What prototype did Lionel copy where the horns were placed one on each side, one facing front, the other facing back, instead of on top?
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If you ordered a GP7 or GP9, you had to pay extra for different air horn location, and/or type of air horn. The standard air horn furnished was a pair of opposite-facing Leslie A-200 low-pitched, single note air horns mounted below the roof line. The horn, was mounted on the right side of the hood when looking from the cab toward the end of the respective hood. Therefore, no matter which end was specified as front in the purchase order, horn relocation was not required.
As a result of optional ordering, some early GP units came equipped with Nathan 3-note or 5-note Airchime horns (some mounted on the side of the hood, with others mounted on the cab roof or on the short hood roof); Leslie 3-note horns (some split into two facing forward ahead of the cab and a single horn facing rearward on the long hood; or higher-pitched single Nathan Airchime horns. If a railroad equipment supplier catalogued it, EMD would apply it to the locomotive . . . for a price, of course.
Horns were modified by the majority of railroads owning early geeps. As they acquired more diesel locomotives, some standardized on a particular chime horn, and/or found relocation to be desirable.
Ordering a locomotive is like ordering an automobile in that there is a basic locomotive equipped with standard appliances chosen by the builder. You can order almost any option, but everything that gets modified -- no matter how simple it may seem, requires new blueprints and costs money. Headlight location, horn options, event recorder options, toilet, awnings, mirrors, brake equipment, cab signals, PTC, tool boxes, seating, automatic startup and shutdown . . . these are just some of the optional items that have been included in locomotive orders. One option that does not appear to have been at extra cost, as long as it was one of several in the original manufacturer specification.
Charlie...since you got the answer I believe you were looking for, the rest of the banter was deleted and the topic closed. Not your fault...just trying to save some bandwidth.
