Whitby Lighthouse and 'Mad Bull'

[CapeFearlighthouse]

We had a pair of these nasty sirens about 3 hours away. But they were so loud; the people asked to have a less noisy foghorn installed! So; the nasty sirens came down and a smaller diaphone was installed. The diaphone still serves! From what I have heard; those sirens were huge!

[CapeFearlighthouse]

You wouldn't want to stand in front of the diaphone here where I live! It will blow your f*****g eardrums up!

[hellooldchap]

@CapeFearlighthouse Back in 1986 when I was little, there was a sign put up by a farmer I guess telling people to stay away in Fog. A cow once died at St Catherines when the fog horn went off there!

[CapeFearlighthouse]

@hellooldchap OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!

[WorldWideLighthouses]

@hellooldchap A cow actually died as a result of the fog horn sounding?

[38Squid]

Thank you for NOT posting this with cheezy background music. Very interesting sounding horn.

[Umpqua1012]

This foghorn scares me! The close up recording I have scares me even more!

[Umpqua1012]

Did they keep those big horns in place even after they retired it and turned it a holiday cottage?

[Umpqua1012]

I have a better recording; you can just hear it echo after each blast.

[hellooldchap]

@Umpqua1012 So have I since I made the vid! This is one of the best siren ones.

[Umpqua1012]

@hellooldchap Oh really!?

[gcookdrum]

I remember walking from Robin Hood's bay to Whitby with my scout troop when I was a kid (early 80's). It was a foggy day and the fog horn was running. We got as close as we could and sat therefor a while while it did it's stuff. Good memory ! Scary though.

[bogalusa5]

Wonderful! Thanks so much!

[Minifig666]

Where is the fog horn that serves Whitby now? I haven't herd it running much over the winter.

[hellooldchap]

@Minifig666 The one in this video was switched off in the 80s. There is a small thing that beeps on the end of the harbour pier.

[matty406]

That actually sounds quite foreboding.

[springfairy556]

They should bring back keepers.I would love to live and or work at a lighthouse. They're so pretty, romantic and full of history.

[Umpqua1012]

@springfairy556 Where I live, the lighthouse is still run by keepers! The Reason is that our coastline is so dangerous; that not even modern navigational equipment can guide ships through safely!

[cody00717]

Holy shit!

1. That's a big ass fog horn

2. They still used the original light if the sell it tell them to give it to whitefish point lighthouse

[Taojac]

sorry guys and gals but portland bill lighthouse is by far the best sounding lighthouse

[DaniaDenise]

@Taojac -I agree. Portland Bill Lighthouse foghorn ROCKS!!!

Coming in at a close second-Low Head Lighthouse. Now that's a seroius foghorn!

[Umpqua1012]

@DaniaDenise  Portland Bill's diaphone was the first fog signal I ever learned about!

[Umpqua1012]

@Taojac I agree!

[6V92TA]

how much air pressure does it take to blow this big thing?

[hellooldchap]

Hmmm...that's testing me. From the info I can find, siren fog horns like this one had between 50 and 125 psi at the actual siren, but they all varied in size and design. The siren itself is slightly bigger than a large hand. My 'Portland Bill Lighthouse-extended mix video at 3min 35 gives you an idea of the size of the sounding equipment. The Portland horn is a diaphone, but similar pressures are used.

[6V92TA]

do you know the size of the air tanks or are these set up like "piston horns"?

[hellooldchap]

Air tanks were all of a similar size. Normally there are 2 main tanks. My 'Souter lighthouse' video has them shown.

[ymanganelli]

Thats interesting. do they fuel those horns with steam, or compressed air..

[hellooldchap]

All the old horns were compressed air driven. The modern horns are all electric.

[ejac10101]

As a young child, my family used to regularly have holidays in a caravan on Stoop Cross Farm. I remember the chilling sound of the fog horn on foggy days and nights, and one time taking a walk along cleveland way footpath when the foghorn suddenly started up!!! Listening to the sound of the foghorn again gave me a rush of adrenalin and a chill down my spine! Funny how these things can be imprinted in your soul.

[Tannre40V2T]

That is a massive fog horn!

[hellooldchap]

'Rayleigh's Trumpet', which was at a lighthouse in Cornwall until 1963, was 36 feet long, 18 feet high and 2 feet wide. Now that was massive!

The fog horn at Whitby had a published range of 4 nautical miles (4.6 land miles), Rayleigh's Yrumpet must have been a lot louder...

[LighthousesUK]

i found a picture of rayleighs trumpet, but i can not post the link on youtube...it wont let me!

[Umpqua1012]

@hellooldchap Trevose Head and Souter Point had them; except that Trevose Head had 1 and Souter had 2.

[killer2611]

mooooooooooooooooooooooooo MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOO MOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[BayAreaBiker2001]

Some cows on Destruction Island tried to mate with its fog signal building, and one of the bulls got into a fight with it because it sounded like a really studly bull.

[concorde1350mph]

when your in a certain place out at sea it shines red to indicate DANGER LOL

[UncleSqualid]

DANGER LOL; I'd love that. And the ships are all there 'Pics or GTFO'.

[peugteobike]

sounds like a mad bull

[6V92TA]

hints the name lol

[Speedline1958]

I remember both this horn and the one at Flamborough as a child growing up... the noise up close was deafening, you could feel your lungs resonate. From a distance when really thick fog it was a haunting yet comforting sound and yes every 90 seconds. It was a big shame when the Flamborough Horn (Known as "Big Bertha" locally) was changed into a high pitched signal... that changed the whole feeling of a foggy day for me.

[hellooldchap]

Was Flamborough a similar sound?

[Speedline1958]

As I recall exactly the same, twice every 90 seconds - it changed in the early eighties to the high pitched version as heard along the south coast currently. Happy memories of growing up.

[hellooldchap]

I have some vids of the electric 'high pitched' ones too- see Lizard, Pendeen and Tater Du. Not as good as the old air horns.

[Umpqua1012]

@hellooldchap These electric pieces o' crap are NOWHERE as good as the old air horns and Tannoys!

[jane1975]

@Umpqua1012 : I agree that they are puny, but they are better than nothing at all-I grew up with the foghorn at Newhaven harbour which was electric and would sometimes be on for days due to the sea frets we would get-no its silent and has been since 2003 :'( the loudest Tannoy I think was the one at St Anns Lighthouse which is now been replaced by an electric 500 hz beep. However, its better than complete silence.

[LighthousesUK]

Flamborough had a fog gun didnt it?

[Speedline1958]

@LighthousesUK It did in the early days, but this was replaced by a horn similar to Mad Bull - the Flamborough Horn was two blasts every 90 seconds.... I believe the gun was fired up until the very early 70's although I am searching the history books to confirm this....

[hellooldchap]

There was a diaphone operating after the siren. There was probably an explosive fog signal before- many used it in the early days.

[Umpqua1012]

@hellooldchap I have a better recording of the Mad Bull horn recorded up close!

[gaby149]

Ha Ha A Constipated Cow!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LanceFishman09]

MOOOOOO!

MOOOOOO!

MOOOOOO!

MOOOOOO!

Every 90 Seconds!

It's Annoying Isn't it

[Umpqua1012]

@LanceFishman09 Not to me it isn't !

[tamias6]

Sounds like a mooing cow

[faz1964]

The foghorn and it's buildings (Indoor swimming pool & sauna!)are now for sale

[hellooldchap]

Not cheap either- £495,000!  Google 'hornblower lodge, whitby' for more info.

[4093979240]

thats it!i was expecting in the millions!

id buy the place just to fix up the horn! how big are the horns on that bull?

[jon44w]

sounds like a constipated cow lol

[simargl]

was the original horn that scary?

[jane1975]

I liked your recording of the Siren-Nice lighthouse too.

[BrianFlocaBooks]

Very nice! Very interesting design around the lantern.

[dwarfer777]

great! thanks for that lovely video. 5* rating