Lewisville, Texas (old)


Type of System: Federal Signal Thunderbolt Model 1000 (single tone rotor)
Number of sirens: 6
Test Date: System removed..
Old Test Date: First Wednesday of the Month at 1:00 PM.  ALERT, rest and then ATTACK.
Locations: None. System has been removed
Actuvation method: Radio-- ASC Compu-alert receivers

Sadly, the day I have been dreading is here. There are no more Thunderbolts to be found in Lewisville any more.

They have all been auctioned off to an unknown party for a paltry $300


Hear a clip of a Single-tone Federal Thunderbolt


Uecker Road Siren

First I must note that these are not my pictures-- they were given to Jason Chrismon by the Lewisville Fire Chief.


A good closeup of the control boxes and the blower box.

The left box contains an ASC Compu-Alert radio decoder.

The right box is the RCM-1 Control cabinet.

Note very faded Civil Defense Logo on blower box.

A great shot of the rotator, chopper and horn assembly.

Remember how I said these are going away?  The pole you see in the background is for a Whelen Vortex that has since been installed.

The pole unfortuantely blocks the rotation of the horn.

This siren still has a very faded Civil Defense sticker and Federal Thunderbolt Logo on the side of the rotator box.

No rust on this guy either.  


Another shot of the blower from the other side.

Sadly, note the position of the power switch-- OFF.  This T-bolt will never roar again.

I was very sad when I saw this in person, as this is my favorite siren system of the ones I have featured.


FM407- IH35E Siren (from here on are my pictures)

Sorry about the distance. 407 is a busy 4 lane road and its dangerous to walk across.

This is the siren I would always come to see when Lewisville tested them, from the vantage point of

a McDonalds right across the street. Good spot, but you needed earplugs.


Bellaire Boulevard

ARRGH! Its the dreaded Whelen Vortex!!! I wish the T-bolt would get up and kick the mosquito off the taller pole.

This one is the oldest T-bolt of the bunch. Still quite functional though.

A shot from behind the siren. Mr. Whelen, didn't I tell you that we don't serve your kind here?

This is a posterior shot of a Thunderbolt with the horn pointed exactly away from the camera.
(I realize it looks like a trash can, but it isn't)

Hey, who stole the blower box cover?
Isn't it supposed to be CD yellow? (its an aluminum cover)
This siren is still powered though you can't see it here.


FM 3040/Valley Parkway

This is the other siren on the south side of Lewisville. Whelen Virus has infected here too.

My mom teaches at a school about a mile west and can hear this Thunderbolt fine.

She can't however hear the Mosquito. Not loud enough.

A distant shot of the blower and control boxes. Never mind that ugly white box on the fat pole.

Didn't step far forward enough to not get my truck's hood.

Hmmm... I knew I should have taken that half-step towards the water tower.

Don't worry I'll make it up to you.

Still this is a pretty good picture of the rotator box and chopper.

There we go. Standing tall and proud and ready to announce The End of The World

The label on the rotator box says Thunderbolt

Letting all who approach know exactly who is boss here.

Unlike its brother on Uecker, this Thunderbolt is locked in the "ON" position and ready to roar.

Mosquito on the other hand, need not apply today.


Windmere and Main

This siren is the newest of the bunch. It was taken down and rebuilt about two years ago.

Unfortuantely it rests on private property now and I am not about to go trespass. But I can get closer than this.

Sorry about the crookedness and the nice shiny dash reflection.

Otherwise an excellent picture of the newest Thunderbolt in Lewisville.

This is the first Thunderbolt I ever heard in my entire life-- due to a tornado warning on my first day as a UNT student. Man did it give me the creeps!

(I didn't know of the dual-tone choppers then either.)


There exists one more Thunderbolt in the Lewisville system that was not photographed.
Unfortunately it was in the process of being removed when I discovered it.
All that is left there is the concrete pad where the blower sat.


This page is my memorial to the mighty Lewisville Thunderbolts.
May they serve their next home as well as they did Lewisville.