The 300s are a mix too. Some of them have Nathan K5LAs, and I've seen a Nathan P-something on at least one of them. There's really no rhyme or reason to it; horns can (and do) get changed out for a variety of reasons, and more often than not, the replacement horn is not the same as what the unit had previously. One of the 500s lost its trademark Nathan K3L a short while ago, replaced with a Leslie S3L; its K3L ended up on one of the GP9s.

In all the photos I've seen of 601, it has a Leslie RS3L. I would assume it still has it, unless it was recently changed out.

603 has a Nathan K5LA.

613 started out with a 3-chime Leslie (probably an RS3L, but could've been an S3L or even an S3K)... but recently that horn was changed out and it now has a Nathan P5.

Hope this helps!

207 had a very unique horn ...I believe it was a Prime Manufacturing PM-920, many of which can be found on ex MOPAC and UP units, and also some Illinois Central and former Conrail, D&H, Penn Central, Etc. Many of these horns sound a perfect major triad chord, similar to an old-cast P3, and others sound somewhat more like an S-3L or RS-3L. The sound itself is almost a half-step deeper than that of a leslie, and it seems I've heard a handful on Guilford/PAR units. MEC 313 sounds like a fouled '920, and it seems like a few other GP40s have them. Here is an example of the sound..anyone hear a horn like this on Pan Am? I swear I have...

http://www.dieselairhorns.com/sounds/Prime920UP.wav

Also, in "Today's Maine Railroads", there seems to be a Prime 920 on BAR GP38 #92, and also in BM GP39-2 355, which I found later on YouTube:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CctpIYk5cmk

Listen at 1:21...PM 920?

I see from a previous post that 72 has a P5 horn, but I can't tell from available photos what horn is on 77.

Also, on a somewhat related note, where are their bells installed? They don't ever seem to have been on the high short hood like the high hood GP40s or ex-MEC GP7s (as seen on Conway Scenic 573)

Some, the GP9r's I think, have high short hood mounted bells. The unrebuilt units have them tucked somewhere under the frame. Dave Hutchinson will be able to offer more info, or you could check the MEC/B&M forum in the fallen flags section. I asked the same question a few years ago.

JBConn wrote:I see from a previous post that 72 has a P5 horn, but I can't tell from available photos what horn is on 77.

77 is sporting a Nathan K3L, which was taken from one of the 500-series GP40-2Ws.

In recent times they've also added blue "shower cap"-style debris guards to it.

Video by Cory F (it didn't yet have the debris guards installed in this video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y6tMKBmgbQ

KSmitty wrote:Some, the GP9r's I think, have high short hood mounted bells. The unrebuilt units have them tucked somewhere under the frame. Dave Hutchinson will be able to offer more info, or you could check the MEC/B&M forum in the fallen flags section. I asked the same question a few years ago.

Originally, all B&M GP-7's and GP-9's had their bells mounted under the frame on the short hood end just as EMD intended. This location proved to be a terrible spot for a bell when it snowed. When the locomotive would hit a drift or snowbank, the snow would get up underneath and inside the bell, muffling the sound and making the bell useless, that is why railroads like the Maine Central and others in heavy snow regions of the country ordered their bells mounted high up on the hood. One would think the B&M would do the same, but remember, all through its history, the B&M was very frugal with their money.

Starting in 1979, the B&M started retrofitting their geeps with hood mounted bells on the short hood offset toward the fireman's side. GP-7's 1555-1556-1557-1558-1559-1560-1562-1563-1565-1566-1567-1569-1570-1574 and GP-9's 1707-1708-1720-1724-1732-1734-1736-1743-1747 all got the re-located bells.

Now, one would ask, why did they do mostly older GP-7's instead of their newer GP-9's? The answer is, The MBTA was, at that time, paying for the upkeep of the GP-7's they were leasing from the B&M. During their tenure on Commuter Rail, all of the GP-7's got retro-fitted bells and new paint jobs, after all, they were free advertising in the Boston area.

Thanks as always Hutch!
I get answers to questions I don't even ask when I read your posts. Excellent detail is always appreciated very much here!

bmcdr wrote:One would think the B&M would do the same, but remember, all through its history, the B&M was very frugal with their money.

Fortunately B&M did eventually start to see the light by the time they ordered the GP40-2s, which were delivered with the bells located in a snow-resistant location.

One of PAR's leased SD40-2s, HLCX 8070, has a very unlikely horn: a Nathan K5HL. The reason I call it "unlikely" is because the K5HL is a relatively new type of horn, introduced in 2004 specifically for the GE Evolution Series. Naturally it can be used on just about any type of locomotive, but up to this point they've only been found on new GEs. One can't help but wonder whether Helm ordered this horn from Nathan (and if so, why a K5HL rather than the much more common K5LA, or the K5LLA now used on new EMD locomotives), or if perhaps this horn was "borrowed" from a nearby unsuspecting GE.

Video of 8070 and its horn by "skyman2002": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQb-HdWptv8

I noticed the 8070, if it's on an EDPO/POED, it's hard to tell from an SEPO/POSE with CSX Power!

Also of note, one of the pumpkins (7843 or 7860) has a hybrid K5LA, similar to what's used on the Acela!

What horn is on this unit? I'm modeling this unit post Blue dip. And it looks like a 5 chime but I'm not sure.

As of 9 months ago, 337 has a Nathan K5LA. I assume that's what it still has.

Photo by David Hutchinson: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=3570867" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you want your model to be really accurate, try to get a K5LA that has three bells facing forward and two bells facing rearward, as seen in the photo.