Train horns in cars ????

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

I came across this and thought I would post it here for commentary. I think this is absurd.

Train horns latest vehicle customization fad, irritant on streets

On a February afternoon, five high school students lounged patiently on a bus-stop bench in Westchester, Florida.

Lino Alvarado Jr. slowed his truck to a crawl, smiled, and unleashed more than 150 decibels of sound from a dozen train horns attached to his truck’s undercarriage.

“Did you see those kids flinch?” Alvarado, 20, said as he breezed through a stop sign. “But old people are even better.”

The students were blasted by one of the area’s hottest vehicle customization trends.

A good set of train horns cost about $1,000 and packs an audio punch that can reach hundreds of feet - to the delight of people who buy them, and to the dismay of residents, who are complaining to police.

“It’s outrageous and inconsiderate that people blow these horns, and the state should ban these things,” said Morris Sunshine, who lives in South Beach, FL. “This is merely a pitiful search for instant celebrity.”

Police departments in some cities are stepping up efforts to track down and ticket those blowing the horns. In Miami Beach, FL, police have even arrested one man for blasting his, and intend to arrest more.

Alvarado has received dozens of tickets, spending hundreds of dollars to pay them, but he believes it’s worth it.

“It’s competition on the street, like when a guy in a truck passes by, he honks his horn, and I honk mine back,” he said. “The next time I see him, he doesn’t honk his, because he knows mine are bigger and louder.”

At close range, the blowing horns are a full-body experience. The blast of air feels like a thin sheet of metal slapping the skin. Ears begin to ring. Even the prepared recoil at the force of sound.

Horn owners gloat.

"Those things are so loud, and they can really g

2

What a disgrace!!! I work with a railroad and I still minorly flinch when the diesel horn blares next to me. Doesn’t this guy know that they are trying to ban REAL horns from crossings becuase of the NOISE??? I mean, I would love to have one if they could mute the horn a little so it would be a LITTLE louder than a normal horn but still mantain the diesel quality. Talk about being an idiot. I’m not[#wstupid]!!! I know he is just trying to have fun but come on, its almost illegal and it can cause hearing problems, thats why the railroads have the engineers try not to blow the horn that often.[:(!][V][}:)][:slight_smile:][tdn][tdn][tdn]
What a [D)]
Sigh,[censored][censored][censored]

3

Hum I didn’t realize that putting “K5LA” air horns lol on a car or a truck caused so much conceversy. I have a friend who has a truck air horn on his Dodge Ram***mins 600 Turbo Diesel and he blows that horn if people on the road **** him off. I thought it was funny (sometimes) and kewl. However, it does scare people on the road. I have to emit it it scares me sometimes, train horns also scare me sometimes but I like the sound of them. (I’ve even had air brakes scare me before. I know they scare me when I’m not expecting air to **** out when I’m walking around a diesel. LOL).

4

…Nothing is new…Back in the late '40’s we had a customer {back in Pennsylvania}, that drove a '48 Ford convertible woody and on the top of both front fenders was a set of 30" chrome Buell Air Horns…It was sort of a hot rod gimmick then and those Buell’s sure sounded good…Looked like a pair of large trumpets laying out there on the fenders.

5

I’m surprised no one has mentioned it yet but blowing a vehicle horn is a violation of the vehicle code when there’s no traffic-related reason for using it. I knew a guy who had a streetcar bell (the kind the motorman stepped on) mounted in his van and liked to give a couple of clangs every time he pulled away from a stop. Now that sounded great.

6

I have a picture in a book about FDNY that shows a 5 chime horn on the front of one of their rescue trucks. Of course, they need it. Those people don’t move for anything. A set of Grover Stutter-Tones is loud enough for me. That’s what you’ll usually find of fire trucks. The electronic air horn feature on my siren is enough to scare folks, and that’s just 100 watts. Anybody know what the equivalent wattage is for train horn? I’m not a sound engineer.

I’ve thought about having an electronically generated train horn, or maybe a small air powered “steam” whistle, in my vehicle. Not for the loudness, but for the effect. In fact, most likely neither would be loud enough to qualify for a car warning device…

These guys just need something louder than their stereos. Then again, as loud as they play them, you might need a train horn to get past the noise…

A thought - if they find themselves in court, sued for causing hearing damage, they might rethink them. And if the insurance companies get involved, it might just cure the problem.

7

They should tie those idiots’ heads to the horns and blow them until something gives.

8

ericsp,
Now there is a good idea.

9

I know of several railfans who had locomotive air horns on their cars 15 years ago. They were set up so that the sound level was the same as a stock auto horn.

10

$2500!?!

see, this is where my idiot people spending way too much cash on stupid things fund comes into play…aka, their $$ into my savings account

however…if anyone knows where i can get a set from an original BN 'mac, lemme know! lol

11

How little do you understand what kind of hobby train horns have been these last few years.

Truckers partcuarly owner operators have been spending thousands to acquire Train horns and establish air feed systems capable of delivering the required air to these horns.

I LOVE loud air horns. As a professional driver I hardly ever ever touched my air horn. I use it for two reasons:

Toot Toot -HEY You over der… yes you! Look here I need to talk with you a sec (Truck stop lot or freight yard greeting to forklifts etc… routine stuff)

TOOOOOOOOTTTT!!! Long drawn out blast aimed at a offending vehicle that is unable to get out of MY WAY which is legally and positionally my right of way. It usually drowns out profanity from the offending vehicle’s driver window and carries the message of please move your vehicle and quickly please… thank you.

Now train horns on trucks. The very ground shakes. If sounded in truckstops they are extremely short bursts as the waves can destroy glass and people’s hearing.

Out west where there is miles of nothing on the interstate… they sound soo sweet and awesome. Yes they still shake your ground from a mile away but out there in that part of the nation it is a asset.

Most truckers who invested in these very expensive systems usually hang the horn in a very very visible spot on the tractor that shouts in it’s very silence a warning to everyone to stand back I can blow at any moment.

I support any sound device which is DOT legal to be taken out onto the Interstate. Go big and loud or stay on the porch.

Now as far as the issue of children putting horns on cars to scare people or cause a disturbance I dont condone this at all. In this case I am glad I have little hearing left and it wont bother me one bit. But I will feel sympathy for folks who are trying to get 8 hours of sleep in before they have to go to work in the morning.

12

Mabe in your Dreams.

13

High Iron I again agre with you on what you said! However I think the best way to stop idiots from mounting locomotive air horns on any vechile smaller than a semi tractor would be to do is if you are caught blowing a set of those horns every officer should be equipped with a battery operated grinder and just very simply cut them off as an illegal add on. Cops smash a truckers radar dector if they find one start doing the same to cars with illegal equipment.

14

In most areas these horns on cars are illegal but they would be nice to wake the people up in front of you who are too busy on their CELL PHONES. SHUT UP AND DRIVE PLEASE.
ok rant over
stay safe
Joe

15

I’m glad this was posted. I was almost starting to get a bit optimistic about humanity, but reading about this has caused me to get real again and realize how moronic some people can be.

Edbenton and Ericsp have good ideas, as do the South Pointe police. Confiscate them, destroy them, impound the vehicle, and arrest the owner.

The first post mentioned a someone named Buckley; both him and CSXrules4eva’s friend are Morons to the first degree.

You need a 130db horn to blast someone that bothers you while driving? My suggestion is to take a pill and get some serious therapy; you are wrapped way too tight, as is seen in the following from Highiron2003ar:

TOOOOOOOOTTTT!!! Long drawn out blast aimed at a offending vehicle that is unable to get out of MY WAY which is legally and positionally my right of way. It usually drowns out profanity from the offending vehicle’s driver window and carries the message of please move your vehicle and quickly please… thank you… My question is this: if the vehicle is UNABLE to get out of your way, what good do you think a loud noise will do? Now, if the vehicle is unwilling to get out of your “legally and positionally right of way”, well your highness, perhaps your therapy is long overdue.

Scaring people (especially older folks that might have heart issues), and PERMANTLY damaging someone’s hearing is NOT COOL, NOT FUNNY, no way. It is simply mean. And as SDR_north says, all it does is advertise what a useless lump of carbon and waste of oxygene you are.

16

There is a guy around here that has diesel horns mounted on the cab roof of his Dodge SUV and blows them when he comes close to us while we are railfanning…a real idiot…he thinks this is cool. GET A LIFE BUDDY!

17

I am going to write a letter, and have 3,000 people to sign it, to stop Nathan Air Horns to not sell any Air-Horns to anyone but Railroad Suppliers

18

If I remember correctly, in NC it is illegal to have train horns on a motor vehicle. I’ll have to check, but I’m pretty sure police can confiscate them.

19

I am new to the area I now live in. I keep hearing a train horn at night, and every time I do I get in my truck and try to hunt down the source. I have done this 5-6 times in the last two weeks fully expecting to find a train. If I find out I have ben chasing some jerk-off with a Nathan air horn I’m going to be really pissed off (and I never get pissed off).[:(!]

And as for scaring old people. You have to be one major ignorant a** hole to even think of doing this. And deserve to have your driving PRIVLAGES taken away, and be replaced with an invitation to the local county jail for assult (on ears,heart,ect.)[:0]

20

I don’t know, I think it would be cool to have some hidden on my PSD…

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