Crime Alert -Horn Thefts

[patrickonline84]

Hello,


I have a few questions I am sort of new to train horns and becoming more and more interested in them. It started with me purchasing my first one at a swap meet and i did actually put it on my truck. but now im past that stage and I have purchased severall more. I was wondering what the chances are of buying a horn at a swap meet being stolen and if I have one that i think may be stolen is there a way to find out if it is a stolen horn????


Thanks

if you could please email me at [email protected]

[NV290]

Hello,


I have a few questions I am sort of new to train horns and becoming more and more interested in them. It started with me purchasing my first one at a swap meet and i did actually put it on my truck. but now im past that stage and I have purchased severall more. I was wondering what the chances are of buying a horn at a swap meet being stolen and if I have one that i think may be stolen is there a way to find out if it is a stolen horn????


Thanks

if you could please email me at [email protected]

There is really no way to tell if a set of horns is stolen. Few are serialized by the manufacturer and i have never heard of a railroad actually keeping track of serial numbers. Bottom line, you will never know as fact.

You can certainly be suspicious though when current model horns in clean paint matching (For example the new CSX blue or BNSF and UP colors) turn up in near mint condition. Modern horns (Leslie and Nathan) do not have a life span or go "bad". They can be rebuilt to brand new specs with new diaphrams and gaskets. So railroads NEVER get rid of them unless they leave on an engine being sold or scrapped or they are simply a style not used.

So be careful.

[MEC407]

Folks, please be on the lookout for this horn, which was stolen from the Green Mountain Railroad's Alco RS-1 in Vermont. It was one of the last S3J horns still in revenue service. It is an important and functional safety device, but also a piece of the Green Mountain Railroad's history. They need it back. If you have information about the whereabouts of this horn, please contact me and I'll pass it along to the appropriate people. Thank you.


Begin forwarded message:

From: "Scott J. Whitney"
Date: May 15, 2013 6:59:52 AM EDT
Subject: Green Mountain Horn Theft

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

[MEC407]

This is what the horn looks like: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2361792

[DutchRailnut]

So when are organizations smart enough to use different hardware to attach horn, the average horn thief carries one tool, a pair of pliers or adjustables.
attach the horn with 4 different bolts and make it hard, one torx, one allan, etc etc.

[scharnhorst]

So when are organizations smart enough to use different hardware to attach horn, the average horn thief carries one tool, a pair of pliers or adjustables.
attach the horn with 4 different bolts and make it hard, one torx, one allan, etc etc.

could also use a mix of metric and standard bolts too.

[3rdrail]

Why not use those anti-theft screws that industries use which need a dedicated tool to turn ? There are quite a few varieties, most if not all unlikely that a thief would carry (or even be able to purchase).

[toolmaker]

Why not use those anti-theft screws that industries use which need a dedicated tool to turn ? There are quite a few varieties, most if not all unlikely that a thief would carry (or even be able to purchase).

That's a great idea but it's too late now for this incident. I wonder if the horns are recovered, will they risk installing them again? A dirty thief mucking it up for everyone else.