Weird horns on trains (Might include videos)

J

jonwray

Active member
So, I've noticed a few weird default horns on JR locomotives (like the SOO SD60... that horn sounds like someone saying something and having it be high pitched and scrambled). This led me to think about weird horns IRL. What weird horns have you encountered?
The video below was filmed on Feb. 16, 2015, and the ES44AC horn in it is a bit weird.
 
What's "weird" about the horn in the video? Because of the Doppler effect, as the train approaches the observer, the pitch of the horn sounds higher in pitch and as the train recedes the horn's pitch sounds lower.
 
wva-usa said:
What's "weird" about the horn in the video? Because of the Doppler effect, as the train approaches the observer, the pitch of the horn sounds higher in pitch and as the train recedes the horn's pitch sounds lower.
Click to expand...
Oh, had no idea it was the Doppler effect. Even as it was passing by, the horn on that thing sounded abnormal. Side note: the SP/UP SD50s on rmods have some pretty catchy horns, though I mainly remember them by driving on a UMR2012 with quite a lot of missing dependencies.
 
One of the tubes could be clogged with dirt which can cause the horn to sound a bit off to put another way. Horns are tuned specifically to certain musical chords such as D-sharp minor 6th, or F-sharp major seventh, which can be quite alarming as they should be. I was actually able to figure out the exact sound of one of the K-series as the site author gave the exact keys used in a horn I picked out on my piano.

You might find this interesting...

http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/index.html

John
 
Sound waves are also heavily affected by wind, which sounds fairly strong based on the camera mic. Camera mics also don't do sounds justice, they're very weak and not meant for it, clip easily, and have a hard time mixing multiple sounds together especially when wind is involved.

I'm just saying using video as an example for a "weird sounding horn" is difficult at best.


Not to mention if you're used to hearing high speed horns (aka typical 30 mph or higher) slow trains tend to sound even weirder.
 
Hate to tell you this, but that is a nathan K5HLL, sounds a little bit deeper than the typical K5HL, but she's a good one, hard to find one in that shape.

I would say that this is a much finer example of an out-of tune horn. K5LLA typically sounds more beefy and deeper than that one, but I like it, it's one of my favorites in the odd category.

 
How about the DD40s with air raid sirens?

No recording, but here's a picture:

6042.1238303210.jpg
 
Last edited:
With air raid sirens? Make you wanna "duck and cover" more than "stop and wait" it would look to me like. Still, it would be a spectacle to hear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Tips for Applying Horn Sounds to Diesels
Replies
3
Views
585
dwn2884
D
Back
Top