The Siren Board

ive always wondered why some thunderbolts are red, or have stripes. is there any specific reason or was someone at federal signal just like "dude lets make a few select sirens REALLY cool looking." jokes aside though, is it just for aesthetic purposes or are some different to stand out more? and also, why is it only a few thunderbolts that are painted differently or have those bars instead of mesh?

In this case, the simplest answer is the correct one. Some people just like it that way. Many of the oldest ones though did have stripes though some from that period are also plain yellow. It all just depends on what the customer asked for. As for the bars, those were put there because Federal Signal thought the horns couldn't support themselves so they added braces. They turned out to be unneeded though so were removed around the mid 50's

They're "Civil Defense Yellow", similar to what you see on much of the CD-issued Geiger counters, dosimeters, and other fallout shelter supplies. Since the Tbolt was introduced for civil defense purposes, it makes sense the 'default' factory paint job was yellow.

Realistically, you could have them painted whatever color you wanted. Plus, many have been re-painted later in their life.

Some fire departments with Thunderbolts have given them custom paint jobs or decals. Mineola, NY's original 1003 was red with a yellow lightning bolt on the side for a while, but about a year ago, it was restored to its original Civil Defense Yellow paint.

NewEnglander1212 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 27, 2024 11:55 pm

Some fire departments with Thunderbolts have given them custom paint jobs or decals. Mineola, NY's original 1003 was red with a yellow lightning bolt on the side for a while, but about a year ago, it was restored to its original Civil Defense Yellow paint.

Plus, the main purpose of the 1003 was specifically for fires. That's why they have solenoids. And like NewEnglander1212 said, they were originally red with a yellow lightning bolt.

Mr. Hurricane2024 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 05, 2025 2:44 pm

NewEnglander1212 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 27, 2024 11:55 pm

Some fire departments with Thunderbolts have given them custom paint jobs or decals. Mineola, NY's original 1003 was red with a yellow lightning bolt on the side for a while, but about a year ago, it was restored to its original Civil Defense Yellow paint.

Plus, the main purpose of the 1003 was specifically for fires. That's why they have solenoids. And like NewEnglander1212 said, they were originally red with a yellow lightning bolt.

Wait. Are you saying that 1003´s came out of the factory red!? Because I don´t think they did, or are saying that Mineola´s thunderbolt was just that way.

Lycanroc76 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 05, 2025 9:53 pm

Mr. Hurricane2024 wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 05, 2025 2:44 pm

NewEnglander1212 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 27, 2024 11:55 pm

Some fire departments with Thunderbolts have given them custom paint jobs or decals. Mineola, NY's original 1003 was red with a yellow lightning bolt on the side for a while, but about a year ago, it was restored to its original Civil Defense Yellow paint.

Plus, the main purpose of the 1003 was specifically for fires. That's why they have solenoids. And like NewEnglander1212 said, they were originally red with a yellow lightning bolt.

Wait. Are you saying that 1003´s came out of the factory red!? Because I don´t think they did, or are saying that Mineola´s thunderbolt was just that way.

Thunderbolt 1003's came out of the factory CD Yellow and can be repainted into another color.

Plus, the main purpose of the 1003 was specifically for fires. That's why they have solenoids. And like NewEnglander1212 said, they were originally red with a yellow lightning bolt.

Mineola's 1003 was originally CD yellow. All of the Thunderbolt variations only ever came in CD yellow. (albeit early years being black and yellow)