Thunderbolt 1000 and 1000T

[aerhardt]

Is there any way to tell the difference between a Thunderbolt 1000 and 1000T without hearing them? I’ve been wondering this because I have seen pictures of a Thunderbolt that used to be in my city but is now long gone. I can tell that it is not a 1003 because of the lack of solenoids but I would like to know if it is a 1000 or 1000T.

[carexpertandy]

Officially, there is not a way to tell the difference without hearing them. If my memory serves me correctly, they have tags that will indicate "1000" or "1000T" depending on what they were originally built as, but a lot of Thunderbolts have had their choppers replaced at some point over the years, and many times, they will go from being a 1000 to a 1000T or vice versa. Many old timers on this forum will remember this happening to the Thunderbolt that used to be on top of one of my old elementary schools.

[Greenrid]

If you are able to look inside the horn with a light (Like using a drone), you can see if the chopper has two openings or one opening. you probably know already, but 1000Ts have 2 holes and 1000s have 1.