LAL Train Horns

[the1jp]

Maybe someone can help!
I am rarely home when the La&L make their run from Lakeville north but the odd time when I have been here I have heard the horn sounding for grade crossings outside of Avon. Is the horn on the 421 different from the 424?

[railwatcher]

I don't know alot about train horns, but they don't sound the same.

Today, 421 again leading the 424 northbound with cars in tow. Did some switching at Kraft, pulling out the empties, then headed north.

[Matt Langworthy]

Although I can't remember the various horn names, 421 has a differenet horn sound than 424 because of their ancestry. 421 is ex-RDG while 424 is ex-EL (and thus rides on "home" rails). Likewise, 420 has its own very distinctive horn sound because it was built for LIRR. In fact, I can tell when 420 is leading the train because of its horn.

[BR&P]

I have no specific knowledge on what horns the LA&L units have. Keep in mind that while some short lines may attempt to use a horn which is historically accurate, on the big lines they could not care less. Horns are interchangable. If a locomotive from the RDG for instance was in a shop in Conrail days, and the horn was defective, they'd just take a horn from the shelf and replace it without any attempt to match what came off. So the horn on any unit today may, or may not, be what was used when it was new.