While Nathan/AirChime and Leslie tend to be the two big names in railroad air horns, they are by far not the only manufacturers! Westinghouse Air Brake Company, one of the oldest names in railroad supplies which is still in business, has had a full line of offerings, with many unique offerings. Wabco, as they tend to be referred as, offered horns even earlier than Leslie, and still produces horns to this day. While never as big as Leslie or AirChime, Wabco always had something to offer, and has consistently been able to push their product line.

• jump to the Wabco section

The Prime Manufacturing Corporation is also a big name in the railroad supply industry. Prime started manufacturing horns in the early '70s. Their horns, while similar to Leslie SuperTyfon series horns, have many differences. Some features that they used in their horns mark them as very unique when compared to the SuperTyfon line. In then end, they were a large competitor for many years, and many of their horns are still out in service. Unfortunately, Prime discontinued its horn line in 2000.

• jump to the Prime section

Hancock

Hancock, also a well-known name in the railroad world, tried to make a go at signaling devices for diesels as well. In an effort to revive the sound of a steam locomotive, they developed an air whistle for use on a diesel locomotive. While not as successful as some of the other manufacturers, their products did achieve some penetration, and a few of their whistles are still in service to this day!

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others

There were others still beyond Prime, Wabco, and Hancock, though they were not all that successful, and so will not be covered much here. Strombos and Buell were somewhat common in the early days of dieselization when the only competing products were from Wabco and Leslie (with their Tyfon line). However, they tended to move towards truck or boat horns and other devices of this nature. Another competitor was Kahlenberg. While they advertised horns specifically for railroad use, they unfortunately never sold any of these horns. There are others still, but alas, no other real success stories.