Question About Bells - Red Paint?

quote:

Originally posted by NJCJOE:
I own a steel steam engine bell.

Awesome! Do you know what engine it came from? Better yet do you have a pic of that engine? Jewel of a piece.

The crown of my collection would be to get ahold of the bell from my great grandfathers engine. No way of ever knowing where it ended up. I doubt they would scrap something like that? You think when the engines went to scrap someone would grab them.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what engine or road the bell came from.

as Ed noted, I too was thinking that it is red LEAD and not red paint. Red lead is usually used as a preservative in wooden boat construction, but it would be a proper coating for a bell of steel and iron.

Could go all the way back to the iron bells farmers used to call the hands to meals.

MoPac 2200 series 4-8-4's, delivered during WWII, had steel bells. Believe brass was in short supply as it was being used for shell casings.

American 19th century railroads - and European railroads into the 1960's - painted the drivers of their steam engines red, because the red made it easier to see developing cracks. I imagine it's possible there's a connection between that and the bells...perhaps when made, bells were painted red inside so they could be examined to be sure there were no cracks in the bell. Maybe they were painted red on the outside too, and when they were sure there were no cracks, the paint was removed from the outside (which was then polished to a bright shine) but not the inside??

Whatever the reason, I'm sure there's a reason. It's not just a "tradition" that was carried on over centuries for no reason.

More Boat stuff here! In boat restoration we routinely used red lead,for priming wood surfaces below the waterline. but the reality is that it is not red at all but bright orange!or white for use under canvass coverings and that "red lead" used to prime steel is almost boxcar red( brown) again and not even close to red and as such, both coatings described are primers and not paints and when used in exposed settings must be painted because UV from the sun breaks them down quite fast!respectfully Galo 3rd.

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Water:
I sure don't remember the insides of any bells being painted red, back in the regular steam days.

I'm quite sure that all the Erie steamers I remember in the late 40s and early 50s had bells with red insides.

Lee

quote:

Originally posted by wjstix:
American 19th century railroads...painted the drivers of their steam engines red, because the red made it easier to see developing cracks.

Drive wheels in the 19th century were painted a plethora of colors--not because it made it any easier to see cracks, but because locomotives were the engineers' status symbols. Drivers could be anything from red to yellow to blue to black and anything in between. Some drivers were red because that was the most expensive paint color available. Same reason fire engines were painted red--the crews wanted to show off.

Could it have been to keep the brass bells from turning green inside and could be an indication that poor maintence was used on that by that road.

I would bet dollars to donuts that the only reason that some bell interiors are red is bacause it looks cool.

quote:

Originally posted by ironlake2:
Could it have been to keep the brass bells from turning green inside and could be an indication that poor maintence was used on that by that road.

Brass that turns green (or brown) is not damaged in any way. Nor will it deteriorate other than having that tough, protective oxide coating. Shiny brass is done only for those who prefer the glitz and bling. Aluminum also develops a tough oxide coating like that. Brass, copper and aluminum do not 'rust' and deteriorate from oxidation like iron or steel does.

Witness the related Statue of Liberty, built in unpainted copper sheets that turn green on both sides. The only corrosion found when overhauling the statue was due to the use of iron and steel fasteners without some form of insulating their contact with the copper. Such insulation would reduce or eliminate electrolysis when dissimilar metals in contact with each other get wet.

So it's not really necessary to 'save' brass by polishing it. While indeed polishing does remove the oxide but it also takes away some of the brass as well, just like in polishing silver.

Ed Bommer

quote:

Originally posted by Galo 3rd:
...that is not as loud as say fire engine red.

Seriously, no one caught this? Love the pun!

No, I don't think the paint color has anything to do with the sound of the bell, no matter how "loud" the red is.

I'm still laughing.

Thanks,
Mario.

I think this is being over thought....I still believe it was purely to act as a visual aid. If you have multiple engines by one another that flash of red (on those that swung) would catch your eye quick, especially in the yards or servicing facilities.

Probably more likely it was giving some lowly helper something to do...

Rusty