Railroadiana Items In Your Collection

Same here.  I've got a PRR lantern (kerosene), a PRR lock & key, a PRR first-aid kit, a couple of manuals, some builders' plates, a couple of spikes, some other odds and ends that escape me at the moment.  Friends and relatives see these things at flea markets and estate sales, cheap, and occasionally give them to me when they find out I'm interested in railroading.  But personally, I've never put a lot of effort or money into 1:1 railroadiana.

Just two I can think of, a stainless steel Hiawatha emblem used on the Milwaukee Road passenger cars and a Sante Fe " Chief" drumhead. Both are real gems.

Jeff,

I went back and looked at the lamp and it was not marked. I then realized the lamp in the picture was not from the GN. That particular lamp was unmarked. I finally found my GN marker lamp. It is an Adlake square top lamp and is marked GN Ry on the top/side of the lid.

The GN lamp is in the center of the photo hanging on the wall.

I found the item I was looking for, but may have another "something" around here lettered for C&EI, or C&IM, as I thought I did.  This is a long-spouted engineer's

oil can, but is only marked with a raised keystone with the letters "P...S" on it, which

made me think it was Pennsy related?  Is it?

Yes, it stands for Pennsylvania System.

"Pennsylvania System" was the service name used to designate the combination of Lines East and West. You will find it on certain types of advertising matter, and in the names of several joint bodies that had members from both halves of the railroad.

The "Lines West" organization was abolished in 1920, although it took about two more years before all of the properties were actually leased to the PRR. At that time "Pennsylvania Railroad" replaced "Pennsylvania System" as the name for the whole railroad. This is what you see on post-1920 timetables, advertisements, etc.

Got a few items, not near as many as some of my friends. 

1)  cast iron 3 tri color signal which I need to repaint/restore.  Really like Jeff's idea above as would look nice in front of our train building.

2)  remember the track side mail pick ups from the RPO days.  Got one of those.

3)  beaded crossing buck.

4)  several railroad crossing signs.  DOT crew swaping them out.  Stopped to inquire and gave them to me.

4)  several Southern Railway timetables.

5)  laundry bag (I think) from the Southern passenger train days.

6)  thousands of roster and action shot prints and slides.  Don't take railroading and railfanning for granted.  What's been common for years may be gone tomorrow.  Glad was able to photograph Saluda Mountain and the Kings Creek to Shelby line using the spacer box car when I did.  I need to post some of these on the real trains page.

Some cool items guys. Now we need to see some pictures. 

Jeff,

If I ever come across a set of GN Dressel lamps I'll let you know.

A lantern, some manuals, engineer's hat, towels, safety pins. I am looking for an authentic, but unused, cross-buck sign.

PRSL 40 year pin,  Long Island 50 year pin, I've only ever seen this one. And a PRR 50 year pin.

NJCJOE your collection is amazing. I suggest that you join the ranks of weekend photo fun and Sunday Scenic showcase and start a weekly thread to feature and tell the stories of your items.

Thanks Zett. I appreciate the comments.

I'm really enjoying the photos of everyone's collectibles. This turned out to be a very interesting thread.

Jeff, 

Very impressive collection. Thank you for sharing the photos. Looks to be some pretty interesting items there.

It doesn't look like a mess to me. I view those photos like others would look at a piece of art. The history sitting on those shelves can not be easily duplicated. Of all the items that one could collect railroadiana wise, I find lanterns and lamps the most fascinating. I even have a tattoo of a late 1800's Westlake conductors lantern with a red over clear globe. You could say this is my hobby for life.

Since the Pennsylvania System was mentioned above, here's a Form 5 passenger timetable dated April 30, 1922 with "PS" lettering from my collection. As seen from the photo, this edition prominently featured the still relatively new Pennsylvania Station in New York City. Of course, at this time, Pennsy trains to the west were still being hauled by electric locomotives drawing their power from third rail direct current. Alternating current supplied by overhead catenary was still in the future.

Bob

I was going through some older pictures and found these.

A B&O bell that I restored for a friend of mine.

A PRR bell that was originally on an Atlantic and then used on a B6.

A 1 track sign.

The restoration process of my PRR sign from the tugboat the Bloxom.

Thanks for reviving this thread and sharing your items with us.

Here's another Pennsylvania timetable. This is a Form 79 dated March 13, 1921 and also features an image of New York Penn Station on its cover. Clearly, the company was justifiably proud of its magnificent station in New York City.

Note the Pennsylvania System lettering within the keystone versus the later "PRR" on the 1922 timetable pictured above. Also, this timetable is lettered for the Eastern Region under the larger "Pennsylvania System" banner. 

Bob

As seen by my previous posts, I'm particularly interested in paper items so I present for your consideration a New York Central & Hudson River passenger timetable dated 1893. Of course, this was well before electrification, GCT and the Hudsons and other such things so closely associated with the NYC. In fact, 4-4-0 999 was built at the West Albany Shops during the same year this timetable was issued so the 999 and its contemporaries were the latest and greatest in passenger power at the time.

The drawing of the old Grand Central Station on the cover is quite spectacular.

When you think about the incredible age of some of these items, it's quite thrilling and humbling to have the opportunity to be their current caretaker and hold them with your own hands.

Bob 

Some nice early timetables. Thank you for sharing.

A few of my items.

Here's the Summer 1904 timetable for the Western Division of the NYC&HR. The railroad's Western Division was composed of the territory beginning at Syracuse moving west to the Niagara Falls area. Also shown in this timetable are times for connecting services to and from New York City, assorted Canadian points and the Midwest.

Bob

Penn Central Timetables, Switch lamps, Conrail/NS/CSX Roadway Worker Safety books, Book of Rules, MW4, Original Drawings on Linen.

This is my favorite.

Cesar

Great collections! I really liked all the lanterns!

I have a few pieces. First one is a Griffin 33" train wheel display that I need to refinish. also have a Clawbar that's stamped AT&SF RR.

Just a few items from the other side of the pond.  Railroadiana from Germany. Thanks for looking, Bruce

 Well, I do have a set of manuals for the N&W 2300....

The crew-call whistle is around here, somewhere. I'll find it again some day.

Gilly

PRR oil can circa 1940. Gift from my son.  I rigged it up as a huge smoke fluid unit to fill my engines. Pretty funny when in use for new comers. 

Pictured here is PRR Form 5 New York-Philadelphia timetable effective June 11, 1905. As this timetable predates the completion of New York Pennsylvania Station by several years, it shows three Manhattan station stops: West 23rd, Desbrosses and Cortlandt Streets. Brooklyn is included as well. Philadelphia stations listed are Broad Street, West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia.

Bob

I have a old trolley marker light, ticket punch and a few old schedules,thats about it.

It's cocktail hour so here we have a wine and beverage list from the 20th Century Limited. It's interesting to note some of the prices such as $1.10 for a Manhattan and $1.25 for a brandy.

Bob

Do you own the station?

I started collecting cast iron signs a while ago, here is one of my favorites..

This is the oldest item in my collection. It is an Erie Railway timetable issued in 1874. Note the company's promotion of its broad gauge double track line on the timetable's cover.

Bob

There are several organizations dedicated to serving the needs of collectors of various types of railroadiana. Below are links to the websites of some of these groups:

Railroadiana Collectors Association:

http://railroadcollectors.org/

Key, Lock and Lantern:

http://www.klnl.org/

National Association of Timetable Collectors:

http://naotc.org/

Bob

Good point Bob. Those are fine organizations.

A timely thread. I have long held that Railroadiana, for supplemental income, is the future of train meets/shows ... and that includes E.D.'s biannual York meet. The Red & White buildings ... open to the public for a reduced (non TCA) fee would be a very good start.

Either the ED does for Railroadiana what they have done for 3rd rail or some one else will! ... 

Here's the New Haven's 1933 Annual Report:

Annual reports are a treasure trove of information, providing insight regarding the operating and financial strategies of individual carriers. Reviewing their bibliographies, many of the most respected railroad histories published over the years have relied heavily upon annual reports as their primary sources of accurate and factual information.

Bob  

Madison,

It depends on what sign you have. There are two versions of that sign. Most of these signs came from the PRR and look like this.

Mine is the other version and looks like this. I was told it came off a trolley line near Philadelphia.

There are two ways to tell the difference. First is the lettering style and spacing. The other is that on the PRR sign, there are two holes near the bottom. This was for a strap bracket that was mounted on the back of the sign which went around the pole for additional support. All PRR signs were painted white and black.

Here we have a desirable item. This is Reading Form T.T. 4 for the Trenton and New York Branches effective December 12, 1937. What makes this specific timetable particularly appealing is this is the edition which introduced the streamlined Crusader to the riding public. In fact, the new train entered regular service between Philadelphia and Jersey City the next day. Understandably, the railroad was quite certain to tout the new service rather prominently on the cover of the timetable.

Bob

Bob,

That is a nice timetable.

Hi, Joe.

Thanks very much. It's a nice piece to have since it coincided with the launch of the Crusader.

Here's a subsequent issue of RDG Form T.T. 4 from two years later. The artwork has changed but the Crusader is still prominently featured:

Bob   

I like that one too. I always like the Crusader. I do have two Jersey Central timetables that are neat, one marked on the front for The Blue Comet and the other for The Bullet.

This was my great grandfather's.  It's a match carrier that I think was a give wawy with Headlight Overalls. But I have never been able to find any more info. Anyone???

Hi, Dave.

I believe you're correct about the lighter being issued by Headlight either as a give away or separate sale item. It certainly appears to be promotional in nature.

Here are several images of Headlight Overalls memorabilia I found on the web:

I had never seen one of these lighters until you posted the pictures of yours. Thanks for sharing.

Bob

Headlight Overalls did use many types of advertising media but that's the first match safe I have ever seen. Very neat item Dave.

I have some New York Central paper type items and other things which were passed to me by my father who was the District Claim Agent for the NYC.  I would love to get some more information on some of this 'stuff'.

I noted with interest that Bob (CNJ 3676) and Joe (NJCJOE) seem to have a wealth of information and interest in similar things...  My email address is in my profile - please contact me!!!

Best,

Dave

Hi, Dave.

I'll shoot you an e-mail. I'm always happy to talk railroading.

An additional note regarding Headlight Overalls: I checked for additional images and located more advertising material, one of which features one of the UP's diesel streamliners and the second several young model railroaders at play dressed just like their heroes running the real thing. Great stuff; I'll have to start looking for some of it at train shows.

Bob

NYO&W Employee Timetable Number 75 effective April 25, 1954:

Bob

I have a couple of Armspear Spheroidal bridge/Pier lamps.  One, a swing bridge top lamp identical to the marker lamp seen here except for the marine style of bail (handle) and without the clasp marker mounting bracket.  It also has the added (and therefore removable) blinders that reduce the visible segment of the lenses from 90 degrees to 60 degrees as were also found when these had switch lamp bases riveted on to the bottom of this type of lamp.  The other is an all aluminum cast electric pier lamp made in the 1930's or 40's.  This type of lamp was made from the late teens until at least the mid 1930's.

Google images: "Dewey defeats Truman" and you'll see the famous photos of president Truman holding the newspaper with the incorrect outcome of his presidential election while standing on the rear of the OFFICIAL Presidential observation car AND NOTICE THOSE MARKER LAMPS!!!    Paul

This tread reminded me that I have a few Torpedo cases, one or two actually have torpedoes.

Without even trying I have accumulated a lot of railroad paper. Schedules, maps, metro cards, etc., from Amtrak, Septa, NYC, Metro, MARC and so on. 

Probably fills two copy paper boxes. The funny part is I do not look for this stuff, it just seems to find me.

Sean

In recognition of Sunset's announcement of an O scale model of GM's "Train of Tomorrow", here's a brochure issued by the company in 1947 to promote the new train.

Bob

In 1937, the New Haven took delivery of its I-5 Class of streamlined Hudsons. The New Haven, like many other roads, had placed a heavy emphasis on modernization and issued literature promoting the effort during this period. Pictured below is a brochure publicizing the I-5.

Bob

Bob,

Very neat brochures. Love the graphics. Thanks for sharing.

This railroad company property marker is not in my collection but I wish it was.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Thanks, Joe.

Here's a guide to Grand Central which was issued by the NYC during WWII:

Here's a mile marker I have from the Belvidere & Delaware Railroad, which was the predecessor of the PRR on the Bel-Del line. The marker is made of stone and probably dates from around 1860.

Joe:

That's a splendid piece. Approximately how much of it is buried in the ground?

Bob

Bob,

The whole thing is about 4' long, so it's approximately 2-1/2' in the ground. It's a heavy bugger and hard to grab onto.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Here's the Pennsylvania Railroad's 99th annual report celebrating one-hundred years of PRR service. It features the artwork of Mr. Grif Teller.

Bob 

Bob,

It was nice to meet you at the Greenberg show today.

Here's a recent addition - one of my co-workers gave it to me. His grandmother used it to go see his father before he shipped out.

Hi, Joe.

It was a pleasure to meet you as well. In this electronic world of ours, it's nice when you can match a live person to a post!

Following up on Mr. Butler's CB&Q timetable featuring a military service theme, here's a PRR Form 1 System Timetable effective November 14, 1943:

Some early paper items.

A 1890 receipt from Post & Company. They made lamps and lanterns.

A receipt from the Androscoggin Railroad dated Aug. 1, 1861

A few Jersey Central items.

Timetables from 1930 advertising The Blue Comet & The Bullet

1901 CRR of NJ railroad pass

Plate from Jersey Central drinking fountain

Reading-Jersey Central magazine from Feb. 1942

Wish I had this in my collection. Supposedly from Newark, NJ.

Hi, Joe.

Yes, I believe that is indeed CNJ's Newark Broad Street Station. Speaking of which, here's a Newark Branch timetable effective 2/9/42:

Bob

Here's a selection of Reading Form T.T. 22 timetables with service to New Hope. Of course, part of this route is now home to the well known shortline railroad New Hope & Ivyland and its tourist trains.

Bob

This is the model board out of KX Tower in Kankakee Illinois. I've worked to partially restore it, and get the lights functional again. Now I just need to find somewhere to hang it!

Hi, Derek.

Have you managed to get anything else done with the model board?

Bob

I have a few lanterns, locks, photos, and stock options from Western Maryland, Pennsylvania, C&O, and B&O.

Hey Bob, 

No I have not done much else, it has pretty much sat for the past five months. If I thought I'd ever get a chance to own it again, I'd let it go and make room for something else. That being said, it's one of a kind, so it's going to hang around for awhile longer. 

I picked these up for our local club and we pasted them on to people into the Frisco.

The checks have a date of 188___ on them.

I am glad that the OP posted this. I always wanted to know what railroadiana means and where the term comes from. I do have a crossbuck from the Wisconsin Central RR and a brass key about 8 inches in length by 1 1/2" by 1 1/2". I have no idea what it is. I'll take a picture it and post it one of these days.

I'm glad this thread has stared up again. Nice to see some more neat items.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I got this from my wife's son who is an engineer on the CN. He is also the one that got me a real crossbuck which is hanging in the layout room. Anyway, I took enough pictures I hope so that you might be able to tell me what it is. It's a key for something.

Paul,

That is a GM EMD locomotive reverser lever. It was used to change the direction of the engine. They were removable, like a key, so they could be taken out when an engine was parked so the engine could not be moved by someone not authorized to do so.

A matching set of builders plates off of Southern Pacific ALCO PA-1 602/6022

Here is a booklet issued by the New York Central in conjunction with its West Side Improvement project, the initial stage of which was dedicated in June of 1934. The remnants of this line which still exist are more popularly referred to in today's culture as the "High Line."

Bob 

There are many way cool items attached to this thread. Made me grab my camera and get some pics of the stuff I've acquired over the years. The RR Xing signs and the switch throw were Christmas gifts from my oldest. He missed out on a motorized inspection car by two weeks. The guy who owned it, gave it away!

Don

NJCJoe, Thanks for letting me know what that key was for.

The boiler pressure gauge from N&W Y6a #2164. It was given to my Grandfather as a retirement gift. The engine number is written in chalk on the back. It now resides in my train room. 

Gilly

Prior to 1933, if a bank met certain requirements of U.S. banking laws they could become a chartered bank and have the Bureau of Printing and Engraving print U.S. money with an ad for their bank on the front.  In addition to the ad, the bill included the banks charter number and the signatures of the key bank officers. Among paper money collectors this currency issue is known as "National Currency".  During the first quarter of the 20th Century a number of railroad brotherhoods opened banks which met the criteria for charter status.  Below is an example of the last National Bank Note series from one of these railroad brotherhood banks - The Engineers National Bank of Boston Massachusetts charter number 12540.

Here's a selection of annual reports not often seen. From top to bottom we have the 1917 report of the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad along with the 1922 reports of the Third Avenue Railway Company and Ulster & Delaware Railroad.

Bob 

This is a great thread.  I believe there should be a separate forum for this.  there has been alot of interesting items shown.  Robert, you have a rare note there, really nice condition and a low serial number too.  Here is one of my favorite railroad signs, it would be on a station platform to warn people when trains pass.

Here is a little of what I have.

Thanks to all for continuing to share your wonderful items.

Here are a few more volumes from the pile of annual reports. From top to bottom we have the 1928 New York Central, 1941 NYC (note the image of the re-equipped Empire State Express equipment on the cover as it debuted on December 7th of that year), 1949 NYC, 1959 Reading, 1965 Reading and 1966 Morristown & Erie reports.

Bob 

Railroads vigorously promoted the attributes of points and attractions along their systems to increase passenger ridership. Not sparing any expense, they issued promotional materials which were quite elegant and of very high quality for their day. Thankfully, some of this literature is still with us for us to reflect upon and enjoy. Below we have examples of 1903 New York Central items highlighting the attributes of the Adirondack and Thousand Island regions along with a Delaware & Hudson 1915 brochure for Lake George.

Bob 

Here's a brochure issued by the American Locomotive Company publicizing the delivery of New Haven's DL-109 units to the railroad. While the DL-109 was ordered by several roads, it became synonymous with the New Haven as the NH truly maximized utilization of its units, assigning them to freight trains when not needed for passenger service.

Bob 

I have these former Adirondack logging items. The sign Is real. The caboose is not.

The Caboose is truckless on the former R.O.W. it would have run on. I built it myself based on Photos and a Keystone O-scale model of the caboose that ran on this RR blown up to full scale. My neighbor milled the wood for me. It took me about five summers to build. There are still some projects to work out.