Saw these on Kijiji, judging by the fact the mounts are damaged, they were removed in a hurry. Wonder what they belong to?
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-auto-parts ... nFlag=true

couldnt tell you any history on them, perhaps ask the seller? How easy does aluminum break?

Cast aluminum? Pretty darn easily.

To my eye they look unpainted, unless someone sand blasted them, etc.

One would think that if they were in fact removed from a piece of equipment, legally or illegally, they would be painted. Unless they were stolen from a collector or something, who happened to have acquired (in his own way) a new set?

Looks to me like a #2 & 4 bell from a K series horn. Those are the two most common bells to be reversed. The reversed bells are the easiest ones to break off with a low branch and just inside the bolt spread on the mount is where they usually break. It doesn't look like they were blasted, rather in their factory delivered bare die cast aluminum finish. I would give the guy the benefit of the doubt and say he found them along the row somewhere. Besides, if I was going to steal something (which I would not do), I would want them to be complete and unbroken. They aren't worth much now. Only the diaphram and power chamber cap are worth using.

Someone in Arkansas was using a train horn, or something like it, to spook carriage horses. Horses being another hobby of mine, I made a stab at using my railfan connections to find out who it was. I realized these idiots would likely get a slap on the hand once caught, so I tried calling the UP police and was hoping (if we caught them) we could prove they were stolen horns, we could upgrade their charges from misdemeanor idiocy to federal felony tampering with safety equipment. The investigator's response was that they have NO way of tracking stolen horns, no serial # or stamping, no way to track where they came from. You more or less have to be caught red handed to get busted stealing horns.....

Shouldn't this Whaddya read as What do you.... sorry couldn't resist I had a English Teacher for a Mother .

Mr. Starr

Hi,

I always liked an electronics supply house (I knew the owner) sign that said something like no cell phones - "preshadit" was the last word.

Doug vV

well, if the engine was missing its horns and you matched the breaks to its mount studs, you have your answer. These are fairly recent manufacture, not an old collector's diesel.
Would you "really" want these horns back? You probably write them off and get another set.

A smart operator would put those on than the real historical ones stored properly.
If running on a thick treed branchline I can see it getting snapped off. We've seen here plenty of stolen bells/horns here, remove them when not operating.