Railroadiana Items In Your Collection

A little something for the narrow gauge enthusiasts.  For some reason my 92-year old mother had these (Portland) Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad tickets tucked away in her dining room buffet, so I naturally snagged them.  They are interesting because one says "Founding Member" and the other says "Very Important Person".  I wonder if my parents contributed to the railroad's initial startup and got these as a result?  They were friends with the couple whom I believed owned the building where the cars are stored and I see that the husband signed one of them.   I got to ride this short narrow gauge railroad with my parents and extended family in 1995 and hope to get back soon before they move inland and further north to Gray.

Too bad. It's presently at a great location.  Anybody been a "guest engineer" on their 23-ton switcher?

http://mainenarrowgauge.org - Maine Narrow Gauge RR Co. and Museum

Tomlinson Run Railroad

First of all, NJCJOE is definitely the railroadiana collectibles champ, no contest!    I do own my own railroad depot on the  former Graham County Rail Road in Western North Carolina, and also a pre-WW I solid oak  ticket box complete with ten metal chutes and ceramic balls. It has a rolltop cover with a lock, and has a number of original tickets in the dispensing chutes! The tracks were removed in 1987, but the abutments for the bridge over Bear Creek are still on my property. The depot is known as Bear Creek Junction and that it how it reads on my deed.

Tinplate Art posted:

First of all, NJCJOE is definitely the railroadiana collectibles champ, no contest!   

 

.......Says the guy that owns a depot and RR land.

That's pretty modest

 

   .(....."I do own my own railroad depot on the  former Graham County Rail Road. in Western North Carolina, and also a pre-WW I solid oak  ticket box complete with ten metal chutes and ceramic balls. It has a rolltop cover with a lock, and has a number of original tickets in the dispensing chutes! The tracks were removed in 1987, but the abutments for the bridge over Bear Creek are still on my property. The depot is known as Bear Creek Junction and that it how it reads on my deed.")

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

A little something for the narrow gauge enthusiasts.  For some reason my 92-year old mother had these (Portland) Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad tickets tucked away in her dining room buffet, so I naturally snagged them.  They are interesting because one says "Founding Member" and the other says "Very Important Person".  I wonder if my parents contributed to the railroad's initial startup and got these as a result?  They were friends with the couple whom I believed owned the building where the cars are stored and I see that the husband signed one of them.   I got to ride this short narrow gauge railroad with my parents and extended family in 1995 and hope to get back soon before they move inland and further north to Gray.

Too bad. It's presently at a great location.  Anybody been a "guest engineer" on their 23-ton switcher?

http://mainenarrowgauge.org - Maine Narrow Gauge RR Co. and Museum

Tomlinson Run Railroad

 

Ahh, The Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum. I was lucky to be there in the 1990's and got a grand tour of the equipment. Great little steam locomotives. 

I picked up this boxcar seal from the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway a few years ago. That narrow gauge line ran from 1895 to 1933, finally abandoned in 1936. More recently, approximately 2 miles of track have been restored with the non-profit Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum which operates near Alna, Maine.

Tom 

Not meaning to leave out the Pennsy...

Tom 

Here are some photos of the restoration of my Reading station bench. This came from the Manville, NJ station. My father-in-law's friend had it. His grandfather got it from the station in 1959.

Neat bench, love that!

Here is a picture of the bench in front of the original station.

That's a very cool station photo.

I'd want to find or even make a lamp like that for near the bench too 

I bought the same style of bench, sans-armrests, many years ago, and fixed it up. But it was stolen off my porch one day while I was at work.

I hate thieves with good taste

Reason number 116 to have children:

Can be used to help increase your duty free liquor shipped back to the US!

Check this 1950s era Railway Express Agency brochure I just picked up. Each member of the family (adults and children) were allowed up to 5 bottles of liquor each! You did have to be either 18 or 21 to receive the package (depending on what state you lived in). 

Attached are scans of bother sides of the brochure. Nice prices too!

Finally got around to polishing my PRR bell. The bell was originally installed on an E6 Atlantic and was later moved to a B6 switcher. This is what it looked like before I started.

This is what it looked like after I finished the sanding process.

After the final polishing she was back to being shiny.

And here it it is clear coated and back in the repainted stand.

Joe,

 Very nice. How does it sound? I bet pretty sweet.

Tom 

Joe, nice bell and bench. I found this in pieces in the woods behind my sister in law's house two towns south of here. I don't know its history, but I plan to replace the wood and repaint it. It will sit outside the switchman shanty in the Ashley Minors' Memorial Park. 

MNCW posted:

Joe,

 Very nice. How does it sound? I bet pretty sweet.

Tom 

Makes an awesome sound. 

Joe, great looking bell.  Did you use a buffing wheel on a drill?  We're most bells used by RR companies brass

I first sanded the bell with various grades of sandpaper, 220 to 1000 gtit, with a DA sander. I then buffed it with a angle grinder with a buffing wheel attached. I used three different buffing wheels with three grades of buffing compound.

Most steam bells were made of brass/bronze. There were some made of steel during the war due to the shortage of brass.

This is probably one of the more esoteric pieces of memorabilia I have. On the left is a Western Cullen Hayes electronic highway crossing bell, and on the right is a battered Lionel #154 Automatic Road Crossing Signal that I've had for 60 years or so. The crossing bell is marked W-C-H 110-A-16, and operates on 6 volts DC. I don't know what amperage it draws. The friend I got it from operated it using a 6 volt garden tractor battery. I plan on mounting it under the layout and operating it in conjunction with the Lionel crossing signal. (It always bugged me that the Lionel signal didn't have its own ringer, unlike the #155 I have.) I'll need to figure out the circuitry for that. 

Alternatively, my wife said I could wire it into the doorbell circuit, but our current doorbell drives the cats wild as it is, so I don't think that would be wise. 

This is a switch light I found in York years ago, I never saw too many stainless steel lights.

An EMD fuel injector for a 567 engine, possibly from a GP7 circa 1952, but the 645 versions looked similar.

Over-stamped letters probably indicate a rebuilt version with newer components. Lots of these were spares/surplus in 1980 when I got it.

NJCJOE posted:

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

 

 

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Just rip it out of the ground. I'm sure they'd care for a little while and then forget about it.

That was a thought........

I have these on my front porch, I'm going to light the signal I have all the thing's to do it .

Guy

Very cool Guy. Most of my switch lamps are lit as well as this signal that sits in front of the garage.

some P&LE door seals, tie nails, and a few PRR items.

I collect mostly railroad lanterns.  That's been my main passion.  But I do have a handful of other items such as wax seals, locks, baggage tags, etc.

http://www.jeffpolston.com/lantern.htm

This is a great thread.  So much eye candy.

It's mostly Santa Fe memorabilia in our collection.  Too much to post here.  But these are a few of my favorites:

Scout Sign:

El Capitan Hi-Level wall decoration:

Santa Fe China collection:

Lounge car themed train room:

More on this room can be seen here: https://ogrforum.com/t...ly=45918751373027568

If you'd like to see more of our collection, here is a link to a photo website of our train memorabilia:

Train Memorabilia

a deck of SP playing cards...

JeffPo posted:

I collect mostly railroad lanterns.  That's been my main passion.  But I do have a handful of other items such as wax seals, locks, baggage tags, etc.

http://www.jeffpolston.com/lantern.htm

 

Jeff,

I have seen your website before. Very nice. Welcome to the Forum.

Some more shots around the yard. Most of these have probably been posted at one point or another before but in case anybody missed them here they are.

NJCJOE posted:

JeffPo posted:

I collect mostly railroad lanterns.  That's been my main passion.  But I do have a handful of other items such as wax seals, locks, baggage tags, etc.

http://www.jeffpolston.com/lantern.htm

 

Jeff,

I have seen your website before. Very nice. Welcome to the Forum.

Thanks!  It's a labor of love.  I'm trying to get a layout going for my model trains.  I've got a room for it, but it's full of junk at the moment.  Don't really have much time to follow forums and such, but I'll pop out here from time to time.  I'm currently going through the many, many pages of posts so you may see me resurrecting some old ones.   

And some more.

One more set.

NJCJOE posted:

One more set.

Holy moly!  You've got a LOT of BIG stuff!  Neat!

Joe,
Do you know why your milepost has two different numbers? Here is a clue.

Western Maryland shovel &hammer, and B&O shovel, CSX modern lantern.  PRR lantern, Milwaukee Road lantern with red globe, Conrail hard hat. Spike removers, jack, E Bell. And hopefully one day a Nathan K5LLA

Big Jim posted:

Joe,
Do you know why your milepost has two different numbers? Here is a clue.

Yes. this is a PRR mile post. One number, in this case the 8, was how many miles it was to Belvidere, NJ and the other number, 30, was how many miles to Trenton, NJ.

Jim, where is your milepost from?

3 lanterns, 2 NYC and 1 M&StL.  2 sets of Chessie playing cards I found in the attic last summer.  An RPO employee ID card given to me years ago by the man whom it was issued to.  An N&W rulebook from the late 70's.  Too many spikes to count.  And a large cinder, dropped east of Akron in 1993 by the 2765.

I have a few lanterns, a switch lamp, and some rulebooks etc.  A friend, however, has more railroad stuff in his house than some museums I've been in.  Lanterns, number boards, several bookshelves' worth of paper, a B&O dwarf signal, full set of crossbucks & flashers, marker lamps, you name it.  Sorry I don't have any pics, it's impressive to say the least.

I was fortunate to find an old typewriter  desk, where I build my models. The middle swings up out of the way, where I keep the beginnings of some telegraph equipment.

NJCJOE posted:

One more set.

Hey Joe!

Thought you would enjoy this. It is from Dick Hafer's book, "This is NOT the homeymoon I anticipated."

ALAN

That cartoon is not far from the truth. That's something I'd do......short of stealing.

Southwest Chief posted:

...

Santa Fe China collection:

 

 ...

Southwest Chief,

I'd tead and enjoyed your previous post of your fine lounge but I especially like how you presented your RR china -- an interest of mine.  Great job showcasing some nice pieces and the supporting documentation adds color and interest. 

Tomlinson Run Railroad

TomlinsonRunRR posted:

Southwest Chief,

...I especially like how you presented your RR china -- an interest of mine.  Great job showcasing some nice pieces and the supporting documentation adds color and interest. 

Appreciate that. 

Over the years collecting, it was sometimes harder to find the corresponding brochures than the china pieces.

We've updated the china collection since that photo was taken...so here's a new photo:

Here are links to full size photo versions:

Photo Link 1

Photo Link 2

NJCJOE posted:

Big Jim posted:

Joe,
Do you know why your milepost has two different numbers? Here is a clue.

Yes. this is a PRR mile post. One number, in this case the 8, was how many miles it was to Belvidere, NJ and the other number, 30, was how many miles to Trenton, NJ.

Jim, where is your milepost from?

Across the river from Natural Bridge Station on the Roanoke District of the Shenandoah Div. The mileposts were turned over and a single milepost was painted on that end. The end was painted black with the MP # painted in white. You can see the edge of the black that is now buried in the dirt.

Alan Rogers posted:

Hey Joe!

Thought you would enjoy this. It is from Dick Hafer's book, "This is NOT the homeymoon I anticipated."

 

ALAN

That is great!!!!!

New addition.

Joe,  that is a really awesome sign !!!

Bought this Lackawanna Time table brochure. July 5 1951

Here's one item of a bunch of real train items I own. Take a guess what railroad used this type of configuration of horn? Also, guess what horn this is? Who makes these horns? And harder question, what horn bell numbers are these? I know Hot Water will know, but I like other people to see if they get it. The first person that response to all the questions and gets them right, I will post the video on here of what it sounds like. When you hear it, it sounds kind of similar to a 5 chime.

Anybody have anything new to show?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Something I recently unpacked - nice it had piece of paper inside with a photo of where it went on the train.

That's a really nice light.  It's nice to have a picture of it in service. I have an old AS&TF Mail sign from a station that I am trying really hard to find a picture of...

Another new horn. A Nathan New Cast P3.

Picked up this conductor's lantern manufactured by Dayton. This particular model is called "The Globe" due to the unique shape of the globe.

That is awesome. With the plating I assume they were produced as gifts or special sal item.

The brass or nickel plated lanterns were used by conductors and because they were seen by the public the railroads wanted to make a good impression by having them use the nicer lanterns. They were also used as presentation lanterns for retiring railroad employees.

Here is another new item. This is a Lehigh Valley mile marker. This particular one came from Depew, NY near Niagara Junction. The LV used old boiler flue pipes for some of their sign posts such as this one.

Alan Rogers posted:

Lenny the Lion posted:

That cartoon is not far from the truth. That's something I'd do......short of stealing.

I have seen so many cases where people have indeed stolen stuff, it's not even funny. I was at a show in Maryland many years ago where a vendor had a stack of signs for a local light rail, all brand new. Someone was looking them over and said he worked for that rail operation and was surprised these were for sale as he'd seen them going up just a couple of weeks before. The table guy said, "Yeah, I saw a stack of them lying next to some poles, on the ground next to a grade crossing last month, so I saved them." This was before cell phones in every hand, otherwise the employee would have called the RR cops, I think. He was less than amused.

Any 1:1 scale train collector has heard mention of stealing some RR property, “so some thief doesn’t make off with it”. People like that really think there’s a difference somehow!

Reminds me of someone who I heard trolled collector and antique shows in the New England states in the 80s and 90s, would claim he was a RR cop and that he was ‘taking back stolen property,’ to include stuff from the steam era (because, he’d say, it’s still stolen even if it’s out of date) and would threaten people with jail if they didn’t hand stuff over. Nobody seemed to question that some vendors would often tell him to come back with a warrant (or pound sand) with no repercussions. He made the mistake of doing that to a vendor who was a REAL cop on the Northeast Corridor and things got ugly, instantly. I would have loved to have been there for that!

Just finished the restoration on this motor car signal. More info on these signals can be found here.

http://www.trainweb.org/signals/wayside1.htm

NJCJOE,  Very nice.  Those signals are new to me, so thanks for the link.  It would seem that they are mostly housing.  The semaphore (?) arm seems small in contrast. In fact, looking at your background, it looks small in general.  I wonder what their useful visibility was like "in the wild". DO you know where it was used?

Interesting find; nice restoration. 

TRRR

I don't know where this particular one came from. It is a smaller type signal, approximately 12" across. Since they were used for motor car signalling, the size was adequate. Motor cars were slow moving with personnel close to the ground. 

Here is a patch from the PRR Keystone Rifle Club.

Many CTA items related to my service ie motorman, conductor, flagman, and switchman -frozen classification.

A few special items as well. 

How about some CNJ items.

First three CRR of NJ lanterns with marked globes, two cast and one etched.

Here is a with hat with a CNJ Deckhand badge.

Next a couple of CRR of NJ uniform buttons.

Here are some early CNJ passes (1894-1907).

Next is a Jersey Central mail handler badge.

The last item is a brochure for the Blue Comet.

I have a Railroad Jack, I guess they were used to get track back to gauge? My dad used a larger one to jack up our cars & trucks when he was working on them. Mine is slightly smaller than that one. We were at a warehouse clearing out sale and I saw it and remarked to my girlfriend about dad having one. She bought it for me! It was only $45.00 and shows use. We used to have rail traffic here in Alameda and a rail yard, so this might be from the area. It has a slight bend on the base, showing it was well used. I have to clean it up and give it a good greasing. I also have some SP In house  magazines from the 1940's and Misc items.

Here is a shot of my switch lantern from the NYC, it was used on the main line x-overs at Willow Run, Mich.  I light it with a 25watt bulb.

Marty,

Time for some new updates.

Picked up this two-sided PRR destination sign.

Here is an old IRT (platform pillar) single-sided subway sign, circa 1910, probably from IRT W.34th Street - PENN.  STA., manufactured by LD Nelke.

Detective work provided by the great Joe Frank, fellow Mt. St. Michael (Bronx high school) graduate. I picked up the subway sign from the White Plains (NY) Toy & Train Show back in January. The best $45 I ever spent. 

Tom 

NJCJOE posted:

How about some CNJ items.

First three CRR of NJ lanterns with marked globes, two cast and one etched.

 

Here is a with hat with a CNJ Deckhand badge.

 

Next a couple of CRR of NJ uniform buttons.

 

Here are some early CNJ passes (1894-1907).

 

Next is a Jersey Central mail handler badge.

 

The last item is a brochure for the Blue Comet.

Nice stuff, Joe--especially the lanterns and Blue Comet photos!

This is an awesome topic, thanks to all that posted their collections!

Paul

Also recently picked up this set of marker lamps.

I've always like these block signal indicators. Even though it is English and I don't usually collect foreign railroadiana, I just think is has a neat look so I decided to get one. Haven't decided if I want to completely restore it or leave it as is.

that looks great as is Joe.

Bangor & Aroostook engineer's cap                              CNJ lantern--hard to see, but "CRRNJ" is etched on the glass

NYC lantern--"NYCRR" cast in the glass                          Switch lantern

PRR lamp I picked up at York a few years ago

NJCJOE posted:

Time for some new updates.

Picked up this two-sided PRR destination sign.

Where in the Sam Hill did you find that sign? I've been trying to find PRR memorabilia from New Brunswick NJ for years. (My hometown) Lucky you. 

RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:

NJCJOE posted:

Time for some new updates.

Picked up this two-sided PRR destination sign.

Where in the Sam Hill did you find that sign? I've been trying to find PRR memorabilia from New Brunswick NJ for years. (My hometown) Lucky you. 

I have many happy memories of the New Brunswick station. I grew up in Somerville & Bridgewater, and my Dad and I would often go to NB to watch the trains go through. What a thrill to see the Metroliner and GG1s speed through. Trips to NB always included a stop at Steve Varga's Hobby Shop too--he & Dad were good friends. 

RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:

NJCJOE posted:

Time for some new updates.

Picked up this two-sided PRR destination sign.

Where in the Sam Hill did you find that sign? I've been trying to find PRR memorabilia from New Brunswick NJ for years. (My hometown) Lucky you. 

I picked up the sign at the train show in Clark, NJ this past weekend.

NJCJOE posted:

RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:

NJCJOE posted:

Time for some new updates.

Picked up this two-sided PRR destination sign.

Where in the Sam Hill did you find that sign? I've been trying to find PRR memorabilia from New Brunswick NJ for years. (My hometown) Lucky you. 

I picked up the sign at the train show in Clark, NJ this past weekend.

Lucky you. I was about to go that show. Well good find on your part. 

BlueComet400 posted:

RaritanRiverRailroadFan4 posted:

NJCJOE posted:

Time for some new updates.

Picked up this two-sided PRR destination sign.

Where in the Sam Hill did you find that sign? I've been trying to find PRR memorabilia from New Brunswick NJ for years. (My hometown) Lucky you. 

I have many happy memories of the New Brunswick station. I grew up in Somerville & Bridgewater, and my Dad and I would often go to NB to watch the trains go through. What a thrill to see the Metroliner and GG1s speed through. Trips to NB always included a stop at Steve Varga's Hobby Shop too--he & Dad were good friends. 

Heh, I never thought anyone would mention that name again. I wasn't alive during its time, but my father and uncles remember Steve's very fondly. NB really hasn't changed all that much.. Except for the Raritan River and subsequently Conrail leaving town.. If your ever in the area, I recommend a restaurant called Tumulty's. Train themed Irish pub.. But my father also took me to watch trains as a child. I've talked long enough. Send me an email so we can talk more if you like.

I picked this Michigan Central oil can up on Ebay yesterday.  I've been using a Santa Fe can I bought a few years ago when I qualified to run at work, but I've been wanting an example from a local road.  Can't get any more local than this since the former Michigan Central mainline to Chicago runs right outside our fence.  It'll go well with my LS&MS lantern as well as my other NYC lantern that I occasionally use when we have switching moves to do at night.

According to the Ebay listing, the family of the former owner who's estate it came from, said he was a Michigan Central engineer.

Nice find Jake.

Some random shots around the train room.

Joe, Very nice. I've seen you post pictures of your room before and always enjoy how you have things displayed...who made the CNJ Camelback loco?

Tom

MNCW posted:

Joe, Very nice. I've seen you post pictures of your room before and always enjoy how you have things displayed...who made the CNJ Camelback loco?

Tom

 

Thanks Tom. That was the latest one from MTH.

NJCJOE posted:

Nice find Jake.

Thanks!

A few more around the room.

outstanding Joe!

The neon sign that hung above the door to my parents tavern in the 1940's and 50's. It now resides in my train room.

NYS&W Semaphore from Main St. Station Hackensack, NJ

I picked up this clock about a year and a half ago. It has spent the last 14 months at the clock maker getting her back to running condition. This is a self winding clock from approximately 1910. These clocks hung in the PRR train stations and would self wind themselves every hour via a dry cell battery inside. These slave clocks were also connected to a master clock at a remote location. Once a day the master clock would send out signal to the slave clocks and they would automatically adjust the time so they were all in sync. This particular clock has the number 117 on the face. Station 117 was the Downingtown, Pa. station.

Joe,

That is a beautiful clock.

I picked up this Pennsy Maintenance of Way Plans manual recently. I've been looking for several years for it.

Tom

Nice find Tom.

Here is the prize in my railroad collection.  Full scale crossing signal.  I also have the proper relay to make them flash.  I have the bell on top of the mast now as well.  Need to take a new picture.  Video link at bottom of page to the signal flashing.  Mike

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IiBhV2P5Lw

I have a 1969 Union Pacific centenial calender hanging in the train room. Great photo on each month page.

Probably doesn't mean anything to anybody else, but I have the pair of American flags carried by American Freedom Train 4449, during the run from Springfield, MO to Saint Louis, MO. They were supposed to be presented to the Mayor of Saint Louis, who never showed up. I removed the two flags (there are photos of me doing it) , and just kept them myself when nobody came to retrieve them.

Good memories from 1975/1976.

Thats cool, and the photo proves where they came from.   Mike

Hot Water posted:

Probably doesn't mean anything to anybody else, but I have the pair of American flags carried by American Freedom Train 4449, during the run from Springfield, MO to Saint Louis, MO. They were supposed to be presented to the Mayor of Saint Louis, who never showed up. I removed the two flags (there are photos of me doing it) , and just kept them myself when nobody came to retrieve them.

Good memories from 1975/1976.

I guess you didn't get in any "hot water" when you took them!

rail posted:

Hot Water posted:

Probably doesn't mean anything to anybody else, but I have the pair of American flags carried by American Freedom Train 4449, during the run from Springfield, MO to Saint Louis, MO. They were supposed to be presented to the Mayor of Saint Louis, who never showed up. I removed the two flags (there are photos of me doing it) , and just kept them myself when nobody came to retrieve them.

Good memories from 1975/1976.

I guess you didn't get in any "hot water" when you took them!

Not at all. The Train Manager, and the Chief Mechanical Officer were both pretty well "peeved" that the Mayor of Saint Louis never show up, nor didn't even send a representative! The media people seemed pretty upset also.

New addition to our collection, a Santa Fe brochure holder:

Link to larger image

It looks nice on our Santa Fe work desk:

Link to larger image