After the loss of our 3rd 5 chime in 10 years we have made a change. I was told to get the worst sounding ugly horn I had and put it on.
It was a 3 chime that was smashed and someone stuck a pipe plug in for the 3rd chime and made it a 2. I toke 2 broken trumpets (one facing each way) and 2 different diaphrams and put it togther. They took the spacer to get it up off the carbody so we just ground the one trumpet to clear.
Result, 4 color ugly , greasy,HORRIBLE sounding horn. I mean UGLY sounding and looking. It does meet F.R.A. requirments for sound!. If it ever ends up on Ebay at a buff show or what ever we will know it. I feel sorry for anyone stupid enough to steal this thing.
We used to have pride in everything about our equipment,(we still do) just not the sound of our horn anymore. Hopefully it will remain ours.

Could you kindly tell us where this "monstrosity" is and provide a photo--not so we can steal it, but so we can pass the word to others how bad this syndrome is getting?

There's a whistle collector and acoustics engineer that has been insisting for years that his patented toroidal whistle design is louder than air horns. I'm beginning to think it's time to build some examples out of PVC plastic and put them to the real-world test.......

But in other news, recently Leslie and Nathan have started to make inroads into commercial sales of parts--and maybe complete horns--to this market, so there now probably exists not only a way for the thieves to satisfy their need to demonstrate of member under-endowment, but also for us to replace stolen horns/parts............

Some railfans claim that collectible Pennsylvania Railroad "hooters" already sound horrid! And Penn's Landing Trolley had a plastic reproduction stained glass window stolen from a car, by damaging the wood work.