The worst train horn to ever be manufactured.

This horn has been ruining Canadian passenger trains, it is called the Nathan K5CA-LS. This horn was mandated in 2008 by Transport Canada for all passenger trains, tourist trains and the Rocky Mountaineer are excluded. This horn is designed to be a dual mode horn, in which in normal mode it plays only 3 of the bells, and in emergency mode it plays all 5 bells. The problem? This horn sounds absolutely awful! In normal mode, the horn sounds extremely dull and flat, and when in emergency mode, it sounds extremely bad and discordant. I would be fine with this horn if it were not for the fact that it was mandated for all Canadian passenger trains. Even some American commuter agencies have started using this horn. I just had to rant about this horn because it really is a terrible horn.

Here is a sample of it being played in normal mode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4bSaTKjj_Q&ab_channel=4K&HDTrainVideos!!!

And here is a sample of it being played in emergency mode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MxIOKrJ6R0&ab_channel=CP5499
 
Yeah looking back maybe this post was not a good idea to post at this time. I did not intend to make it seem as though the coronavirus was not serious. I just wanted to voice my opinion but there is way more important stuff going on in the world than a train horn that I personally dislike.
 
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LOL - it is a train forum, not a national crisis forum. Myself, I have no problem with the horn, the 3 chime is throaty and the 5 chime just screams "get out of the way!" Took a look around your site, the route is coming along, will be a monster though eh. Trainz doesn't do people very well, but they are ok from far away.
 
And I feel as though there is one exception. VIA’s F40s actually have good sounding K5CAs, I actually kind of like them, but the ones on GO Transit for example don’t sound good in my opinion.
 
My bad rs2007. I was actually laughing to myself as I wrote, but forgot to put a smiley icon at the end. As for the horn sounds, they could have been worse...like a French ambulance.
 
Sounds to me like there might be a problem with the air cutoff to the horn in the second video.
 
NOW the horns I really hate are the European ones that sound like the old where you would squeeze the black bulb, like in 1920s cars.

I have used TRANSDERM in two previous routes but have gone away from it, I prefer just pasting basemapz in and doing the elevations and track myself. Are you using basemapz or transderm?
 
You might like this here, although not specific to this horn in particular. There's some good information regarding the history. The Canadian requirements are for a sharper sound. If you know your notes on a keyboard/piano, you can make the chord sound on the keyboard just to hear what they sound like. This site also offers samples too.

Five Chime Consultants Airhorn Guide (railfan.net)
 
So the "normal" mode sounds fine to me, just like a deeper K5LA. I actually somewhat like the "emergency" one more, if it weren't for the little higher-pitched bit at the end.

peter
 
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