Have you ever wondered where exactly that high lonesome sound you can hear sometimes at night comes from? Obviously it's a train horn - but are you curious about where that horn came from? There is so much lore, including many songs which have been created around the sound of a train horn as they speed down the track. Train horns managed to capture the collective imagination in a way that train whistles never quite succeeded in doing.
Quite a few different companies have manufactured train horns in the past, the most well known of these include:
Gustin Bacon Manufacturing Company - This company was making air horns for trains until World War II.
The American Strombos Company - Strombos' horn was based on a truck horn and was used on early locomotives.
Westinghouse Air Brake Company - Also known as WABCO, they were the first ones to actually make air horns that were designed for use on trains. This dates back to about 1910.
Besides these companies, there are many others who made train horns at one time. The leader in the industry do this day has its origins in the AMCO company.
The man credited with creating the earliest air horns for trains, both the five and six chime types is Robert Swanson. Tese horns started as a hobby while he was employed by the Victoria Lumber Manufacturing company in the 1920s. Working together with Ernie Canon, George Challenger and Bill Piercy, he founded the AMCO (Airchime Manufacturing Company) in 1949. The H5, one of Swanson's invention was the first multiple chime air horn to be used on trains - and it was a big hit with the public!
The horns were licensed to two different companies; Nathan of New York and Hyson of New England. It was this way that the Airchime company really grew. The name Nathan Airchime is seen on U.S. produced horns, including the model K, Swanson's last and finest horn. This horn is still the one most commonly used by rail companies in the U.S. These horns replaced the Prime and Leslie models of horn as they aged.
The founder of the Leslie Corporation, John Leslie, which was formed in the 19th century, was a manufacturer of many steam parts, not only for trains but ships as well. In the 1930s, John Leslie started making air horns for the railroad. Buying the rights of the Tyfon series, from Sweden, the production of the Tyfon A-200 became one of the best sellers This was the horn used by most trains of every type until the Airchime became a hot item about 1950.
Train horns have also found popularity with hobbyists, some of whom even install them on their vehicles! Naturally, these horns are too loud to use in traffic, but are great pieces for show and can be shown off at auto shows and the like.
The next time you hear the train making its way through the night, will you stop and think about the men who devoted their lives to make the horns for the sounds they loved? The lonesome music of the far-off horn heralding the arrival of the train to the next spot on it's journey will never be compared to any other sound in the world.
Train horns for your car? Why would anyone want to install train horns in their automobiles? After all, the train horns are way much louder than traditional car horns, and it would certainly cause a certain level of discomfort if everyone is to change their car horn to an train horn. Well, that is true if you're living in the city, where the buildings are close together and the roads are congested. In India, it is the culture there to keep blasting the horns at other drivers. They do not consider this to be impolite. Rather, they do this to keep everyone safe, as drivers tend to have a higher level of alertness when the horns kept sounding.
And safety should be the number one concern for all drivers. Certainly, the train horn is not for everyone. But think about this. What if you are driving a truck in a suburban area, where the roads are lonely and poorly lit? Poorly lit roads mean poor visibility, especially when driving at night. And when you are driving a truck, you want to be noticed at night to prevent any freak accidents from happening. So truck drivers in this position has been known to install extremely powerful lights on their trucks. They do this to make up for the lack of light on the roads, and to attract the attention of whoever or whatever may be crossing their paths.
For the same reasons, truck drivers are also looking to change their car horns. When driving on a poor lit, long stretch of deserted road, where there are vast empty fields, a car horn sounds like nothing. What the driver really needs, is a horn that can be heard from some distance away. That's because drivers like to cruise at high speeds when they are traveling on roads with very few cars. So they must be heard way before they are seen. That's why trains have such loud horns. They give the impression that something very fast and very big is coming along, and whoever or whatever is in its way, should make way for it to pass. Therefore, truck drivers are looking to change their car horns to train horns to achieve this very same effect.
Depending on your needs, there are many different types of train horns available. For smaller vehicles, you may want to consider a Stage 1 train horn, which is a basic horn kit. If you own a large truck, then you may want to invest in a set of Stage 5 horn kit. This is probably the loudest horn you'll ever get. Somewhere in between, there's a QUAD train horn kit, a gold plate horn kit, and even a high intensity horn kit. Prices can range from as low as a couple of hundred dollars to over a thousand dollars. So really, there's just a wide enough range of train horns to suit the needs of everyone with such a need.
But that's just the practical functionality of having a train horn installed on your truck. Above all, don't forget that getting your truck to sound like a train is probably one of the coolest thing that could happen to your automobile!
Article Source :
About Author
Both Yves B. Geller & Gen Wright are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Yves B. Geller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cars, Cars. Yves B. Geller wrote this article. He is mainly a car hobbyist but he shows his love for cars through vehicle customization. He offers to car, truck and boat. Yves B. Geller's top article generates over 2400 views. to your Favourites.