Its been a little while since I’ve started a project, but after winning a KATO SD40 on Ebay the other night I’m embarking on the 2000-era CSXT 8883. I know I will need a Leslie 3 chime for that unit, but since I model CSX i was wondering about this horn. On Details West it reads:
Now, looking at a rather poor picture of this horn, I cant tell if the first 3 bells on the left (Left:Looking at the engine from the front) are forward and then the two on the right are reversed, which is what I would need. I know the CSX uses K5LA24’s, so I figure that this horn would not be correct even though it says it would fit. So has anyone purchused this horn that could tell me the true configuration?
According to this photo http://www.trainweb.org/csxphotos/photos/SD40-2/8883CSX-bc.jpg the unit has a 3- chime Leslie RSL-3L-R, Details West # AH-190 (Walthers # 235-190). While DW’s drawings are a bit crude, the casting is very nice, I’ve used the same horn on a lot of D&H and CP units, it’s the most common horn on EMD locos. CSX does also use the Nathan 5 chime on many engines, but not this one.
6041, Class EF-30A, was built in February 1966, #31286, as Pennsylvania RR 6041, Class EF-30A. It became PC 6041, Class EF-30A, in 1968 and became Consolidated Railroad Corp 6294, Class SD-40, in April 1976. It was rebuilt as 6994, Class SD40-2E, and sold as CSX Transportation 8883, Class SD40-2.
I’m confused as you say you need a 3-chime but then mention a 5-chime. Anyway, the following link http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/k5la.html gives information about the K5LAR23 and K5LAR24. If I’m understanding the picture description correctly K5LA indicates the airhorn family. I think the “R” means that some of the bells are reversed. And I believe that the 24 or 23 indicate which bells are reversed. The bells are numbered from largest to smallest. So if you have a prototype photo of the engine you want to detail, you should be able to figure out which bells are reversed, and then determine if the Details West part suits your needs.
I think the OP was going by the DW description, “Nathan K5LA23 w/Stand – 3 Bells Forward, 2 Reverse; For NS, CSX & Others”. As it states the K5LA23 is a CSX horn, but not the only one CSX uses and in this case, the CSX 8883 has the Leslie 3 chime horn, not the Nathan 5 chime.
I guess I didn’t need the intro, as stated I already knew what horn I would need for the 8883. The main point I was trying to make was what configuration the DW’s 235-343 horn was, if it was FFF-RR, or not. Just in general, because I model the CSX and don’t always want to build my K5LA’s. Sorry for the confusion,
