Deggesty Jim, label it! and describe its use.
Jim, label it! and describe its use.
Think a mass of cotton thread. Once used on the RR to pack journal boxes, wipe down anything. It is also the best "begger-lice" magnet you have ever seen!!!
BTW, I sold an entire box of Pullman soap bars years ago on ebay.
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Probably the oddest is some cloth headrest covers from ESPEE, that I inherited from my dad.
Jeff B
Ha ha... when I posted above, I had misread the subject line as "Oldest" not "Oddest"... sorry. But I also forgot to mention what is probably the "Oddest" of my stuff...
A friend gave me a napkin from a diner, that he found amongst his Grandfather's effects. It is embroidered with "1949 C. M. ST. P. & P. RY. 1949" across the center. I had it mounted behind glass for display and to keep it clean.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Now how did I forget this?
Again, I really don't think it's odd, but it IS unusual. It's a four inch section of rail from the old Public Service Hudson River trolley line that ran from the aforementioned river to Paterson NJ, abandoned around 1940. The old right of way is now one of the secondary access roads to the Garden State Plaza shopping mall and some track was uncovered during road construction a few years back. I got it from the Fritz Behnke Paramus Historical Museum, they've got sections of it they sell in their gift shop.
Neat little museum, open 1 to 5 on Sundays. It's on Paramus Road in Paramus NJ. www.ParamusHistoricalMuseum.com
Not odd, but totally unique - a 'badge' worn by one of my ancestors that participated in the parade that celebrated the 'Laying of the First Stone' of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, July 4, 1828.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
car knocker:Regarding your ticket on the Ohio and Mississippi....from where to where if you dont mind my asking.
Ed
It's not mine but our volunteer group for the Cuyahaga Valley RR has a working Mars light. We set it up and turn it on for certain events every year.
I had a pair of crossbucks with flashers (legally obtained by my brother-in-law), which I donated to the local NRHS chapter.
I once sent a railfan friend of mine a signed toilet seat paper cover from a crewpack. (unused, of course).
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
I have some paint chips off of CNW 4160. Found them on the ground and walkways of the unit. Museum volunteers said I was actually doing them a favor by taking them.
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
Two of the oddest items that I have are a spike and a tie plate. The spike is an 1892 Jeffery spike purchased at the Colorado Railroad Museum gift shop in 1967. The tie plate was given to me by a friend and it is from the Des Moines Valley. It doesn't look anything like a modern tie plate.
Ken Vandevoort
BaltACD Not odd, but totally unique - a 'badge' worn by one of my ancestors that participated in the parade that celebrated the 'Laying of the First Stone' of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, July 4, 1828.
This-is-incredible! A "silent witness" to the birth of "The Mother Road."
Treasure it Mr. Balt, as I'm sure you do. It's like a battlefield pick-up from Gettysburg, except it represents something con-structive instead of de-structive.
I have a clear glass lantern from the Chicago&Alton in almost unused condition.
I have:
A tie plate and spike from the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee, picked up when the line was dismantled at the Edison Court station in Waukegan, IL
A 9 inch section of streetcar rail excavated from a street in downtown Pittsburgh
A NYC kerosene switch stand lamp removed from the Cincinnati yards in the 1960s
A commemorative binder presented to a retiring B&O traffic department executive in 1957, with photos, letters, business cards and reminiscences of fellow B&O execs and railroad customers.
I also have a three foot length of rail that is broken on both ends' not cut. It has a strange ware pattern, like a rolled over edge on both the gauge and field side of the rail.
it has the marking of carnegie 1898 et 11.
Firelock76 BaltACD Not odd, but totally unique - a 'badge' worn by one of my ancestors that participated in the parade that celebrated the 'Laying of the First Stone' of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, July 4, 1828. This-is-incredible! A "silent witness" to the birth of "The Mother Road." Treasure it Mr. Balt, as I'm sure you do. It's like a battlefield pick-up from Gettysburg, except it represents something con-structive instead of de-structive.
My Grandfather even spelled out the lineage of family from the individual that wore the badge up to himself, I have yet to update it beyond my Grandfather, as both he and my father have passed.
I have an odd (for railfans) collecting interest which is associated with railfan collecting because I spent my entire career working in the railroad supply business doing rail control systems computer programming. Back in 1974 I installed a hump yard system for the then new BNRR in Minneapolis and then about 20 years later replaced it with a new system. Well as a computer programmer back in the early 80's as they had almost disappeared overnight on new computers, I started collecting the swith and lamp diagnostic consoles or "front panels" from old computers. As I was working in the rail industry a number of them in my collection came out of railroad environments. That original Minneapolis system, for Northtown Yard, had a redundant pair of process control computers designed by GE, the GE-PAC (process automation computer) 4010. I now have the panels from both of these machines. Late in 2104 I put together a small display for one of the montly meetings of our local railroad museum (RGVRRM) celebrating the 40th anniversary of this yard. Here's a photo of that display and a photo I took back in fall 74 in the computer room.
A spike from the Allegheny Portage Railroad (1832 - 1854). My family is from Portage PA and came across it while exploring in the woods many years ago.
A 3-4 foot long section of rail from the now gone Minnesota Zephyr tourist line. I think the date stamp is 1905. I asked a crew member removing the track if I could buy a section with a reciept to show its not stolen and he said no. I told him how much of a rail fan I was. One day I came out to my truck and this short piece was next to it,,, so in the bed of my truck it went. If I leave Stillwater I will donate it to the local museum. The ROW which has since been turned into a trail is next to the apt I live in. The trail gets a LOT of use. It was the 1st line going into Stillwater built to the north end of town in late 1870. Then the last mile was laid in the spring of 1871.
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
Yesterday, I was in one of our local antique stores. One guy, whom I know and just retired last year from the railroad, had some folders with various bits of paperwork. One folder contained, among other items, 6 train orders from the South Austrailian Railways. You don't often see things like that in the middle of Iowa.
Now, it ranks in my oddest (meaning something rarely seen or available) items category. Other things would be a rivet from the original Kate Shelley High Bridge (they were selling them a few years ago when the bridge had some work done), a recording from the RI's dispatcher's phone, and a RI block signal.
Jeff
When The Rock went bust several of us got permission to enter the El Reno yard to photograph the engines stored there. While there I found a burn pit that had a lot of manuals, packs of unopened forms, all sorts of flimsies, and two hard hats. Needless to say, they are in my collection.
A cam gear tooth from CR 1625, a GP15-1. A long story I wrote about in my blog, if you want the details. The Conrail golf ball is pretty neat, too, actually. I used to have some Conrail boxers. That may have been the most unusual..
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
oltmannd I used to have some Conrail boxers. That may have been the most unusual..
There has to be a joke in there somewhere, but I can't think of one to do it justice. I did fine a Conrail Quality information systems drinking glass at the local goodwill.
zugmann oltmannd I used to have some Conrail boxers. That may have been the most unusual.. There has to be a joke in there somewhere, but I can't think of one to do it justice. I did fine a Conrail Quality information systems drinking glass at the local goodwill.
My 15th aniversary "gift" from Conrail was a set of glass beer mugs with the Conrail logo in them.
zugmann I did find a Conrail Quality information systems drinking glass at the local Goodwill.
Hey, I could replace the one my wife broke! Trade you a Naval Special Warfare Systems holiday glass for it?
OvermodHey, I could replace the one my wife broke! Trade you a Naval Special Warfare Systems holiday glass for it?
PM me. We can deal.
I just thought of something else, although it may be a bit of a stretch.
It's my commission as a Marine First Lieutenant from 1977 signed by then navy secretary W. Graham Claytor. Not being a railfan at the time aside from being "Mr. Secretary" I had no idea who Graham Claytor was or his railroading background, much less his connection with the Southern and Norfolk-Southern steam programs. I sure know now!
Even though I wasn't a railfan I always loved steam engines. I really treasure that commission signed by one of my (now) heroes.
The oddest railroadania I have:1). 20' long stainless steel name board from a New Haven parlor.
2). Pair of valve rocker arms from an Alco S-4 539T.
3). US&S searchlight signal (without the relay, unfortunately).
4). Diesel fuel tank cap (w/ chain).
5). Rotary space saver telephone from a New Haven tower (and it works!).
Paul A. Cutler III
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