Train Horns! Part 5 - Nathan K5LA

[@ctrains5497]

5:53 that is one of the best sounding horn’s I’ve ever heard.

[@FDNY8231]

Finally the video I was waiting for ... By far my favorite horn EVER ... I liked them all, but the FIRST one (NS 8301) with that Raised Letter K5LA and the last (CSX 7849) were the BEST sounding ... Great Job Eric!

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Thanks!!!

[@BNSFBishop]

Loving the K5LA. Very common like the K5HL

[@iluvu2199]

K5LA's and RS5T's are the best horns ever!!

[@mile290productions3]

What about the P01235?

[@AppValleyRailProductions]

what about P5’s

[@evanj2400]

RS3L: am I a joke to you

[@ThatOneMichiganRailfan]

K5LLA: Am I a joke to you? I am the best other than the RS5T!

[@thetriclopsguy122]

Dont forget the rocky mountain legend, the K5H!

[@gwobblegwobble]

K5LA's will always be my favorite train horn. They bring me so much nostalgi.

[@MrBnsftrain]

CSX 5311, NS 6739, NS 2600, NS 4270, CSX 4563, NS 2501, NS 7144 (with neat consist), NS 8372 (sounds like it has a Canadian version), NS 7227 (also with neat consist), and Amtrak 97 have some noteworthy K5LAs! 6:48 nice! a caboose in Conrail blue! 13:47 nice catch of one of the 2018 ski train cars!

[@phantomrailproductions]

8:33 That's a short piggyback train you would see rarely.

[@MattsTrainArchive]

7:32 is second my favorite horn.

[@aircraftsandtrains2309]

Sounds like a nathan k5h

[@RailfanAndy]

K5ha

[@westmorelandcountyfiresire4947]

*csx 2000’s vibes*

[@physetermacrocephalus9986]

K5LA aka the most overused and fowled train horn in history. Still love the music it makes. In fact, it's one of the most pleasant sounding horns when not fowled, imo. @4:15 does that Streamliner have an e-bell?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Yeah sadly it does have an E-Bell. It has GP38-2 internals as well, so it's only cosmetically an F-unit.

[@JTfishing6130]

The k3la and k5hl are a lot more overused considering its all UP,CN, BNSF, and CP use. And the k3's get fouled quiet often too.

[@CollectingMemories04]

great sounding horns..best railroad videos ever.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@TheWhiteFamilySeries]

I'm sorry but the first horn clip was amazingly beautiful and haunting. It's enough to freak someone out without expecting it.

[@yourfellowpancake6335]

I’ve never heard a horn do that weird slow build, it was pretty cool

[@connorwolfhope2396]

6:00 is the best horn ever

[@NS6711]

Yep it sure is

[@PaulsDMVRailroadsandAviation]

NS 9046, NS 7227, and Amtrak 97 are all K5H or K5L’s actually. They just sound different because they are “raised letter,” just like the “3rd generation” K5LA’s, so they play a slightly different chord

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Thanks for the info and thanks for watching!

[@510trackside5]

Amtrak doesn’t have any H horns on their locomotives (especially the P42 as it wouldn’t fit where they place them)

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

9046 definitely has an H manifold but it sounds like there is an A bell in there somewhere, which is why I have it listed as K5HA in the description, but I could be wrong.

[@gil.k9634]

Central Penn Rail Productions nope it’s a k5h k5ha’s would sound like k5la’s because they have the same bell arrangement and 9046 plays the same notes as a k5l or k5h

[@hakeemsd70m]

Ah, the Nathan Airchime K5LA, the true sound of my childhood. The early K5LA models (round tag, narrow font, etc.) were what I grew up hearing in the distant from the CSX Cincinnati mainline. At that time, the horn was the undisputed king, or queen due to her sweet sound, of CSX long before the silly (and totally worthless) FRA horn law and the horns that followed. Every time I hear a well-tuned K5, I'm taken back to the time that birthed my love for railroading. Thank you for such a wonderful piece of this staple horn of American railroads. Some very nice power has worn these horns, from the NS Dash 9 to ex-CR SD60i's to an early order of UP SD70M's.

[@fabriciobengozi9650]

Nice Horn This Perfect The ES43BBI Equiped This Horn

[@MattsTrainArchive]

8:18 was my favorite k5la in the video.

[@Shad0wC0mpany2]

Me too! Classic K5 in the distance.

[@TheCakeCrusade43]

Nathan KL5A or Leslie RS2M, two loud and great sounding air horns

[@berkshiresubrailfan]

10:53 k5h Canadian tuned

[@salinerailfan3907]

You would be correct.

[@RameshKSingh-gp2mx]

Finally found the honk used in our country diesel locomotives .

[@nhyardlimit]

Excellent! Thank you. Awesome information!

[@510trackside5]

I don’t know why everyone goes around saying “first gen” “second gen” “third gen” .. that’s incorrect. If we REALLY wanted to go into different styles / eras of the K5LA, there would be like ... 9 “generations” ... Also - the K5LA didn’t come out until the 1970’s ... nice video nonetheless

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

I changed the description, I meant to say in the 1950's starting with the K5L/H. Yeah the K5LA wouldn't have been introduced until the mid-70's when the 3A and 4A went into production. Thanks for making me double check that!

[@trainknut]

Also, while the K5LA was introduced in the 70s, it should be noted that it was pretty much Amtrak exclusive until the late 1990s. Until the introduction of the SD70s and GEVOs, the vast majority of railroads were using Leslie or Nathan 3 chime airhorns, SP was loyal to the P3, pretty much everybody had a few K3LAs and RS3Ls laying around... maybe the odd P5 or S5L, but the K5 series really wasn't very popular until units started being built with them pre-installed. If you ask me they traded down, the 3 chimes of the Super Seven era were much nicer to listen to than the modern K5(insert random amount of Ls and As here)

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@trainknut The Chessie System trio of the B&O, C&O, and WM were one of the K5LA's earliest users, with pictures online confirming their use on the C&O as early as 1979, thought the line officially started using them to replace the Leslie RS3L starting in 1977. I grew up hearing the K5LA on Chessie successor CSX, so I've always been partial to them ever since the dawn of when I could talk. I like that you mentioned the P3 on the SP, as like you said they were without a doubt the last heavy user of the P series on the Class 1's. I enjoy hearing the P's on my local railroad, the Indiana & Ohio Railway.

[@trainknut]

@@hakeemsd70m Chessie was only one railroad though... Okay techically it was three, but they operated as one. And they did use the RS3L pretty heavily... CSX was probably the first railroad to fully embrace the K5 series besides Amtrak, using them all the way back in the 80s just after the merger... but ONE railroad using the horn is far from the mega-popularity that the K5LA's younger cousins enjoy today. Plus, you know, much of CSX was operated by Seaboard or Conrail at one point... I'm not totally sure what the various Seaboard railroads preferred, but I'm fairly sure it wasn't the K5LA... and I know for a fact that Conrail was a Leslie diehard, I would be genuinely surprised if they ever operated a locomotive that didn't have an S3 on it.

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@trainknut I see what you mean about mass railroads using the K5LA's in the early days verses Amtrak's use of the horn, and you're right that I the early days, Chessie was the only freight carrier with the horn, as they were requesting the K5LA on their orders of GP40-2's by the late 70's. By the CSX merger of '86, there were probably more K5LA's on CSX than RS3L's, but I'll leave that to the old heads and Chessie/CSX alumni. Seaboard Coast Line, Family Lines, and successor Seaboard System were heavy users of the Leslie S5T/RS5T. The Louisville & Nashville pretty much stuck to the cheap RS3L after the Nathan M5's on their passenger locos became too expensive to maintain, plus their passenger service, like all American railroads, sank in the 1960's, so consequently most of the those beautiful old E- and F- units didn't make it past the 70's. I'm not sure about the horns of other Family Lines railroads. Of course as we both know, again by the merger of '86, the K5LA quickly became standard fare across the CSX family, ex-Seaboard included. Right on about Conrail, they were the last heavy Leslie user on large railroads. I believe you're 100% right about the Big Blue choosing the S3L/RS3L for all of their locos.

[@nomore25]

Whistle is my favourite.

[@pokechimp88]

2:56 sounds like a GO Transit F59PH K5LA 3:56 sounds like a GO Transit Cab Car K5LA (specifically those on the later cab cars, 242-250)

[@BURNINGRYZEN112]

4:16 I LIKE IT!

[@955redavenger]

1:21 Hybrid K5LA?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

I'm not certain, but it's possible. Amtrak has several K5LA's that use a 3 instead of a 3A in their horn.

[@955redavenger]

@@CentralPennRailProductions Gotcha. 2 Thumbs up as always!

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Thanks!

[@froztytrainfilms9148]

Central Penn Rail Productions yep that’s a hybrid

[@carlzipperman6689]

Yes

[@LotusbandicootRR]

3:21 NS 2600's horn has only gotten worse since I saw it in 2015. Still fun to hear something different though!

[@AndyUTTPTHDTCTSPL]

Sounds like a P5

[@BNSF1458]

I do love a good Nathan K5LA

[@skrep359]

That weird echo at the start makes it sound like a ghost train. Although it IS the best horn of all time

[@luannogueira8318]

AMTK#97 (K5LA) P42DC

[@4funJust4you]

The K5L on NS 9372 sounds like the K5Hs on CSX Dash 8 trains.

[@maddbubbles1649]

Love the K5LA!

[@luannogueira8318]

AMTK#138 (K5LA) P42DC

[@wrrail]

RS5T's Are my favorite kind of horns

[@luannogueira8318]

CSXT#5311 (K5LA) ES40DC

[@dragonite0067]

The local that runs past my house always has GP38-2s leading with a 5KLA horn. They are the best sounding in my opinion

[@elijahwilliams4110]

At 0:07-0:23 Sec Is Dunkirk Marauders Touchdown Horn

[@kansasstatealerting2874]

My second favorite train horn! Great video.

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#2600 (K5LA) SD70M

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#7144 (K5LA) GP60 (LONG HOOD FORWARD)

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#5669 (K5LA) GP38-2 (OLS)

[@sevenb4710]

That’s the slowest I’ve ever seen the capital limited running through there… usually they’re flying

[@user-ki5pr9sj2h]

This horn use our locomotives TE33A “Evolution” in Kazakhstan 🇰🇿

[@RailroadVideosofPA]

Ah yes the K5LA the horn that has been slapped on almost every modern locomotive. It is sad to not see when railroads used primarily Leslie horns. But im alright with the K5LA. I don't mind them, I just miss the low deep sound of a Leslie RS3L or a Leslie RS5T. The K5LAs I hate the most are on the GPs that run the Lititz Secondary they have 2nd Gen Nathan K5LAs and boy do I dislike them a lot! So loud and squeaky, but what another awesome video! Keep it up!

[@rnrailproductions5049]

If there is one thing that ticks me off about most railfans, is the horn “generations” that were made up. Glad you didn’t put those in, lol.

[@trainknut]

Same with locomotive "phases" Like the SD40 "phase 2" or the infamous F3, which has like, seven phases. EMD never marketed improvements to their designs, nor did they have any indication on their designs of engine "phases", these are just phrases people came up with after the fact to spot little differences in the locomotives that came out of the factory in different years.

[@rnrailproductions5049]

The Arctic Gamer exactly, I’m guessing the same could be said about Nathan K horns.

[@hakeemsd70m]

@@rnrailproductions5049 I agree, it gets on my last nerve when railfans do that too. For example, a "1st gen" K5H? You can ask any of those railfans how a horn that's been in production since 1954 have just 3 "generations"? A "1st" and "3rd gen" K5LLA?? Where's the 2nd? And hey, how can anything just skip a whole generation? It makes me cringe just saying these as examples. I wish I could tell off the person that came up with such a useless idea for identifying train horns.

[@HVACSirenTowerTrainFanFan2012]

The AMTK 138 Clip was Recorded on my 3rd Birthday! I’m gonna be 10 Tomorrow

[@luannogueira8318]

CSXT#4821 (K5LA) SD70MAC

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#6705 (K5LA) SD60

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#5669 (K5LA) GP38-2

[@benclark3513]

I love this Nathan k 5 is my favorite :) I gotta see it honk gotta hear it

[@benclark3513]

I think Nathan k5 is the loudest?

[@luannogueira8318]

CSXT#7849 (K5LA) C40-8W

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#2581 (K5LA) SD70M

[@Branddenthepinkgoldpeachfan]

*Me: Awesome K5LLA*

[@aircraftsandtrains2309]

My fav k5la is the 3rd gen

[@Morbid_Railfan]

aircraft and train guy my fav K5LA is the first gen, it sounds so loud!, the csx P903 has a first gen K5LA and it is loud as heck

[@aircraftsandtrains2309]

@@Morbid_Railfan i like all gens but the raised letter is my fav

[@floridianrailauto9032]

The 3rd gen is literally the worst one

[@aircraftsandtrains2309]

@@floridianrailauto9032 your opinion dude

[@floridianrailauto9032]

@@aircraftsandtrains2309 Arguably it is the most obnoxious sounding horn, 1st gens are the best

[@denault3985]

Horns are a little harsh but the video is great, as always! Your the best East Coast Railroad video photographer with those perfect pans. Asked last week...what bit-rate do you use in the completed videos, always smooth on playback.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

50 mbps in HD. There are a few 4K 30p shots in here (the CSX and Amtrak ones) so you may have noticed some frame dropping.

[@2Hot2Furious]

That first one was 🔥🔥😍😍

[@aircraftsandtrains2309]

Amen

[@ervinthompson6598]

The Juice Train in Run 8. Wow...........

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#8301 (K5LA) C40-9

[@rebelbaron7003]

Agreed.....the K5LA is the sexziest hottest horn atop a loco

[@Franz193]

The Video is i A Wonderful for The Railway 🇺🇸😎👍📹

[@4funJust4you]

The K5LA on NS 2600 sounds like a fouled K3LA and a sick narrow front K5LLA.

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#5607 (K5LA) GP38-2 fouled?

[@Sacto1654]

I do hear the K5LA and K5LLA a lot in Sacramento, mostly due to UP SD70ACe-T4 and ES44AC locomotives running through the city.

[@froztytrainfilms9148]

I like the Hybrid K5LA (1:05) because it sounds like First gen K5LAs in a way

[@froztytrainfilms9148]

And they’re equipped on Acelas and MARC Mp36ph-3cs

[@cjmarsh504]

11:31 Louis Armstrong blowing his trumpet birds scared off

[@NS6711]

Favorites NS 8301 NS 6705 NS 9965 NS 5669 NS 9046 & NS 9372 (Now NS 4588)

[@luannogueira8318]

CSXT#4563 (K5LA) SD70MAC

[@jannikheidemann3805]

The snow sucks up quite a bit of the sounds. It's realy audible.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

It's amazing how much of an acoustic barrier snow really is.

[@mattyoung2297]

(6:03) That sounded so good!

[@SailorMoonRailfan]

Hey I'm just letting you know that I'm going to use this video for a two-part horn on Railworks Train Simulator 2019 with your credit. BTW, nice video.

[@yasincakra]

Waaaaww.. amazing

[@ReadingAreaRailfan]

The K5LA on the F unit sounds amazing

[@happymom2781]

First one sounded ethereal 😳

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#7227 (K5LA) SD80MAC

[@wakecountyproductions]

6:08 when the horn has like a slight "jump" in pitch, is that a reverb?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Yeah that's reverb, probably off of the crossing signals. You notice this a lot more when inside of the cab.

[@pokeyrailfanning]

MRCSX it happens at 12:00 too

[@Alanc419]

My friend, I believe it’s called Doppler Effect (the pitch change caused by the source of the sound’s position change)...

[@BHV0810]

0:07 My favorite

[@SETX_Sirens_and_Rail_02]

Love the way the first one is being quilled

[@happymom2781]

What’s the first one called I like it

[@luannogueira8318]

AMTK#138 (K5LA) P42DC (fouled?)

[@gunnerjohnson2840]

Kansas City Southern also uses K5LA

[@NortheasternRailPhotography]

Did you know GP59's and 60's were meant for long hood forward operation? Also, 7849's horn is a Nathan K3LA

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

CSX 7849 has a backwards mounted K5LA... K5LAR135, this may be the reason it sounds similar to a K3LA since the 2 and 4A are forward facing.

[@FlyingEagleTV]

Railfan Center GP59s are considered Yard units. Especially since the engineer faces the middle and the controls are on the wrong damn side!

[@NS4067_Productions]

NS C40-8 #8301 Horn is k5ha horn in spring 2015

[@mr.bobrischew685]

I love k5la

[@anaxolotl6637]

"I didn't see you get on"

[@luannogueira8318]

NS#6770 (K5LA) SD60i (fouled?)

[@reinaldoveitia4261]

The first video machine its horns sound like a horror movie

[@fallingup90]

Great shots. Are some of them recorded in 30 or 24fps?

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Yes this is a 60p video but some of them are older videos in 30p

[@Gamengofan376]

Nice dash 8 catch

[@NJT4211]

Nice Video! Hey what camera do you use? I'm looking into a new one.

[@DelmarvaRailProductions]

Are you sure 9372 is a Canadian Style K5H and not a K5L? Because I had that loco visit a few days ago and the group told me is a K5H. Just to let you know. Correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!

[@theedsonsubrailfan4465]

It could be a K5LR24, I think.

[@CentralPennRailProductions]

Yes, K5L. I do not denote reversals in the description but I believe K5LR24 is correct. The only difference between a K5H and K5L is the manifold, H being high and L being low-this doesn't affect sound much, if at all. Looking at pictures it's definitely on a low or "L" manifold.

[@DelmarvaRailProductions]

@@CentralPennRailProductions Oh ok. I guess I am wrong on so many levels lol

[@Pixel_Lad183]

sounds like the metra EMD F40PH

[@Gamengofan376]

The Atlanta United and Falcons use a Nathan K5LA if did not know

[@Branddenthepinkgoldpeachfan]

6:50 *Conrail Caboose!*

[@Erasyl_train-11]

K5la horn Kazakhstan Diesel Locomotive TE33A

[@BigNate5404]

The voice of Amtrak and NJ transit

[@trevorjosephmedia1550]

You can tell his camera doesn’t like the cold in the snowy shots

[@BAS19.6]

The big tag/corkers that Chessie had were awesome. Unfortunately they are very rare and do not appear in this video. Here on the Maryland midland there is one locomotive, a gp38ac-3, that has one. They sound a bit different from normal k5las.

[@nofirealarmsallowed]

0:18 sqekey K5LA

[@justcuz2017]

It’s a 3rd gen or raised letter k5la

[@MiNameIsNash]

Excellent video, the best for me was the SD80MAC.

[@trainboy647]

7:05 what is that

[@maxwilson7001]

It sounded very trumpet-like.

[@JaredRouse8465]

Most Amtrak trains have this horn, right?

[@4funJust4you]

13:51 CSX Dash 8 train with a K5LA. They mostly have K5Hs.