Memphis siren hunt!
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 11:49 pm
Good evening! This past Saturday my buddy and I drove down to Memphis to take a look at some of their sirens. I have always envied Memphis for their incredibly diverse siren system. It seems Memphis didn't sign contracts with any one siren company. This is different compared to most cities/counties, who tend to rely on one or 2 brands. I can only imagine the ambiance in this city! We only caught 15 sirens, but we got to every siren I wanted to on this first trip.
To view the Memphis siren map, click here. To see the list of siren numbers, click here. To save on thread load times, I have shown thumbnail-sized pictures. CTRL+Click on any thumbnail to open the full-sized picture in a new browser window. Hope you enjoy the pics!
Siren 4. Fire Station #2 - 474 S Main St.
Siren 7. Hamilton Middle School - 1478 Wilson St.
This is one of the sirens that I was only able to get a single picture of because of the way it sits on the school. I really like the screen on the face of this one. Not sure if it's painted white, but it stands out, especially with those four support pieces holding it on.
Siren 9. East High School - 3206 Poplar Ave.
The infamous B&N MD on East High School! It's the first time I've seen one in person! Once again, view-ability was low on this guy, but I still got a few snaps of this previously-gas-powered beauty! I included the last picture because I feel like this thing just looks MASSIVE up on the roof when you compare it to the cars in the parking lot.
Siren 11. Colonial Middle School - 1370 Sea Isle Rd.
This siren is another example of Memphis EMA being just plain awesome! From what I have gathered, this school was demolished and rebuilt. The siren that once sat on top of the school was obviously taken down and then EITHER it was restored and put back up next to the building OR another Thunderbolt was put back up next to the building. Either way, the Thunderbolt came back, and dang, it looks great! I believe this one has the big A1 blower on it. Ian told me once long ago that most or all of the Thunderbolt's that have 4 bolts around where the pipe connects to the blower housing (see 4th pic below) have the big blowers on them. OR something along those lines. To hear this 1000, click here (note: not my video).
Siren 14. Grahamwood Elem. School - 3950 Summer Ave.
Horrible visibility on this guy. It looks like the chopper cap has been replaced. I wonder if it sounds like it did when it was originally installed.
Siren 15. Berclair Elem. School - 810 N Perkins Rd.
This one is pole mounted but I couldn't get to it since the area surrounding it was fenced off.
Siren 18. Winchester Elem. School - 3587 Boeingshire Dr.
This 'bolt looks like it's been hanging out on this roof for quite some time. Cosmetically, it's pretty rough, but who knows...I have seen quite a few poor-looking Thunderbolt's that sound absolutely fantastic.
Siren 22. Richland Elem. School - 5440 Rich Rd.
Siren 30. Hillcrest High School - 4184 Graceland Dr.
Hah. Not sure why I even added this one. This 'bolt has no neck on it at all, and is completely hidden except from *THIS* angle.
Siren 31. Fire Station #41 - 2161 Ridgeway Rd.
Siren 44. Fire Station #21 - 550 S Mendenhall Rd.
Yet another well-maintained Thunderbolt in the system.
Siren 61. Defense Depot East - 2163 Airways Blvd.
All I know about this is it's a Darley (Champion...Federal guts inside?). It was barely visible, but I got a few decent shots of it. The last one is artificially manipulated to make the siren easier to see.
Siren 70. White Station Elementary - 4840 Chickasaw Rd.
Siren 71. Fogelman Building - 5400 Poplar Ave.
And finally, we swung by the EMA office building and got a few pictures of the MD that's been sitting in their parking lot for Idon'tknowhowlong.
That wraps up my first siren hunt in Memphis! I've already said it but it bears repeating: what an incredibly unique system. I don't know of another city in the country with such siren diversity, but if you do, let me know! They test every Wednesday at 3:30pm, and while I wasn't there on a Wednesday, I am planning a trip this summer to be in Memphis for a week and will catch 2 system recordings. I'm hoping to go back in March to get to another round of siren pictures. I DID find out after the fact that outlying communities (like Germantown, where we stayed) test on Saturdays, so had I known, I would be posting a recording as well!
BUT if you're itching to hear a recording, you can check out my recording of the 1000T at Louisville's Audobon Elementary! I just posted it tonight as well.
Thank you for any feedback you may have. I know my camera has an issue with green glowing around objects when almost fully zoomed in (which is REALLY evident in the first picture of siren 22), so I am working on finding out the cause and if necessary, I will replace my camera. This is the same camera I record all my siren tests with, so it's had a long life lol.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!
To view the Memphis siren map, click here. To see the list of siren numbers, click here. To save on thread load times, I have shown thumbnail-sized pictures. CTRL+Click on any thumbnail to open the full-sized picture in a new browser window. Hope you enjoy the pics!
Siren 4. Fire Station #2 - 474 S Main St.
Siren 7. Hamilton Middle School - 1478 Wilson St.
This is one of the sirens that I was only able to get a single picture of because of the way it sits on the school. I really like the screen on the face of this one. Not sure if it's painted white, but it stands out, especially with those four support pieces holding it on.
Siren 9. East High School - 3206 Poplar Ave.
The infamous B&N MD on East High School! It's the first time I've seen one in person! Once again, view-ability was low on this guy, but I still got a few snaps of this previously-gas-powered beauty! I included the last picture because I feel like this thing just looks MASSIVE up on the roof when you compare it to the cars in the parking lot.
Siren 11. Colonial Middle School - 1370 Sea Isle Rd.
This siren is another example of Memphis EMA being just plain awesome! From what I have gathered, this school was demolished and rebuilt. The siren that once sat on top of the school was obviously taken down and then EITHER it was restored and put back up next to the building OR another Thunderbolt was put back up next to the building. Either way, the Thunderbolt came back, and dang, it looks great! I believe this one has the big A1 blower on it. Ian told me once long ago that most or all of the Thunderbolt's that have 4 bolts around where the pipe connects to the blower housing (see 4th pic below) have the big blowers on them. OR something along those lines. To hear this 1000, click here (note: not my video).
Siren 14. Grahamwood Elem. School - 3950 Summer Ave.
Horrible visibility on this guy. It looks like the chopper cap has been replaced. I wonder if it sounds like it did when it was originally installed.
Siren 15. Berclair Elem. School - 810 N Perkins Rd.
This one is pole mounted but I couldn't get to it since the area surrounding it was fenced off.
Siren 18. Winchester Elem. School - 3587 Boeingshire Dr.
This 'bolt looks like it's been hanging out on this roof for quite some time. Cosmetically, it's pretty rough, but who knows...I have seen quite a few poor-looking Thunderbolt's that sound absolutely fantastic.
Siren 22. Richland Elem. School - 5440 Rich Rd.
Siren 30. Hillcrest High School - 4184 Graceland Dr.
Hah. Not sure why I even added this one. This 'bolt has no neck on it at all, and is completely hidden except from *THIS* angle.
Siren 31. Fire Station #41 - 2161 Ridgeway Rd.
Siren 44. Fire Station #21 - 550 S Mendenhall Rd.
Yet another well-maintained Thunderbolt in the system.
Siren 61. Defense Depot East - 2163 Airways Blvd.
All I know about this is it's a Darley (Champion...Federal guts inside?). It was barely visible, but I got a few decent shots of it. The last one is artificially manipulated to make the siren easier to see.
Siren 70. White Station Elementary - 4840 Chickasaw Rd.
Siren 71. Fogelman Building - 5400 Poplar Ave.
And finally, we swung by the EMA office building and got a few pictures of the MD that's been sitting in their parking lot for Idon'tknowhowlong.
That wraps up my first siren hunt in Memphis! I've already said it but it bears repeating: what an incredibly unique system. I don't know of another city in the country with such siren diversity, but if you do, let me know! They test every Wednesday at 3:30pm, and while I wasn't there on a Wednesday, I am planning a trip this summer to be in Memphis for a week and will catch 2 system recordings. I'm hoping to go back in March to get to another round of siren pictures. I DID find out after the fact that outlying communities (like Germantown, where we stayed) test on Saturdays, so had I known, I would be posting a recording as well!
BUT if you're itching to hear a recording, you can check out my recording of the 1000T at Louisville's Audobon Elementary! I just posted it tonight as well.
Thank you for any feedback you may have. I know my camera has an issue with green glowing around objects when almost fully zoomed in (which is REALLY evident in the first picture of siren 22), so I am working on finding out the cause and if necessary, I will replace my camera. This is the same camera I record all my siren tests with, so it's had a long life lol.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures!