JeffPo's Miscellaneous Railroad Items Page
Last update: 12/16/09
Although my main interest in railroad memorabilia has been focused on the lantern and lamp, there are many other collectible items associated with the railroad. You would be amazed at what people collect. There's silverware and china from the passenger trains. There's timetables and tickets from the train stations. There's various uniforms and insignia that the railroad workers wore. The list goes on and on. If there's an item that is associated with the railroad, there is a group of people that like to collect it. Visit any railroad show and you'll be overwhelmed by the displays.
This webpage will show you various other items I have collected that are somehow connected to the railroad industry. While it might not be as extensive as my lantern webpage, it still conveys my fascination and love of railroads.
Jump to Documents (coming soon)
No one can think of the railroad without thinking of whistles and horns. They were used as a means of communication and warning. Locomotives are required to sound a warning at each railroad crossing.
Here's
an example of a brass whistle used on a diesel locomotive. It's about
3 inches tall. Called a "dead man's whistle", it was used in the cab
of the locomotive as a "wake up" kind of device. To prevent run away
trains because of sleeping engineers, various measures were put into place
that required some kind of action. For example, a peddle or button
had to be pushed every so often. If the peddle or button wasn't pushed,
this whistle would sound.
Before the invention of radio and telephones, fast communication was accomplished by the telegraph. The railroads used telegraphs to send train schedules, freight information, etc. It was an effective communication device that was used well into the 20th century, by the railroad, military, and other industries.
Here you see a telegraph sounder and key. The sounder is on the
left and the key is on the right. I've mounted them onto the same board.
You can find some, called a KOB, that were manufactured this way for
training purposes. The key is depressed, it closes the circuit
and sends current to the sounder. The coils of the sounder (those round
things) basically form an electromagnetic that pulls down the black bar that
is over them. This causes the armature (the silver looking bar) to
strike the frame, creating a sound. When the circuit is broken (by
releasing the key) the armature returns to its original position, striking
the upper bolt that it normally rest against, producing another sound. The
two sounds are slightly different, like a click & clack, or click &
clunk. These sounds were used in the form of Morse code to construct
a message.
Sometimes the railroads sent documents that were confidential in nature. These were meant to be seen and read only by the person or group they were being sent to. To ensure the confidentiality, and to verify that they had not been tampered with, the envelopes and correspondence were sealed with wax. A stick of a special wax was heated over a flame and allowed to drop onto the envelop, forming a puddle. Then the seal was pressed into the wax. The wax would bond with the paper fibers. To open the envelop, the wax seal would have to be broken.
A wax seal on a letter from Loudoun Castle, Galston East Ayrshire, Scotland
Wax seals have been around for hundreds of years. Not only did they provide a measure of confidentiality, but a wax seal could also be a stamp of authenticity. They were used on a variety of documents from legal decrees to land deeds.
Wax seals are no longer used in an official capacity, but rather as decoration or fun. People may use them on wedding or party invitations. Most wax sticks already have a wick so you don't have to hold it over a separate flame. There's even a "wax" made for hot glue guns. You can even buy stick-on rubber/plastic "wax" seals to place on letters, to give it the appearance of a old style wax seal. The advantage of the hot glue gun material and the stick-on seals are that they are flexible and can actually be sent through the modern mail system without worrying about it breaking like a real wax seal would do.
Jump to Pennsylvania Railroad wax seal
Jump to Adams Express Company wax seal
Jump to Erie City Iron Works wax seal
Pennsylvania Railroad wax seal
This is an image of a wax seal from the Pennsylvania Railroad. The wooden handle is about 4 inches tall. The base is made of brass.
This is an image of the impression that Pennsylvania Railroad wax seal makes. The image is mirrored so that it is readable. Hot wax would be dropped onto the envelope, then pressed down with the seal. The wax bonds with the paper fibers as it makes the impression. To open the envelope, you would have to break the wax or rip the paper.
Adams Express Company wax seal
This is an image of a wax seal from the Adams Express Company. The metal handle is about 3 inches high, and the base is made of brass.
This is an image of the impression that Adams Express Company wax seal makes. The image is mirrored so that it is readable.
The Adams company was originally started in 1839 by Alvin Adams. In the early 1900s, the company was a large stock owner in the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New Haven Railroad. This particular wax seal probably dates from the late 1800s. In July of 1918, Adams Express, along with other companies, was consolidated into a new company called The American Railway Express Agency.
Initial
St. Davids station. Image from Radnor
Historical Society Collection
This wax sealer came from the Erie City Iron Works company. The handle is wooden, and the entire seal is about 3 3/4" tall.
It is marked with THE ERIE CITY IRON WORKS, and ERIE, PA. This is a mirror image for better viewing.
While this is not a railroad company, its history is so rich that I could not pass it up. And it did have ties to the surrounding railroads, providing supplies and other materials. The company specialized in boilers and steam engines. Its steam engines powered drills, saws, tractors, and other machinery. The company was founded as the Presque Isle Factory in 1840, by Vincent, Himrod & Co. They changed their name in 1851 to the Erie City Iron Works. A lot of those that went on to work for the big railroads such as the Pennsylvania Railroad got their apprentice work at the Erie City Iron Works.
An Erie City Iron Works steam engine played a central role in the first oil well. I think we’re all familiar with story of Colonel Edwin L. Drake and his oil well in Titusville, PA. I actually made a model of the oil well in one of my social studies classes.
Drake's oil well. Drake is on the right, in the top hat.
They struck oil on August 27, 1859, and ushered in the birth of the oil industry. Oil would later provide lubricates for the railroad, as well as kerosene for their lanterns. This oil drilling well, the first in history, was driven by a steam engine from the Erie City Iron Works company. Incidentally, Drake himself had previously worked for the railroad as a clerk, express agent, and conductor.
Hudson River tunnel
In 1880, a grand railroading engineering feat was being attempted. The Hudson Tunnel Railroad was trying to build a tunnel under the Hudson River in New York. The Erie City Iron Works company fabricated the tunnel rings used for the project.
The workers were tunneling without an excavation shield, relying instead on compressed air to maintain the tunnel’s form. They had tunneled about 1200 feet out from the Jersey City side of the river when a blowout caused a roof collapse which flooded the tunnel and killed twenty workers. The stalled project didn’t resume construction again until 1902, with the tunnels becoming operational in 1907.
Other Railroad Related Pages On My Site
Wax sealers, telegraph, whistle (current webpage)
