Tbolts back to life in Stamford CT?

[Jim_Ferer]

I was surprised to see that the Thunderbolt in downtown Stamford Connecticut had rotated for the first time in years. I had assumed that the system had been abandoned. There used to be a Tbolt on top of Ridgeway shopping center; when the center was rebuilt the siren was removed and not replaced. There's another rotting off the pole on Newfield Avenue.

While the downtown siren looks like it went off, the one on the roof of Rogers School didn't rotate. I understand it's theoretically possible for the horn to stop in the same position it started, but I've never seen it actually happen.

[Conky 2000]

Did you have high winds? The wind could've blown the horn around.

[jerrylovessirens]

I do not think it would have blown, the belt in the rotator box would have to be broken. If it isn't, the gears might be broken in the gearbox. T-bolts, arn't like allertors, which can spin with the wind.

[Trey]

Plus if it hasn't moved in years, chances are high maintenence has not been performed. What I am getting at is the pipe that fits inside the chopper tube would not have been greased or oiled. I would think that it would be a bit rusty on the pipe as well.

[3t22]

T-bolts are design to "slip" in winds in excess of 40MPH. I've had the same situation happen with a few of Hartford's T-bolts. Their system is no longer running and in fact the one on top of the Hartford Current building has been taken down a while back. Makes me wonder if any T-bolts are active in the state anymore.

[Archon]

If the collar bolts get loose enought it will move very easy.

[Jim_Ferer]

I'm not aware of any that I believe are active. Until now none of the ones I know of have moved in years. There's one especially pathetic one on North Street in Greenwich that's still on the pole despite the fact the motor and blower are gone... there's just the bottom of the blower box.

They were active in the '90s, I used to hear tests.

Most of these systems were weren't vast, they were half vast. I knew of three or four in Stamford, one in Greenwich, one in Bridgeport. Unless most of them were taken down, why bother? There was no way to cover the city that way. There's one Whelen in Westport next to the train tracks alongside I-95. Why one, and why there? There are at least two towns (Norwalk (EOWS 1212) and Fairfield [EOWS 612s]) that have sirens near the beach for storm surges. I've never heard them tested.