Five Chime Symphony, One Fine Nathan P5!

[BillC518]

I live near tracks running between Mechanicville and Albany NY; freight trains all hours of the day/nite. There's a unit running that line with a P5 that sounds EXACTLY like this one! Love the sound! Makes me think of this vid every time I hear it! So distinctive from the K5LA's, K3LA's, and Leslie RS5's that most of the units running that line have!

[mafarnz]

@BillC518 I'm not a fan of K horns myself, but I would love to hear a bunch of Leslie 5 chimes.

[Curious142]

That engine's horn and bell work a lot better than its lights. Aren't there rules about using the engine's headlights?

[mafarnz]

@Curious142 Please read the video description.

[Curious142]

@mafarnz Sorry, didn't see the hidden part of the description.

[kevinb721]

@Curious142 ditch lights

[MDSerles]

I still love the P5 on Illinois Central locos. Sounds awesome with the "leaky valve"!

[izzwardo]

Hey Matt I love this P5. Any idea if its 12345, or 01235? Any idea if there might be a Old Cast bell in that mix? It is my favorite NC horn I have heard yet.

[mafarnz]

@izzwardo Let's just say I know that horn well. ;) It's all new cast, bells 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5. In this video it's in an ABF configuration.

[izzwardo]

@mafarnz Cool! I just got a #3 and #5 bell from Tom for my NC P3! I will do a video as soon as I get it painted up and put together.

[lukasfols1]

is this an old p5 or a new one?

[mafarnz]

@lukasfols1 This a new cast P5.

[lukasfols1]

@mafarnz i like the new ones better

[mafarnz]

@lukasfols1 I used to, but that was before I had heard good recordings of old cast P5's. I like the old cast ones better now, especially now that I own one.

[lukasfols1]

@mafarnz 6 months later. -i heard some good recordings of the old ones now. And i actually got the chance to put some air thru one. So i, now like the old cast better lol

[BLRSOKPPT]

Beautiful horn!

[UP5140SD70M]

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G H-O-R-N

[dwkcamman611]

Damn! That was awesome!

[rhondaw1]

But why where they using that horn so much........was it due to no lights up front or what? In Australia they seem to only use horn at crossings, stations and when taking off from stand still.

[mafarnz]

@rhondaw1 The rules in the US are similar, start, stop and two long, one short one long ( - - . - ) at a crossing. They are using the horn so much here because there are 7 crossings in the span of a 1/2 mile, and with the crossings spaced so close togeather, as soon as you cross one street you are blowing the horn for the next.

[MrJacMac1986]

the WIR must haul a lot of potatoes during the warmer months

[mafarnz]

@MrJacMac1986 Actually no, all the potatoes are grown in the southeast part of the state (and Washington grows more potatoes than Idaho anyways), however, there is a metric crap ton of wheat that is grown in this area that the WIR does hual.

[MrJacMac1986]

Dont hear alot of P5's in cold snowy climates.Since Southern had alot of them.One would think to hear them in more milder climes

[MrJacMac1986]

remember hearing alot of them in the 1970's on the Southern Railway

[The3751FAN]

i like the P5s that are on some of the IC SD70s

[bdwall99]

thats my favorite horn right there!

[mafarnz]

@bdwall99 Mine too!

[godsangelfella]

@bdwall99  i want one on my car!!!

[mafarnz]

@godsangelfella You can purchase P5's either used on ebay or new from Nathan.

[Alwaystrains]

Why can't every railroad have new cast p5s as good as this?!

[bearbon2]

Just the best! My favorite!

[fnm9908]

sounds really good,very well mantained P5,plus the sound of a non turbocharged EMD.a nice combination

[6V92TA]

my god that sounds beautiful. This is why i love P5s so much. It sounds a cross between NS and Illinois Central.

[FarmerSteveO]

Awesome sound, Clasic! I don't live to far from where this was shot. I guess the finer things in life are closer than you think! I was involved first hand with a farm group lobbying in keeping the state of Washington from scrapping this, and two other short lines in the area. Hearing those Nathan's in harmony confirmed all that time spent was worth it! Long live rail!

[GP9railfan]

Air bell, Nathan, & EMD 567 chugging away with a nice backdrop. It doesn't get much better than this! Very nice video! 5/5*

[moonwalker5058]

That sounds like the P5 off of the willamette valley railway in oregon!

[t3hsully1985]

I'm just listening to this again. I just got myself an Old Cast P5 and she still doesn't sound anywhere as good as this recording. Excellent sound.

[fleecejackets]

Holy crap! Now that is one amazing P5! Excellent winter scene and Nathan horn! 5*

[t3hsully1985]

Very nice scene. The Nathan P5 audio is no question very nice, but you get an added bonus when that non-turbo prime mover chugging up.

[mafarnz]

Yeah, the throttle up is nice.

[sidekike3]

!!!

[mafarnz]

So I take it you liked the vid?

[sidekike3]

Yes!

[mafarnz]

Glad to hear that, thanks for the comment and favorite.

[Grumpy7783]

thats always been my favorite horn. i'm looking at getting one for my dodge ram.

[PossessedDonutz]

How much does a good 1 cost <.<

[mafarnz]

Depends on where and how you get it.  A used one on e-bay might set you back $600 to $700, new from Nathan would be more.

[PossessedDonutz]

Thanks for the help, but I will save for a new one just to be safe eh? :P

[mafarnz]

Good idea.

[mafarnz]

Jackson Performance Products sells new and rebuilt P5's for $650.

[trainzrok]

its best to get a used one because you might be able to get it old cast style. The new casts are ok, but i like the old one's better.

[t3hsully1985]

I'm already working on getting one. My K5LA and S3L need a new friend.

[6V92TA]

sounds like a P5 from Norfolk Southern

[nssd70m2]

Sounds sweet towards the end

[rolls283]

BEST P5 i ever heard!!!

[generfeld]

sick...forgot the horn faces the short hood end of the engine..those blasts after it passes are really something

[BNSF4999]

Having been rebuilt by the SBD, it should have had a Leslie S5 of one sort or another on it, its a true shame it doesn't still have that horn on it!

[mafarnz]

That would have been a kickasss horn too, but I like this P5. This unit was rebuilt by SBD for the Clinchfield, and since CRR used P5's, that what it has.

[nssr9169]

no ditch lights is legal under for 20 mph and under operation....no headlight now there's a problem...

[mafarnz]

It was a move by the mechanical department with the mechanic/electrician at the throttle, the headlight prolbem was fixed later.

[Railfan19960]

ahh, Music to my ears. lol, all live the P5:)

5* and faved

[mrlrrconductor]

Hogger needs to be pulled out of service!!

Going over grade crossings with no lights thats a BIG NO NO with the FRA!

[mafarnz]

He's a greenhorn, he just forgot. He turned them on as soon as they got out of yard limits.

[gaycowboy31]

cool what shortline is this on love the P5 it sounds like an ex Southern Unit

[mafarnz]

The Washington and Idaho, reporting marks WIR. It runs 86 miles of former Northern Pacific branch lines in eastern Washington.

The horn is from the 316's days on the Clinchfield, but it is the same type that was used on SOU.

[gaycowboy31]

thats a pretty area up there I like photographing and railfaning up that way but thats a shortline I havnt seen yet...

the horn is off the Clinchfield cool so is the unit as well or just the horn nonetheless it sure sounds good..my P5 still has to be cleaned up a little before it sounds that strong on my truck it came off a scraped NS C36-7

[mafarnz]

The unit was orginally built for CRR as a GP7, somewhere aling it's life it got rebuilt into a GP16 but the horn thankfuly stayed on it. It's history is ex WRIX 316, ex NPR 316, ex MNVA 316, ex MNVA 1703, ex CSXT 1703, ex SBD 4603, ex CRR 4603, ex CRR 901.

The Washington and Idaho started operations in 2006, so it's still fairly new as far as railroads go. It took over operations from the PCC.

[gaycowboy31]

wow cool that unit has had a hell of a life span I am glad the horn survived

[bpbpcoc]

If the headlight is inop, the rules state that a white light is to be substituted, the engine bell rung continuously, and the horn is to be sounded frequently...So there are provisions for the no lights...and he's following them...

[mafarnz]

That's good to know. I didn't notice the lights were off until after I uploaded the video and people started commenting about it, I was afraid that I might have gotten someone in trouble with the vid.

[mtskidmark]

coolness...never heard the #316 before...neat low light winter shot to boot!

[EMDFAN1988]

very horny and amazing

[mafarnz]

Ha ha, thanks!

[EMDFAN1988]

welcome man that's my favorite horn.

[TrainiacProductions]

Wow. The best horn ever?? YES! Incredible video, great EMD great nathan and great snow shot! Awesome!

[mafarnz]

Thanks!

[TrainiacProductions]

No problem!

[SCL1306]

No headlights or ditchlight hmmm

[mafarnz]

They had just started the loco and were leaving the yard, they turned the head and ditch lights on after they left the yard.

[SCL1306]

ohh, I don't care what kind of loco u put a P5 on , it still sounds and even looks better. I'd wish they take these K5LA's off our GP40-2LW's and install some P5's and put M5's on our F-units

[mafarnz]

Yeah, M5's just belong on F units, a good sounding horn for a good looking unit.

[SCL1306]

I was looking at your SP F unit. Does it have HEP for passenger service? We're having to gut an older B unit for HEP, but that's been 2 years of talk. They've already replaced the old 24RL brake stand with a conventional 26L.

[mafarnz]

It does. It's ex CN, ex VIA, I guess VIA replaced the steam gen with HEP. I'm not sure what kind of brake system it has though.

[CoastStarlight11]

That was one very hard core P5!!!

[aussietraindriver]

The new cast P5's are not very musical!

[mafarnz]

Definitely not as good as this one.

[marchmadness76]

Very Very nice, I have a P3 New Cast Train Horn.

[mafarnz]

Personally I'm not a big fan of the new cast P horns. They got a lot harsher, and have lost almost all of the pleasant tones that the old cast horns have.