Canadian Line Materials

Canadian Line Materials, LTD.
Names	Canadian Line Materials, LTD.
Headquarters	Scarborough, ON
Founded	1925
Defunct	1985
Products	Steelwork Electrical equipment Outdoor warning sirens

Canadian Line Materials, LTD. (CLM) was a steel manufacturing company based in Scarborough, Ontario. Founded in 1925 as a division of McGraw-Edison, they produced a wide variety electrical equipment before being contracted by the Canadian government to manufacture air raid sirens for civil defense. Once common across Canada, these sirens are now very rare, though they remain a staple of the nation's Cold War history.

History

A 1942 advertisement for Burlec-Carter's Twin-Note Sirens from a Vancouver-based newspaper.

CLM started off in 1925 as a small steelwork company in Scarborough, Ontario, part of the larger McGraw-Edison company, producing electrical equipment such as lightning arresters. As early as 1942, CLM was commissioned by the Canadian government to create air raid sirens for civil defense. CLM made several different sirens, both rotational and omnidirectional.

CLM originally used siren designs from another company known as Burlec-Carter. Ltd., and later produced their own designs. Burlec-Carter was a company based out of Toronto, ON. Burlec's original siren was created in 1942 after the Canadian federal government contracted the Northern Electric Company to create 75 5 hp single tone sirens for Civil Defense use in the province of British Columbia. The B.C. government wanted dual tone sirens instead, believing them to be more effective. After 28 single tone sirens were delivered (but not installed) the federal government finally listened to B.C., dropped the contract with Northern Electric, and contracted Burlec to create dual tone sirens for the province. Many of these were installed in the Vancouver area, and were advertised as the "Burlec-Carter Twin Note Sirens", based directly on designs used in the UK. Burlec-Carter vanished from records in 1943, after its executives left the Prices Board to focus on other business. However, the Burlec name remained registered until 1981. Burlec's sirens would later be sold by CLM under the Type 5261 and Type 5263 names.

All CLMs were designed with the harsh Canadian winter in mind, and as such, measures were taken to protect them from the elements. All CLM siren controllers were equipped with a special mode that would operate the siren's rotors at all times at a very low speed, between 60-75 RPM, in order to prevent ice from building up and potentially jamming the rotors and burning up the motor. All CLM sirens use directional rotors, which allows the siren increased performance as long as the rotors are spinning in the right direction. Reverse wired three phase units have slightly worse performance than a correctly wired unit.

Various models of CLMs were installed across Canada during the 1950s and 1960s alongside electric BNCO Mobil Directo BN44E sirens, especially in larger cities like Toronto and Ottawa, ON. After the Cold War, all of these sirens were decommissioned as there was no more use for them, and it was found that many of these sirens were prone to malfunctions with the controllers as they aged. As most of Canada does not experience severe weather like tornadoes frequently enough to warrant them, sirens do not have much of a purpose there. A few CLM siren units still sit on top of poles and rooftops, rotting away and abandoned, while others have found their homes in museums and private collections. A handful of CLMs have been refurbished and put back into service as fire sirens. These include a 20/24 port Type 5223 unit in Alvinston, ON, two Type 5261 CLM fire siren variants in Port Lambton, ON and Qualicum Beach, BC, and a single active rotational CLM used as a fire siren in Alliance, AB.

CLM itself was eventually acquired by Cooper Industries and ceased to exist in 1985. Cooper Industries itself is now defunct, having been acquired by the Eaton Corporation.

Products

Outdoor warning sirens

Rotational

Type 927xxDP

A CLM rotational siren with the projectors removed. Image taken from a still of a video by ColdWarCanada, hence the rotors being blurred.

The CLM Type 927xxDP is a unique dual rotor rotating electromechanical siren, and is largely a CLM Type 5263 (mentioned below) siren with two horns and a rotator mechanism attached. It came exclusively in 10/12 port dual tone. It appears that the siren was originally intended to be 12 port single tone, with the 12 port side having a large rounded horn, however the Canadian government dictated it to be dual tone, so the 10 port side with a much smaller rectangular horn was added on as an afterthought. The 10 port side has only 4 ports on the stator, with a 10 port rotor, and its intake has a diamond shaped cover. Because of this, the 12 port side is significantly more audible than the 10 port side at a distance. However, the 10-port side is dominant near the siren, as the rear intake forces the sound downwards while the front horn projects the sound far away. The siren is driven by a bare dual sided 5 hp AC motor, which is attached to the rotator shaft by two tall brackets and a plate. The Type 927xxDP was claimed to output around 130 dB at 100 ft, although this claim is debatable and unconfirmed.

The CLM Rotational siren came in two models, the Type 92730DP (3 ph 220 V AC) and the Type 92729DP (3 ph 550 V AC). The rotational models are three phase only, and were never available in single phase.

The rotator of a CLM rotational siren, also from ColdWarCanada.

The rotator is powered by a separate 1/3 hp motor, with a vertical belt driven pulley attaching the motor to a gearbox below it, which then drives a chain-driven pulley rotating the siren at approximately 12 RPM, far faster than most rotating sirens. It is only beaten by the Swedish Electric Co. rotational sirens in default rotation speed, and is the fastest rotating siren with gear reduction. This causes the siren's sound to waver significantly as it rotates. The motor starter in the CLM's controller is configured by default to control both motors at once, meaning that it stops rotating immediately when the rotor shuts off. However, the rotator can be used independently of the rotor when directly using the controller. The rotator is housed inside of a tall rectangular housing, with two removable panels allowing access to the internals. The siren's collector rings and fuses are also located inside the housing. There are two handles which allow easy removal of the side panels, and four eyebolts are attached to each top corner of the siren to allow easy mounting with a crane.

Omnidirectional

CLM also produced a multitude of omnidirectional sirens, including:

A Type 92763CP 3 hp omnidirectional CLM, formerly located in Warfield, BC.

Type 92763CP

This is a 3 hp vertical omnidirectional siren which came exclusively in 10/12 port dual tone. They were available only in 220 V single phase AC. These were a vertical option that were designed to be used as part of a wider system, often supplementing Type 927xxDP rotational sirens by filling coverage gaps, although they were also occasionally used in their own systems. These bear a slight resemblance to the Federal SD-10, using two curved surfaces to help project the sound outwards, rather than using horns. Unlike CLM's other sirens, this used a single 10/12 port rotor and stator rather than two split rotors. The siren has two intakes, with the top intake having a very large rainshield above it which also acts as the upper projector, while a second intake is located below the rotor. A large skirt is included under the stator, which serves to complete the two projector surfaces. The 12-port side is fed by the top intake while the 10-port side is fed by the lower intake. The siren uses a rotor-over-motor configuration, with the siren's bare motor being located underneath the siren, unprotected from the elements. A mesh screen is included on both intakes to protect the rotor. CLM rated this siren at 105 dB at 100 ft. These sirens are very rare, with few in private possession. Only one of these sirens is currently in active use, serving as a fire siren in Perth-Andover, NB.

Type 5261/Type 32164/Syren 2323

The 5 hp variant of the CLM Type 5261, with longer rotors. Photo by Kaese Dodkin/SirensofCanada.

The Type 5261 was first created by Burlec-Carter, who later allowed CLM to replicate the design. Burlec's variant is known as the Type 32164, or Syren 5236. Burlec's design is identical to the 3 hp 5261.

The 3 hp variant of the CLM Type 5261, with thin rotors.

This dual-rotor siren model was meant for use at fire stations and other areas where three-phase power may be too expensive or impractical to use, and uses a 3 or 5 hp 220 V brushed single phase motor operating at 3450 RPM. This made them very popular with volunteer fire departments and remote communities where three-phase power is not always available. Like CLM's other sirens, this siren came exclusively in 10/12 port dual tone. The siren is not centered on its base, with the motor extending outwards more on one side than the other, and it has a hole on the side of the motor to access the brushes. Like most single phase sirens with brushed motors, these sometimes run into reliability issues due to the brushes wearing out and the siren can struggle to reach full pitch. This is the most common CLM model found in the wild, with some still in service as fire sirens. At least one Burlec 2323 still survives in the Chilliwack Museum in Chilliwack, B.C.

The 5261 came in two different variants under the same name, sharing the same motor shell and base. The first variant was directly based on the Burlec design and uses significantly thinner rotors than other CLM models, likely to reduce the load on the motor. This variant uses a 3 hp brushed motor, and has the weakest performance of CLM's dual rotor sirens. The second variant was likely released later, borrowing its rotors/stators from the Type 5263. This variant is essentially a Type 5263 with a 5 hp brushed single phase motor instead of the usual induction motor. The 5 hp variant is much less common than the 3 hp variant, as the 3 hp variant costed less to produce and purchase which made it more popular with volunteer fire departments and other places that lacked three phase power.

Type 5263/Syren 5236

A 1960s photo with two women posing next to a CLM Type 5263, taken in Toronto, ON.

The Type 5263 was first created by Burlec-Carter, who later allowed CLM to replicate the design. Burlec's variant is known as the Syren 5326.

This is essentially a Canadian clone of the British Carter siren, being a near duplicate of a standard Carter but running at 60 Hz power rather than 50 Hz which results in a higher pitch than Carter sirens. These ran on 5 hp dual-sided AC motors, with one 10-port rotor and stator and one 12-port rotor and stator on each side, resulting in a 10/12-port siren. These were available in 220/550 V three phase. These are sometimes known as "Mailbox" sirens, as these are quite often found inside specialized box housings to protect them from the elements. These use the same rotors as the Type 927xxCP rotational sirens. These sirens are some of the least common surviving CLM models, with very few remaining in service or private possession. At least one Burlec 5236 survives in the Chilliwack Museum in Chilliwack, B.C.

Type 5223

A restored 20/24 port CLM Type 5223, located in Alvinston, ON. Photo by ArxCyberwolf.

This is a unique 20/24 port dual tone siren, which featured significantly larger 26-inch rotors than CLM's other models. These are unique in that the two-pole motors ran at half the speed of most siren motors, at only 1625 RPM instead of ~3500 RPM. While early sirens such as the Denver sirens used half-speed motors, full-speed motors were already commonplace by the time the Type 5223 began production. Because it has twice the ports of a regular 10/12 siren while running at half the motor speed, it sounds nearly identical to a 10/12 port siren. These likely were not too popular, since they offered no advantages over a standard CLM Carter and were much heavier. These sirens tend to have longer winddowns due to the size of their rotors. These were available in either 220 V or 550 V three-phase, with no single phase option. These sirens are often found on display or in private possession, and very few are known to currently be in service. Alvinston, Ontario's fire department plans to put their Type 5223 into service as a fire siren, though it remains inactive as of 2024.