Jefferson County, AL siren graveyard update

[coastalsyrolover]

Wow. That is Cool and crazy!!!!

[bobcat418]

Actually I don't think this is the case anymore. The technicians who used to work on these sirens no longer maintain them; if I recall correctly they either retired over the years or were laid off.

This would make sense, because I noticed that the Thunderbolt 1000T at North Roebuck Elementary had a brand new 2001-130 next to it on my way back from Birmingham. At the time, I remembered wondering why it would be replaced if there were so many Thunderbolts in the yard that could be used for parts. On a small side note, do you think that the city will hold off on the replacement of the jailbar on city hall for historic reasons? This is the one siren that I could see remaining in service for a considerable amount of time.

[ThunderboltFreak]

I live 5 minutes from the grave yard. I'm highly considering calling them to inquire about purchasing a Thunderbolt.

[DJ2226]

I beg your pardon, but the Chalkville Tbolt was behind the school on a pole. It got removed because somehow the siren got knocked down. There is a post about that on here somewhere if my memory serves me right.

That might have been the case. I read an article on it a few months ago, and the author made it seem as if the siren itself was on the roof and fell over. I'll have to find it later on.

[murrfarms]

I beg your pardon, but the Chalkville Tbolt was behind the school on a pole. It got removed because somehow the siren got knocked down. There is a post about that on here somewhere if my memory serves me right.

Correct. It was mounted on a wood pole toward the backside of the school building and was blown over in a windstorm back in 2014 due to the pole rotting out near the base of it. The siren head actually appears to have fared pretty well considering the impact of the pole hitting the building being strong enough to break off the top section of its 3-inch standpipe at the threads.


(click image to view original size)
Source: Alan Collins, WBRC news.
Original Story

[ThunderboltFreak]

Was a sad day as well. I've literally lived 2 minutes from that Thunderbolt my entire life. I went to that Elementary school as well. I started the original thread about when it fell I have a picture of the pole stump.

[Brendan W]

Well at least it's better than the Barrett school one. I ponder if that one is even still in service...

(That's the sideways one on a rooftop for the know-nots)

[Tyler]

It seems like a few extra things have been piled there and moved around since I was there back in 2011. I wondered if they would sell one, specifically the jail-bar one I freaked over, but they told us that they used them for spare parts to keep the live sirens running for as long as possible. I really don't blame them, that's a lot of money in replacements that can be saved just by recycling parts for the running ones kind smart, labor fees are probably a lot more reasonable than labor fees plus a fresh new siren. This is one reason why I love Jefferson County! Also another example of how long Thunderbolts, and other sirens can really hold up after decades of use and care for the most part.

[Brendan W]

On closer inspection, I think that Tbolt head in the 2nd photo down on the 1st post is the Chalkville siren. If you compare the back end of the control box to the picture Ian posted of the siren head on the roof, they look exactly the same, same rust spots. gray areas (I presume where the cabinet got banged up), etc.

[bobcat418]

On closer inspection, I think that Tbolt head in the 2nd photo down on the 1st post is the Chalkville siren. If you compare the back end of the control box to the picture Ian posted of the siren head on the roof, they look exactly the same, same rust spots. gray areas (I presume where the cabinet got banged up), etc.

After looking at the pictures and some video that I took, I can confirm that this appears to be the Chalkville Thunderbolt. Everything, including the small stub of standpipe that broke off with the siren matches up. Thanks for pointing this out!