The Adirondack Scenic Railroad recently discovered that sometime in the past two months someone removed the horns from four locomotives parked at Utica, NY.
There may be video that will allow a narrowing of period when the horns disappeared, or possibly even some indication of the culprit(s) responsible. It is known that they were in place as late as February 1.
By all appearances, the thief or thieves knew what they were looking for. The bolts were left lying next to the horn mounts as well.
The locomotives were RS18u’s 1835 and 1845 (recently acquired), F10 1502, and GP9 6076 (which is the locomotive that was vandalized in Lake Placid last fall).
When I have the specific horn models, I’ll post them.
It’s not a stretch to think that someone with an interest in locomotive horns is responsible.
If you know of someone who “acquired” several horns over the winter, you might want to steer clear, and consider notifying ASRR.
We have a outlying quarry where we cannot leave locomotives overnight while trains get loaded because the odds are better than even that the horns will be stolen from the engines. Company police have staked out the area from time to time, without success to date.
It’s been opined elsewhere that the trucking community could have a hand in this, as train horns are getting popular in semi’s (although they are illegal for road use, I think).
Two of the horns were Nathan K3L (of Canadian origin). One of the other horns was a K5LA, and I’m still waiting on the make of the fourth.