rcdrye The standard Amtrak horn is an AirChime K5LA, tuned to B Major 6th (D#, F#,G#,B,D#)
The standard Amtrak horn is an AirChime K5LA, tuned to B Major 6th (D#, F#,G#,B,D#)
How nice to see another railfan who is also a musician!
The horn on the F40s would in sense sound like a steam locomotive, it was distinctive compared to those used on freight locomotives.
pamelapetersonWhat type of horn is installed on these diesel locomotives???
To my knowledge, Nathan Airchime K5LA with all horn bells facing forward. Here is a sound clip. My understanding is that all bells face forward to maximize the warning sound ahead of the train, with no bells 'rear-facing' to alert crew at the rear of long trains.
"In 1975, Deane Ellsworth, who was in charge of locomotive appliances for Amtrak, wanted to bring the superior K5 to America. However, he did not like the D# minor 6th [legally-determined Canadian chord] of the K5H and personally asked Robert Swanson what could be done. His designer came up with a novel way to lower the pitch of the #3&4 bells to lower their pitch, altering the K5H chord from D# minor 6th to B major 6th, which was reminiscent of the old M5 chord in structure but was higher in pitch, which Ellsworth liked. At the same time, Airchime came up with a lower-profile bracket and the new chime was called the K5LA ... "K" for the double-diaphragm kettle drum design, "L" because of its low-profile manifold, and an "A" for American tuning, to differentiate it from Canadian tuning. By the later 1980s, the K5LA was North America's most popular locomotive horn, and today it remains the most-used 5-chime horn in the world."
Note that there is some argument whether it is "Airchime" or "AirChime". Swanson's original company (in Nanaimo BC) is said to have been 'AirChime Ltd' but its logo, a bit unhelpfully, has 'AIRCHIME' in all caps all the same size. Looking at some of the horn bell castings, it appears that the 'C' is slightly larger, but also that there's a bit more of a space between the 'R' and the 'C'. However, the company that makes them spells it 'Airchime' so I think that is the "preferred" spelling until proven otherwise... (Personally, I've always preferred 'AirChime')
To answer the first question, which is a bit unclear because of a critical typo, all Amtrak AMD-103s (which stood for Amtrak Monocoque Diesel, 103mph maximum speed, and were officially Dash 8-40BP on their builder's plates and tradenamed "Genesis" as the result of an employee contest at GE) and P42s are made by GE. It is interesting how little mention there is in the railfan press of the European design and construction contribution to these locomotives.
The standard Amtrak horn is an AirChime K5LA, tuned to B Major 6th (D#, F#,G#,B,D#) They were found as replacement horns on SDP40Fs, and on other models from the F40PH to the P42DC, as well as Amtrak California cab cars.
see http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/k5la.html
Correct me if I'm incorrect: all there diesels were built by General Electric[GE]???
What type of horn is installed on these diesel locomotives???
Whatever horn is installed, was it installed in/on all delivered diesels???
Thank You for all/any information you can share...
Corre
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