Fergusson Poles And Accessories

Looks great as usual.

Nice job Steve, big improvement.  The Fergusson accessories often seem to be pretty weathered.

Fergusson made 12 different signals, all with the rod bent into the G shape for a base. I have finally been able to find at least one of each, there are a couple that are pretty elusive.

Made by A.R. Fergusson Manufacturing Co., Buffalo NY, in the 1920's.

Fergusson single arc streetlight (dummy)
Fergusson white diamond crossing sign
Fergusson crossing gate
Fergusson pole with single semaphore arm
Fergusson pole with two semaphore arms
Fergusson tinplate sign "Whistle"
Fergusson tinplate sign "Main St/Broadway"
Fergusson rotating "Stop" and "Go" sign
Fergusson flagpole 13" tall
Fergusson "Next Train Leaves" clock.
Fergusson telegraph pole with two red yardarms
Fergusson telegraph pole with single red yardarm

david

Very few people know about A.R. Fergusson.  Most of the people that sell them usually list them as "Ives/Bing", not knowing what they actually have.  Excellent job so far, the first one looks great.

Steve, thanks for the history lesson on Fergusson Manufacturing from Buffalo, NY. I was not familiar with them, and have to say that I like the look of them and the very practical G shaped base. I will keep an eye out for them in the future.

Nice job on the restoration - it looks real nice.

Looks great, great job, nice tinplate item.

here are a few of them together.

nice job Steve

There was an article on Fergusson in TCA Quarterly a while back.

Just to complicate things, Fergusson also supplied these signals to others to sell, particularly Hafner.  The ones they sold through Hafner however were mounted on square Hafner bases, not the G-shaped bend in the rod.  Many of these same signs (the clock, semaphores, "whistle" sign) can be found mounted on the square Hafner base.

These accessories often show up being soild as Flyer, but that it not the case; Flyer had their own complete line.   If they have the solid rod mounted on a square base, they are made by Fergussoin for Hafner; if the G-shaped bent rod base, they were most likely sold by Fergusson.  Some Ives signs, particularly their telegraph poles, look very similar, but Ives used a hollow, rolled tinplate post instead of the solid rod. 

I believe there was also an 11-inch flagpole as shown in one of the pictures I posted. Or it could be that one of the 13-inch poles was modified at the base. I really enjoy these off-brand accessories like Fergusson, Schrey, Junior Bridge Company, adjust-a-bridge (not sure who made those), skyline, jayline, bilt-ez, H&H, Chein and of course the Lincoln Logs lead station figures. The added play value on the cheap. squeak squeak.

For further info on A. R. Fergusson Mfg. items, there is an article in the Train Collectors Quarterly Vol.35-4 page 6 "Another Train Manufacturer."

Ron M

uuuhhh... gosh, yeah, I'll have to look into that!

Steve,

   Very nice!

Tom

Dug out some more of my Furgesson items. I thought I had more, but ends up many are the ones made for Hafner. Guess I have quite a few more to find.

Ends up I have two color combo's of telegraph poles. 11 white with dark green bases and the crossing is very dark red. 5 all white poles with lighter red crossings. I am repainting them to closely match the original colors.

Also all the dark red crossings have a stiffening rib stamped in them, none of the lighter ones have the stiffener.

Steve

They sure look great spruced up like that.  Nice going.  Ives also had that detail on some of their things, of darker paint part way up the pole, it isn't the easiest thing to re-do and have it look right.  Yours look spot on.

Love the crimps in the poles for climbing pegs... inexpensive and ingenious way to add some detail!

You make an interesting observation.  Both the one-color pole and the no-rib yardarms sound like simpler, less expensive steps in manufacturing.  Do you think the simpler ones are earlier, or later?

david

I'm not too familiar with these, but I have definitely seen poles and other items with those unusual bases.

Are those bases unique to just Ferguson products?

Tom

Vienna Station has several available listed in the Hafner section of his inventory as 120 series Hafner accessory numbers, but with the wire g-base.

True vintage oddities !

If the bases are unique to Fergusson, it makes identifying their offerings easy for us collectors.  I applaud the simplicity, plus the ability to string power lines through the eyelet insulators on the cross bucks.  Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but I haven't seen any of their product around here...not far from Buffalo.

Bruce

As can be seen from the pages I posted earlier in this thread, Fergusson held the patent on several features of these signs and signals, including the solid rod pole bent into the G-shaped base. The curled base was Fergusson's patented design, no one else made these.

How Fergusson marketed these accessories, and what firms sold them for Fergusson, and what variations Fergusson may have introduced, are more complex subjects.  But the curled wire "G" base means it was made by Fergusson, that much we know because of the patent paperwork.

If anyone has a spare Fergusson Whistle sign, Clock and single arm Semaphore, I'm interested.

Steve

So who made these? They are using the Fergusson uppers, but the base is round tinplate.

I'll have to dig them up and see if the "G" is under the tinplate base.

ARNO

The single arm semaphore is the most elusive.  I have purchased a few of them, only to find out that they were the double-arm semaphore with either the bottom arm missing; or with the pole broken off at the bottom arm attachment.  I finally have one that I believe to be the real thing, but I'm not even totally sure of this one.  The pole extends about 1/2" above the single arm, and ends in what looks like a factory cut-off like the top of the telegraph poles.  But it still seems like anyone could have just chopped off a double?

david

Let us know what you find Arno.  If you look closely at your picture, the hole in the base is larger than the rod, and it doesn't seem to be attached.   I've never seen these as bases before.  Wonder if they might be something else (pressed steel truck hubcaps?) that someone used to cover the G base??  The base on the flagpole is even more of an oddity. 

Interestingly, the Hafner catalog illustrations of these signals has them drawn with a solid round base (like an American Flyer base), rather than the square Hafner base.  Consensus among Hafner experts seems to be that these were just artist's renderings and not unlike many other inconsistencies in toy train catalogs of the time. But it certainly doesn't help clear things up much!

david

Here is a look at the bottom. Seems to be production. I would suspect the base was put onto the pole from the bottom (that would explain the larger hole), then the bottom plate put on. But that doesn't explain the flagpole base. Hmmmmmmm.....

Interesting how they used opposite colored bottoms.

ARNO

ModerneraSG,  Would you be up to trying to pry one tab (very gingerly) up on one of the bases, just enough to sneak a peek under the round plate, to see if it actually has the "Fergusson 'G' base".  This would verify if they truly are original Fergusson's.  Another question, does any one know exactly when A.R. Fergusson went out of business, and if someone bought their tooling, to make these bases, and just modified them with enclosed bases.  I haven't been able to find any definitive information as to when they went out of business.  Did someone buy out their stock of items, for resale, under their own brand; i.e. Hafner or another company.