Sirens in Central Texas

[bigtuna7O]

Yikes, sorry guys n gals. That's the newbie coming thru strong. I'll try to re-upload those in just a bit.

[bigtuna7O]

The first Thunderbolt is in Hatley park in Rollingwood, an Austin neighborhood just west of Mopac right after you cross the Colorado river, at 4821 Rollingwood Drive. I didn't realize it at first but the Rollingwood police department is tucked away in the trees about 50 yards from the siren, which is why I assume they put it there. But basically you'll drive west down Rollingwood Drive and eventually you'll see it on your right when you get to the baseball fields. This is kinda what you'll see from the street:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/

Here are a couple other pictures I took of it:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/

Here's a couple angles highlighting the missing blower:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/

If you were to visit one of these three Thunderbolts, this would be the one I suggest you opt for. It's in a beautiful location, and as you'll soon understand, long and aways the most easily accessible.

The second Thunderbolt I spotted over the hills was this one at 2115 Rabb Road near Barton Springs. It's literally in someone's backyard (I'm a little jealous) which makes it hard to physically approach. The lot behind the property with the Thunderbolt used to be vacant so I could walk right up to the fence and a couple feet away from the siren, however the lot has since been developed and a new house is blocking the approach. So basically you're stuck with a street view, unless you want to sneak around the side of the house (which I actually did once; shh, don't tell anyone) or ring a doorbell. But, here are a couple photos of it. I used to have more but for whatever reason some have been lost.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/

My third and final Thunderbolt was found purely by dumb luck. It's located at the Camp Mabry Texas National Guard, right on the street. After looking at several fire and police stations around Austin, I thought, "hmm, maybe the army base." And lo and behold, right on the street was a Thunderbolt. It's located at 2450 W 35th street, right off Mopac. Again, this one isn't the easiest to get up to, as parking is limited and it's on a busy street, but I've still managed to walk up to it a few times and check it out. Here she is:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54544911@ ... otostream/

Hope the links work this time!

[PugetSoundStormWatch]

Working like a charm. Thanks for sharing!

[Brendan W]

That blowerless one in Hartley Park kind of reminds me of a blowerless thunderbolt about 30 minutes from me at an old school.

Here's the bit everyone cares about:


Here is where the blower was:


(not trying to hijack the thread here....)

[lilrags16]

Last year a guy who lives in the area sent me some pics of the Austin Rabb Road siren.
Yes. It is in someones back yard. There's no alley so the fence has to be over the city easement that the siren is located on.

I wounder if back in the day, Whoever lived in that house was a CD block warden

[floor-a-matic]

Once you get south of Waco, and beginning from about 100 miles west of San Antonio eastward, organized outdoor warning systems become much less common. There are exceptions to the rule, as many areas in East Texas have systems; and down along the Gulf Coast many communities have systems that are associated with petroleum processing facilities. The highest siren concentrations are in North/Central Texas, Central West Texas, and of course the Panhandle.

I hardly see any sirens south of San Antonio or South TX other than 2001s in Laredo (mostly roundbacks & early squareback DCs, not too many SRNs thru 130s & Equinoxes) & a 2t22 in Zapata (not sure if its still there?) but dont know what sirens, if any, further down the Rio Grande Valley (Mission, McAllen, Edinburg, Harlingen/Brownsville)