I have a clear glass lantern from the Chicago&Alton in almost unused condition.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 had a pair of crossbucks with flashers (legally obtained by my brother-in-law), which I donated to the local NRHS chapter.
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.
car knocker:Regarding your ticket on the Ohio and Mississippi....from where to where if you dont mind my asking.
Ed
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
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
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.
Probably the oddest is some cloth headrest covers from ESPEE, that I inherited from my dad.
Jeff B
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.
.
The day after the Pennsylvania Railroad's Euclid Avenue (Cleveland) Station collapsed in a heap (June, 1974) I took away a number of terra cotta decorative details; for the past 36 years they have made nice garden ornaments.
I also own the very last train ticket sold in the Cleveland Union Terminal. On the day of the EL's last commuter departure (Jan. 1977?) I went there to watch, only to discover that without a ticket no one was allowed downstairs onto the passenger platform. I asked the conductor, standing at the top of the stairs, for a ticket to E.55th Street, the first stop east. He sold it to me for fifty cents, maybe a dollar, since no one could recall what the fare was to that station!
This ticket is also the last non-Amtrak, non-tourist train ticket sold in Ohio. It's a Conrail ticket and properly punched.
Johnny
"Whats the oddest piece of railroad memoribillia you have?."
A very cherished handfull of "Waste" that I keep in a plastic bag. And, I have a story to go with it. It is strangely magical stuff! No way to date it, no way to prove it, you'll just have to take my word on it, When I die my kids will probably ask "what is this and why did he keep it?"
Among many truly odd things, I have a builder's plate from the German designed truck of an Australian-built diesel railcar belonging to Trans-Adelaide, the transit operator for the capital of the state of South Australia. I found it on the ballast while taking an illegal short cut across the tracks because someone had left the gates open (and the walk up the ramps to the road bridge was about ten times as long). The plate indicated that the trucks had been built by the Public Transport Commission of Victoria (the transit operator for Melbourne, the capital of the adjacent state of Victoria). I hadn't ever suspected that that had happened, and I'd written magazine articles on those railcars....
M636C
I have a bond from The Glens Falls RR Co dated 1869. I also have a coal stove scoop marked Erie Railway, which makes it from 1870 - 1888. I have many pre-1900 itms.
Piece of rail about 8 inches long dated 1881.
Someone goofed and cut off rail btwn date and rolling mill name and month and I found it on the scrap pile.
Nice door stop.
Thank You.
I (actually my wife has) have the exact same Southern Railway recipie box as the original poster. And yes, it contains some of the original SR recipies. I think these date from the late 1960's or 1970's. They were either given away by Southern Railway as promotional items, or perhaps even sold by the railroad as souvenirs. May have been given to employees as a safety award, not sure? But anyway, it is a neat little item.
Let me put in a few items:
1: Used up driver wheel brake shoe from the MCC 4039 a 0-6-0 (given to me by the MCC crew on their exit from Whippany NJ back in the 70's.) Use as a car stop in my garage; big, heavy and don't move.
2: Hand typed operations manual for the Lackawanna electrics (when they were new back in 1930 and thank you Mrs. O for giving it to me years ago)
3: Rail spike from the Rockaway Valley Railroad (given to me by an In-law who lived along the old ROW and found before it was converted to a paved walking trail in the late 70's.)
4: At my wedding, the Conductor who's train I communited to/from Rutgers and of course my wife wanted him at the reception. He presented us with a old brass plate "Passengers are not allowed to stand on the Platform" he restored for us (removed old paint and crud.) This plate use to be on the inside of a coach exit door on old time passenger cars. Thank you Steve P. its still special to us after 33 years!
Honorable Mention:
* Third Ave Railway (TAR) streetcar bell (Saved from the salvage yard in 1946 by a then 16 year old kid who used it for a lifetime before selling on eBay to a good home (a meant to be moment as I was the only bidder.) Continuing on with the tradition of 'wake up the neighborhood' on New Years eve.
* Steel bell from an Amtrak P-42 from eBay (purchased a clapper and activator to make it complete.) Didn't I mention about waking up the neighborhood?
* SP 4-2-0 steam tie clip given to me by an SP Manager during a private tour of the old Houston Union Station. He took it right off of his tie! Texens know how to make a kid happy!
diningcar I had, and gave to the local Historical Society for display in their museum, a 15 inch section of 60# rail with the NCRM II 1887 (North Chicago Rail Mill December 1887) embossing. At my request it was recovered adjacent to my boyhood home from the salvage of Santa Fe's AV District. It had first been installed on a main line and was then 'cascaded' for branch lines when the main line was relayed with heavier rail.
I had, and gave to the local Historical Society for display in their museum, a 15 inch section of 60# rail with the NCRM II 1887 (North Chicago Rail Mill December 1887) embossing. At my request it was recovered adjacent to my boyhood home from the salvage of Santa Fe's AV District. It had first been installed on a main line and was then 'cascaded' for branch lines when the main line was relayed with heavier rail.
I too, had some items in a personal collection at home: a Santa Fe kerosene lantern (Clear globe) was out of the Santa Fe station at Erie,Ks ( AT&SF Line from Chanute,Ks to Joplin.Mo) this line was removed in the early 1970's. A couple of ICRR Conductor's Desk Lanterns, with wall mounts, out of an elderly IC 'side-door' pre-1950's Caboose. Now in the collection at Carona Depot and Museum @ http://www.kansastravel.org/caronamuseum.htm
I had enjoyed those items for a long time and, it was time that more could enjoy them as well. I would recommend that donation to area railroad museums that can display and care for the donated items be strongly considered.
I have found a few link and pin coupling pins, but no links, at least not from car couplings. I have found two links apparently from the link and pin coupling of a locomotive to its tender. They are much heavier than car coupling links. One I estimate to be from an engine built circa 1900, and the other is much earlier. The one from 1900 is a heavy casting, and the earlier one is very primitive, forged wrought iron. Both were found in the same vicinity of a steep grade, and both are broken off portions of the whole link. I think of the excitement that these broken links might have caused to a fireman on the deck shoveling coal when a link let go.
The oddest railroad memorabilia I've got, and I don't consider them all that odd, are some track bolts and spikes from the old Colorado Midland. My brother used to live in Divide CO and was walking the old CM right of way, found them and gave them to me. Interesting, they rusted just to a certain point but no farther.
I've got a collection of lanterns but don't consider them odd.
I went into an antique store last year with the question "got any railroad stuff" and the owner brought out a big box of timetables, menus, Pullman pencils, Pullman soap, etc. Obviously the previous owner of the box had worked in railroad commissary service (lots of menus from late 1960s) plus stacks of ATSF individual passenger timetables (such as for Chief).
I purchased a box of soap and probably 50 pencils and a few timetables and menus for $10.
Checked with them about a month ago...box was still there with most everything.
You bought Pullman soap? I have two or three pieces which I had saved when riding in Pullman accommodations. I have told my daughter that I am not going to use them (I also have several small bars from one hotel or another; I do not mind using them). Railroads may have obtained a supply of Pullman soap when they were given the responsibility of maintaining the sleeper service--though the Pullman Company still existed for a time after 12/31/68.
My last Pullman trip was begun the Monday after Thanksgiving of 1968; from Washington to Birmingham. When the conductors came into our bedroom, I handed my transportation to the RF&P conductor and told him that my mother had her transportation (a pass issued by the SCL; she could get it because my father worked for the ACL, in the Tampa shops). Then I gave our space ticket to the Pullman conductor. I think I still have the stub of that ticket.
Several unusual (at least in my opinion):
1. A pipe wrench lettered "NYC".
2. Small bars of soap wrapped with "Pullman"
3. Quite a number of pencils, no erasers, labeled "Pullman"
4. A "Follow the Flag" Wabash mechanical pencil.
5. A complete month of Conrail/Indianapolis Division dispatch sheets...basically the lines from Cleveland to East St. Louis, Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, and branches.
What might seem "odd" is often collectible to others. Any time I step into an antique store, I ask "got any railroad stuff?" That is how I purchased to wrench, soap, and pencils.
RMEDoes it have detailed discussion and perhaps diagrams/pictures of the specific oil-firing equipment installed on the locomotives?
Nothing on the mechanical side - all fire prevention.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
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