Meriden, CT Thunderbolt 1000

[iamdave]

hello all. I'm dave from Connecticut. this is my second post here and i read about this siren on this forum and figured it wasn't too far and i'd go take a look at it as i've never seen a t-bolt in person. as you can hear in the video i didn't realize how big the sirens really are until you get a look at them in person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0HYwR6tvpY

i believe its a thunderbolt 1000 in this video. the power box has been shut off but it is still connected to both power and phone lines(i'm guessing for remote activation). this thunderbolt is located in Meriden, Connecticut right on the edge of the Scared Heart Cemetery. as soon as i figure out how to upload photos from my computer to here i'll have more than just the video. i'd love to get the siren and restore it, if i only had the time and the space. i don't think the siren has been tested in a long time. i'm guessing the siren was put in place during the cold war as tornadoes aren't common up here. towards the end of the video a good size swarm of hornets came out of the blower box, which is when i decided to leave.

i also got photos of a Federal signal model 2, i believe, also shut down(haven't heard it go off in the 15+ years i've lived near it) about 5 minutes from my house. theres what looks like another model 2 across town thats still in working condition and its used by the volunteer fire dept for fire calls.

its a shame that these sirens aren't used, especially the t-bolt as theres places that could really use them.

anyone have an idea of any more sirens around the southern CT area? i'd love to get photos if possible.

[TSMaster5150]

Yeah when I saw my first thunderbolt in person I was amazed at how big the horn is. The solenoid boxes on the 1003s are pretty big as well.

[iamdave]

how would one go about trying tog et this deactivated t-bolt? i'm guessing they are owned by city/town hall? i'd hate to see this one rust away. i'm curious as to if its still fully functional if the power was turned back on that hte box on the pole. powers still connected from the power lines from the looks of it.

[TSMaster5150]

I suppose you would have to figure out a way of contacting the cities/townships emergency management department.

[iamdave]

i may look into that. only problem is i've got nowhere to store this monster even if i somehow managed to get it. how do you go about uploading photos from a computer to this forum? i've got at least a dozen photos of this siren and also what looks to be a no longer used Federal Signal Model 2.

[Oldiesmann]

Go to www.photobucket.com and sign up there, then follow their instructions for uploading images. After you've done that you should be given an option to copy some code for sharing that image on a forum. Copy that code and paste it in a post here to display the image.

Someone else here can share more detailed instructions for photobucket - I don't have an account there.

[Cyrun]

Unfortunately Connecticut appear's to be very much like my home state, New York, in that there are many deactivated sirens rotting on poles throughout our areas. Most are usually owned by VFD's and they don't usually part with them even if they are not being used.

[Oldiesmann]

The biggest issue is the cost of removal.

It doesn't really cost anything to leave the siren sitting there unused. However, it does cost them money to have the siren removed, and they wouldn't get much of anything in return. Why spend the money to have it removed when it's not hurting anything by sitting there? Even if they sold it to another community, they wouldn't get a lot out of it after paying the bill for the removal of the siren.

[iamdave]

The biggest issue is the cost of removal.

It doesn't really cost anything to leave the siren sitting there unused. However, it does cost them money to have the siren removed, and they wouldn't get much of anything in return. Why spend the money to have it removed when it's not hurting anything by sitting there? Even if they sold it to another community, they wouldn't get a lot out of it after paying the bill for the removal of the siren.

true. i didn't even think about that. it would cost money to remove, but unless people start to complain that it looks awful next to a cemetery, its not going anywheres at least not by my actions. i'm guessing that it would still be active if we had enough severe weather around here.

[3t22]

Another CT siren enthusiast on the board, welcome. I can tell you that Meriden's T-bolts are 1000s and were installed in 1952, around the same time Hartford installed theirs for CD purposes. Sadly they've been disconnected sense the early 90's. I've been trying to find out info about them for several years now as I've been eyeing the one on East Main St and Maple Ave (across from the old Ames) for several years. This was the 1st T-bolt I ever saw, 1st spotting it in 1985 at age 6.

As for other siren in Southern CT, New Haven and the surrounding Havens are full of deactivated 1000Ts, and 5/7Ts. So far most are still in place but a 1000T in North Haven got junked durring a school expantion, and a 7T in New Haven which was rescued off a 7 story building by a bridgport firefighter, and later bought by me. East Haven has a 5T on top of an old school, and a Model 1 on top of their FD on Rt. 100. Also on another East Haven FD near I think it was a Bank of America sits a Gamewell Diaphone. In New Haven there's a 1000T near St Raphial's hospital by the train station. Middlefield, which border's Meriden has a system of 3 WS 2016s, a 2008 and a 2012 which sound wail for all FD calls and sound one 4 second blast at 6PM daily. North Branford has 2805s at every FD which sound wail for fire calls and one short alert blast at 6pm daily. Durham has a 2016 at their FD which sounds wail for fire calls and one 4 second blast at noon daily. Chester has a very healthy sounding 2T22 at their FD which sound a 4 second on 4 off cycle for fire calls from 7am-8pm and does a 4 second blast at noon daily. Ironicly they choose to use a Federal siren, yet the Whelen plant is 2 miles down the road, and just about every surrounding town has a Whelen siren, mainly WS 2000s. Clinton has a 2 near the train station which sounds 3 cycles for fire calls. This siren can be heard very well from Hammonassett State Park. The Milstone plant is in the process of upgrading their siren system. They're replacing 125 various WS 2000s with 81 2910s. We have one of their 2008s up and 7 more possibily 2016s ready to go up in the near future. In Montville at their FD is a 3T22 and a 5 below it. They only test the 5 occationally, and use the 3T22 without the dampers engaged for fire calls. You can see the 3T22 from I-395 heading torward the casinos. Just off I-395 south, in Montville is one of Millstone's newly installed 2910s. It's almost acorss from a car dealer. I believe their system is tested on the 1st Wednesday of the month at 11am in voice, alert, and possibily attack. A few FDs in that area also use their WS 2000s in wail as fire sirens, and the Niantic prison uses some near the prison in hi-lo for prison escapses. Milford has a system of 2805s which are used for storms and floods. Not sure on any schedueld test times but from what I've heard they sound in wail. Bridgeport has a few deactivated T-bolts scattered around as well. I keep forgetting where but near the NY border there's a 612 and a 1212 (Jim do you remember the loacations?). That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll think of others.