J. C. Deagan Dinner Chime Model Comparison
Listen to two models of the most famous chimes in history, made by J. C. Deagan in the 1920s and 30s, for calling passengers to dinner!
Update: A new version of this video is now available, comparing three different chimes, each tuned to one of the three different musical keys available. See • J. C. Deagan Dinner Chimes: 3 Models, 3 Keys .
These chimes are famous for historic use on railroads and steam cruise ships. Conductors or waiters would announce meals using chimes, usually just three notes. These three notes were usually the music notes G, E, then C – you may recognize these as the famous “NBC Chime” notes broadcast as station identification on old-time NBC radio. The story is that these notes were chosen for the initials of General Electric Company, a major owner of NBC (and maker of the first diesel-electric railroad locomotives).
There were several models of these dinner chimes made by the J. C. Deagan company, and used by railroads, steamships, and radio stations across America. Though each model series may have been tuned to different keys, they all kept the same relationship between the notes. Therefore, each chime, regardless of model, could play the same tune as any other, just by striking the plates in the same order. This video demonstrates the differences in sound between two vintage Deagan models tuned in the most common two keys for these dinner chimes.
For more details about J. C. Deagan dinner chime models and features, and our models in particular, see my page at https://sites.google.com/view/marksmo.... For a downloadable and printable copy of the article, see https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pUwo....