From the VRS/Rutland Yahoo! group... I doubt that they will be seen again, seeing the rarity of the horns and railroad. Romi Romano

Sometime in the very recent past, quite possibly this past weekend, the horns off Green Mountain (former Rutland) locomotive 405 were stolen.

This was not a spur of the moment theft as the manner in which they were attached tells that whoever did this had to have a plan and the proper tools to do the job.

These horns are an extraordinarily rare set of Leslie S3J and quite possibly the last set in operation outside a private collection. They are very easy to identify and CANNOT be sold on the open market without attracting attention.

Anyone with information as to their whereabouts is asked to contact the Green Mountain at Bellows Falls immediately. If the horns simply show back up, no questions will be asked.

S. J. Whitney

Sad. Be sure and keep an eye on semi's in the area too. I've heard rumors that truck drivers are buying and or outright taking some horns for their rigs. (I've heard some late at night in Lexington KY in parts of town with no railroads....)

What you are watching for--quite distinctive, indeed, close-up:

http://atsf.railfan.net/airhorns/s3j.html

It's not unrealistic to think that a petty thief could steal a regular air horn in hopes of selling it to a trucker. Real air horns, as you well know, go for some serious bucks.




I would agree based on the description of needing the proper tools etc. Sounds like this wasn't a horn that a couple of Craftsman wrenches and a few minutes would take off. That's the problem with having something highly collectible, a small number of collectors will do just about anything to get it.

This is a real kick in the sack on many levels given how much TLC the GMRC/VRS gives her and how the railroad has been pretty much as fan-friendly as you can get over the years. These are good people who have pride in what they do.

The GMRC/VRS is about as preservation-minded as a for-profit frieght rr can get (up there with D-L and a handful of others). Such a shame.

Rob

I think it would be a good idea for any museums out there to get replica's of their horns to use and put the originals in safe keeping, or after any run session day, pop that horn off if the engine can't be secured inside.

To me it sounds wiser to use a replica wherever possible, but you knows, be authentic.

765 has used replica builder plates and after a run or 2 or so they sell it to a collector or whomever interested or ebay, and put another on, the originals in safe keeping. It might actually be a cool thing to do is to mount a replica horn, use it, then sell it for fund raising. But these horns don't come cheapos tho.

The problem is that locomotives need a horn that actually functions, and there isn't a real way to make a functional "replica" of a locomotive air horn, even using Grovers or other horns made for trucks. The fact is that the secondary/eBay prices for all but the most collectible of horns (no longer made, with complex castings) is still about half what the retail "list" price of these same horns would be if the JK&L Short Line looked up the manufacturer and ordered one. These days, if an air horn makes it to a scrap line, it's because it's of an obsolete design that the railroad's air shop doesn't want to mess with anymore.

Note that the S3J in the illustration I provided has a custom-shortened trumpet. This is a manufacturer's modification to "re-tune" the specific note in question. And like a musical instrument, you can't just throw together some metal and make it sound. The length of the trumpet must specifically match the frequency length of the note in order for it to resonate fully--it's the difference between 50 dB and 130 dB. There ARE hobbyists who do wonders with modifications of air horns, but they are few and far between, and they "horse-trade" surplus parts with great discretion.

There are other measures to reduce or prevent theft, but remember, the need for someone to change or do maintenance on a horn will be directly proportional to how much trouble it takes to remove it.....

At the recent short line show I was having an update about my ongoing conversation with the Nathan Rep. It started several years ago after a 1 year old Nathan 5 chime walked away. In watching e-bay and buying a replacement we were comparing costs. More often than not they went for more on E-bay than from Nathan.
The standing joke has been Nathan has sold some on E-bay for more than I buy them for. I do not buy enough to get any big break on price. Sad but true.
They are very much aware of the theft problem and do care about more than just selling the replacements.

I don't think there's much scrap metal value in a horn, I prolly make more in one day at my measily job. If there are any trucker forums should alert them, something like this could show up on craigs list fast and find a buyer zappo and its gone for good in some far away foreign country.

I would alert authorities, if it tries to get out of the country customs may pick it up.

We have been the victim of horn theft a couple of times. The last time we lost a nice Nathan K-3 off our RSD-1. Since then I have installed single tone "squawkers" for lack of a better term on the locomotives that we normally use around the museum and I welded the bolts on those. They can still be taken but someone would really have to work at it and it's really not much of a prize. For the times we want to run with our serious horns (P-3's and M-3's) I have it set up so we can install them in less than 5 minutes. I have bolts mounted to the horn flange long enough to go through the mounting holes and wing nuts then to hold the entire assembly down. I have all of the horns set up with a 1/2" quick disconnect so the air line can be moved over in just a few seconds. Those horns never stay on the engines when not in use. They are safely locked away...

sounds like a good plan, a technically readily available horn thats reasonably cost effective if taken for the general grind work needed to be done, when its party time, break out the real thing.

Sorry for my earlier statement. I remembered a case in Florida where such an occurrence happened, but y'all are right, it probably was someone who knew exactly what it was and how to do it and foamed over.

I just wonder if this is happening on the railroads themselves, some sniveling fellow is looking at the horn for a trophy like a deer on the hunt, don't care what the engine is, if its sitting idle somewhere in the open ready for the pickings, he may think...yah, they'll just get another horn. No question someone with the skillz, just like these mobs who strip a car off the street when your not looking in 5 minutes.

Yes, horn theft has happened to major railroads as well. The typical "victim" is a loco parked in a semi-remote place such as the end of a branch or wherever the "hog law" caught the crew. I've been told stories about a crew showing up to run a train back to the yard or terminal only to discover at least one horn stolen, and having to call in replacement locos or run the train from a lead loco with the conductor having to blow the horn on the other loco.......