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GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 1:39 am
by Jackson95
I have seen a lot of pictures, videos, and locations of these GCS sirens going around. I was wondering what is the company and are these a legitimate company or federal signal knock offs? they seem to be very old.

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:14 pm
by Darley Champion
IIRC Darley sirens were just FS sirens cores with a custom housing (exception of the "Champion" sirens wich were more or less entierly made by WS Darley)

As for the GCS sirens, I have no idea.

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:49 pm
by Jackson95
Darley Champion wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:14 pm
IIRC Darley sirens were just FS sirens cores with a custom housing (exception of the "Champion" sirens wich were more or less entierly made by WS Darley)

As for the GCS sirens, I have no idea.
Also what is up with the Darley STH-10s and 5TT.
are they STH-10s with darley shrouds on them or different?
and what are the Darley 5TTs using cores of?

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 5:22 pm
by Gil
Darley is a legit company that’s been around 90+ years...
Fun fact, if you drive down I-290 in Itasca, Illinois, their building is visible from the highway with their name and logo.

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:44 pm
by archizackture
Jackson95 wrote:
Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:49 pm
Also what is up with the Darley STH-10s and 5TT.
are they STH-10s with darley shrouds on them or different?
and what are the Darley 5TTs using cores of?
Yes the Darley STH-10s use FS STH-10 cores with custom shrouds.
The Darley 5TT is a modified FS Model 5T (the dual-tone version of the Model 5) if I'm not mistaken.

Funny enough, Darley now sells unmodified Sentry sirens.

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:32 am
by Jackson95
ok what about the 3V8s? are those custom or do they use Federal cores (if anything can fit).

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2019 4:15 pm
by Jackson95
Also, what are these Erick sirens that have been found in places like Nebraska?

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:50 pm
by Chicagosiren-hunters
Jackson95 wrote:
Sat Nov 09, 2019 4:15 pm
Also, what are these Erick sirens that have been found in places like Nebraska?
Ericks were not a part of W.S. Darley; rather their own company. Here's an advert for their "Fire Siren" from 1924:
Erick ad vintage.jpg
Erick ad vintage.jpg (13.9 KiB) Viewed 4380 times

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2019 12:27 am
by Ziginox
archizackture wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:44 pm
Yes the Darley STH-10s use FS STH-10 cores with custom shrouds.
Small correction: it's the same core, but upside-down. The motor is on the bottom, while the intake faces upwards like on a Model 5. It's unclear why this was done.
As for GCS, a member had one and said the core was NOT Federal-made. Perhaps it was under license? GCS stands for General City Services.

The 3V8 you mentioned is NOT a Federal siren, but Sterling/Sentry. It's unclear who actually manufactured these.

Darley themselves are still a manufacturer of fire apparatus (fire trucks.)

Re: GCS and Darley Sirens?

Posted: Mon Dec 30, 2019 6:37 am
by archizackture
Ziginox wrote:
Mon Dec 30, 2019 12:27 am
archizackture wrote:
Thu Nov 07, 2019 9:44 pm
Yes the Darley STH-10s use FS STH-10 cores with custom shrouds.
Small correction: it's the same core, but upside-down. The motor is on the bottom, while the intake faces upwards like on a Model 5. It's unclear why this was done.
As for GCS, a member had one and said the core was NOT Federal-made. Perhaps it was under license? GCS stands for General City Services.

The 3V8 you mentioned is NOT a Federal siren, but Sterling/Sentry. It's unclear who actually manufactured these.

Darley themselves are still a manufacturer of fire apparatus (fire trucks.)
Interesting! We learn something new every day.
And yes, the 3V8 was always a brand of Sterling sirens, hence why Sentry now owns the name.