1/87 Scale System 7000 Siren.
Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:31 pm
The Thunderbolt was a very popular siren - during the 1950s to 1960s, it was effectively the air raid siren for many cities across America and overseas. Over the years there were two less common variations of the Thunderbolt which are brought up from time to time: the Thunderbolt 2000 and the System 7000.
"Gassy Thunderbolts"
We begin with Federal's very first attempt to make a Thunderbolt siren that wasn't solely reliant on AC electric.
Federal Enterprises' Thunderbolt 2000 was the same as their Thunderbolt 1000 except it was a gas/electric siren. It looked similar to a Thunderbolt 1000 except for the larger blower cover with a tail pipe emitting from one side.
Introduced in 1953, this siren used a two cylinder Onan gasoline engine to run the blower - from what can be seen, the remainder of the siren was still electric. Not every city had the electrical power sources to run an entire Thunderbolt siren. As such, one would operate the siren head off what minimal electricity was available while the power-hungry blower would use gasoline. It was a novel idea however the Thunderbolt 2000 was discontinued by 1959. The majority of Thunderbolt 2000s that weren't removed were converted to all-electric or propane/electric in later years. To the best of my knowledge, it was always offered as a single tone siren as I have yet to come across any Federal reference to a dual tone 2000.
An advertisement for the Thunderbolt 2000. I have a copy of this one in storage. Notice the illustrated siren is a generic clip-art image and not the actual siren.
A Thunderbolt 2000 was known to exist in Singapore however its exact location was never given.
Another Thunderbolt 2000 once existed in Florida however it has since been removed. Adam Pollak had many photos of this siren but nothing has turned up on this forum - if anyone has these photos, please post up. There were also some Thunderbolt 2000s installed around Los Angeles, California. Here is one example of a (presumably converted) Thunderbolt 2000 near Los Angeles: http://losangelesairraidsirens.com/w4.htm
"The System 7000"
By the 1980s, the Thunderbolt's popularity had begun to wane in lieu of more modern sirens such as ACA's Penetrator-15 and Whelen's WPS-3016. Federal sought to improvise the Thunderbolt again in hopes of keeping up sales. One of these attempts was the System 7000.
Manual:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/17930009/System-7000
Brochure page:
http://www.jmarcoz.com/sirens/sc7.pdf
Introduced in 1982, the System 7000 series composed of Thunderbolt sirens built into a generator which independently supplied power to the siren in the event of a city-wide power failure. Controls were mounted inside the generator enclosure and one could order an optional security alarm in case someone tried to break in - an alarm for the alarm, so to speak. It is curious that Federal decided to incorporate this line as its own rather than adding onto the established Thunderbolt 1000 series.
The System 7000 was offered in the following configurations:
Model 7012: a single tone Thunderbolt 1000 with a generator. Two signals.
Model 7022: a dual tone Thunderbolt 1000T with a generator. Two signals.
Model 7026: a Thunderbolt 1003 with a generator, giving six signals total.
Such a setup was clever on paper but very unwieldy in practice: the entire assembly weighed around 4000 pounds, required far more maintenance than a typical Thunderbolt, and was limited in how it could be mounted. Ironically the manual recommends not to roof-mount these sirens yet every known example has turned up on a building roof. They were also quite costly, not only to maintain but also to build and purchase. The market just wasn't there - the rise of battery backup sirens such as ACA's Performance Plus and Federal's own 2001-DC rendered the System 7000 into obscurity.
The majority of known System 7000s ended up overseas in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Here is a photo of a Model 7026 in Kuwait: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6458230
And a video of one going off in the distance during the Iraq War (2003):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPyMcScnOaE
Unfortunately the mass of Model 7026s installed across the Middle East have been replaced with modern electronic fare. Unless one turns up elsewhere, I would think that the System 7000 is now extinct.
Despite its presence overseas, the System 7000 was also offered for the domestic American market. Cities and fire departments made up Federal's intended demographic however no one was really interested in such a siren. I do not think many, if any, System 7000s were sold in America as I cannot confirm any locations. Detroit was mentioned in one post but what information has turned up from years ago conflicts itself. If anyone can confirm/disprove any American System 7000 locations, that would be much appreciated.
"Model Craft"
Five years ago I constructed a 1/87 scale model of a Thunderbolt siren. This kit was supplied by Ralph Ratcliffe, who still offers these siren kits on request. My original model did not look too hot and was whisked away into storage.
This year I found the model laying about and decided it was worth improvising. I decided to renovate the basic Thunderbolt into a System 7000.
The Thunderbolt was taken off its mount and repainted Reefer Yellow once I redid the horn supports. The supports are a tad too long on this kit, although that would be handy if one were to convert it into a 1003 or 7026. All one does to make a more accurate 1000, 2000, 1000T, 7012, or 7022 is trim the front of the supports and throw on a new "bracket" made from paper or polystyrene.
I built the generator enclosure out of paperboard, with the door panels and other details being made from paper. Inside the enclosure is the blower box and some other card or wooden weights to hold it all down - on the actual siren, the blower did not have a conventional blower box. As the box only serves to hold down the enclosure, this little detail flaw was safely hidden away. The enclosure sits on two trimmed toothpicks.
The enclosure was sealed off once the head and pipe were glued in place. Finally came the intruder alarm assembly. This was simply made from paper and painted over along with the rest of the enclosure. The enclosure was painted Armor Sand - the intruder alarm light is white.
Finally, I mounted the entire siren on a wooden base with a "sand" overlay. This was allowed to dry overnight and I'm quite impressed with the results. It would look suitable for any layout although I keep it displayed on my desk. Someday I might try another customized Thunderbolt although anyone is welcome to try on their own. They make for nice railroad layout decor, or just for display on their own. It's certainly easier to handle the mini System 7000 than a real one.
"Gassy Thunderbolts"
We begin with Federal's very first attempt to make a Thunderbolt siren that wasn't solely reliant on AC electric.
Federal Enterprises' Thunderbolt 2000 was the same as their Thunderbolt 1000 except it was a gas/electric siren. It looked similar to a Thunderbolt 1000 except for the larger blower cover with a tail pipe emitting from one side.
Introduced in 1953, this siren used a two cylinder Onan gasoline engine to run the blower - from what can be seen, the remainder of the siren was still electric. Not every city had the electrical power sources to run an entire Thunderbolt siren. As such, one would operate the siren head off what minimal electricity was available while the power-hungry blower would use gasoline. It was a novel idea however the Thunderbolt 2000 was discontinued by 1959. The majority of Thunderbolt 2000s that weren't removed were converted to all-electric or propane/electric in later years. To the best of my knowledge, it was always offered as a single tone siren as I have yet to come across any Federal reference to a dual tone 2000.
An advertisement for the Thunderbolt 2000. I have a copy of this one in storage. Notice the illustrated siren is a generic clip-art image and not the actual siren.
A Thunderbolt 2000 was known to exist in Singapore however its exact location was never given.
Another Thunderbolt 2000 once existed in Florida however it has since been removed. Adam Pollak had many photos of this siren but nothing has turned up on this forum - if anyone has these photos, please post up. There were also some Thunderbolt 2000s installed around Los Angeles, California. Here is one example of a (presumably converted) Thunderbolt 2000 near Los Angeles: http://losangelesairraidsirens.com/w4.htm
"The System 7000"
By the 1980s, the Thunderbolt's popularity had begun to wane in lieu of more modern sirens such as ACA's Penetrator-15 and Whelen's WPS-3016. Federal sought to improvise the Thunderbolt again in hopes of keeping up sales. One of these attempts was the System 7000.
Manual:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/17930009/System-7000
Brochure page:
http://www.jmarcoz.com/sirens/sc7.pdf
Introduced in 1982, the System 7000 series composed of Thunderbolt sirens built into a generator which independently supplied power to the siren in the event of a city-wide power failure. Controls were mounted inside the generator enclosure and one could order an optional security alarm in case someone tried to break in - an alarm for the alarm, so to speak. It is curious that Federal decided to incorporate this line as its own rather than adding onto the established Thunderbolt 1000 series.
The System 7000 was offered in the following configurations:
Model 7012: a single tone Thunderbolt 1000 with a generator. Two signals.
Model 7022: a dual tone Thunderbolt 1000T with a generator. Two signals.
Model 7026: a Thunderbolt 1003 with a generator, giving six signals total.
Such a setup was clever on paper but very unwieldy in practice: the entire assembly weighed around 4000 pounds, required far more maintenance than a typical Thunderbolt, and was limited in how it could be mounted. Ironically the manual recommends not to roof-mount these sirens yet every known example has turned up on a building roof. They were also quite costly, not only to maintain but also to build and purchase. The market just wasn't there - the rise of battery backup sirens such as ACA's Performance Plus and Federal's own 2001-DC rendered the System 7000 into obscurity.
The majority of known System 7000s ended up overseas in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Here is a photo of a Model 7026 in Kuwait: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6458230
And a video of one going off in the distance during the Iraq War (2003):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPyMcScnOaE
Unfortunately the mass of Model 7026s installed across the Middle East have been replaced with modern electronic fare. Unless one turns up elsewhere, I would think that the System 7000 is now extinct.
Despite its presence overseas, the System 7000 was also offered for the domestic American market. Cities and fire departments made up Federal's intended demographic however no one was really interested in such a siren. I do not think many, if any, System 7000s were sold in America as I cannot confirm any locations. Detroit was mentioned in one post but what information has turned up from years ago conflicts itself. If anyone can confirm/disprove any American System 7000 locations, that would be much appreciated.
"Model Craft"
Five years ago I constructed a 1/87 scale model of a Thunderbolt siren. This kit was supplied by Ralph Ratcliffe, who still offers these siren kits on request. My original model did not look too hot and was whisked away into storage.
This year I found the model laying about and decided it was worth improvising. I decided to renovate the basic Thunderbolt into a System 7000.
The Thunderbolt was taken off its mount and repainted Reefer Yellow once I redid the horn supports. The supports are a tad too long on this kit, although that would be handy if one were to convert it into a 1003 or 7026. All one does to make a more accurate 1000, 2000, 1000T, 7012, or 7022 is trim the front of the supports and throw on a new "bracket" made from paper or polystyrene.
I built the generator enclosure out of paperboard, with the door panels and other details being made from paper. Inside the enclosure is the blower box and some other card or wooden weights to hold it all down - on the actual siren, the blower did not have a conventional blower box. As the box only serves to hold down the enclosure, this little detail flaw was safely hidden away. The enclosure sits on two trimmed toothpicks.
The enclosure was sealed off once the head and pipe were glued in place. Finally came the intruder alarm assembly. This was simply made from paper and painted over along with the rest of the enclosure. The enclosure was painted Armor Sand - the intruder alarm light is white.
Finally, I mounted the entire siren on a wooden base with a "sand" overlay. This was allowed to dry overnight and I'm quite impressed with the results. It would look suitable for any layout although I keep it displayed on my desk. Someday I might try another customized Thunderbolt although anyone is welcome to try on their own. They make for nice railroad layout decor, or just for display on their own. It's certainly easier to handle the mini System 7000 than a real one.
- Thunderbolt dismantled.
- Under construction.
- Completed Model 7022.
- Back view.