This is rear view of the AMCO MK5H horn on a stem to elevate it above the roof of the PG Budd car on which it was mounted. I have reconditioned this horn to be like new. On the MK5, these caps thread in to preload the diaphragm, just like an M-series or H-series.
Anyhow, both of these PGE MK’s are now my coffee table.
Beer and dinner using the MK5’s as table legs…
"I can’t find the booklet for now that proves where airchimes origins started, I’ll have to find it as I didn’t think it was gonna be challenged. But I won’t dispute that for now any many years that they’ve been a canadian company (thought it was american).
I’m not even gonna bother arguing about the nathans and leslies, when I have them all setup I’m gonna have the issue that the nathans are going to be a k6la and not a k5 setup (with an insane mod to make them much louder) both of which I’ll produce a video for with a high end Db meter, and my ears as judge) just for you. Hows that sound eh ??"
I don’t want to ruin a friendship, only educate, since I am a train horn/ship horn historian. I have everything ever published by Burnett, AMCO, Cannon Machine Works, Airchime, Nathan, Hyson, Smith Brothers, Sidney Smith Dennis, Leslie, & Leslie Controls. Our book on the history of all these chimes will be released by year’s end, “Making Trains Sound Like Trains”, both in E-book form and hard copy with appendix and DVD with recordings of every horn ever made. From the 1st 5-chime, the H5 (horn on my dresser in my avatar) to the C5A-CWP commuter 5-chime, used only here near my house on the VRE RR which has commuter trains from DC to Fredericks burg and beyond Manassas, VA, the only road to use this flute-like chime, which I hear many times every morning and afternoon from my balcony…
Photos: two archival catalogs, one by Airchime in Canada (eh?) and one by Smith Brothers in England. Both of these are for the adjustable K-models like in the first photo I posted above with adjustable preload’s.
2nd photo is blueprint for the K5 with adjustable preloads.
HELP!! Moderators, I made double post by accident…Can you delete one of these posts? Thanks…
duplicate post deleted.
So it looks lke you’re good for something other than just blowing air lol:D
lol
Put me on your pre-buy list, that sounds interesting. Can you explain more about a preload, is this a way or more precisely controlling air going into a specific horn within an array, otherwise why not just use a pressure regulator?
Wow, so that’s what an americans house look like on the inside huh. Treat those horns right, otherwise they’ll spontaneously honk (despite no airline) at the most inconvenient time and probably send your food into the ceiling 
Preloading the diaphragm is just that, bringing it down to completely contact the diaphragm seat. The railroads, with the exception of a very few, did not want to have to “tune” an airhorn after overhaul…just bolt it together and expect it to blow. This is why the old man invented the P-series as a “Piss poor” temporary non-adjustable horn for the American railroads, while he was
working on finishing up his new K-series. The original K-series was non-adjustable, it wasn’t until later that they made the adjustable-K’s for special order, marine service and a few railroads in North America, and for English railways to use for their back and forth signaling horns.
Hahahahaha!! Yes, these train horns make excellent furniture, flower vases and decorations about the house. Better than they’re going to scrap!!
BTW, although Robert Swanson invented the multi chime horn for railroads, he was predated by the original American Strombos company by about 17 years. Strombos made a beautiful 3-chime horn for large yachts, it was made completely out of brass, right down to the fittings and fasteners. I may have posted a photo in the past, but this horn is a real antique. Intervals are major 3rds…
Are they very loud, what do they sound like???