Friday Fun: 1940s Radio

One of the things I enjoy most about living in New England is that so much of the past is still around. There are so many places you can visit - from an old seaport village, to the last operating steam-powered cider mill in the US, to even a steam locomotive powered railroad - where it takes very little imagination to convince yourself that you've fallen through a portal and traveled back in time. And all that is just within 20 minutes of my house(!). Christmastime is especially magical, of course, with all the many memories from the past that come flooding back into our minds - whether we actually experienced them first-hand or not.

One example of that is a little shop that pops up in Niantic, CT every Christmas. The coolest thing about this particular shop is that everything is vintage. You really feel like you've stepped back in time to a Christmas store sometime in the 1930s-50s.

There are SO many cool things to see and, of course, buy. But as I was browsing this particular time, I noticed the big band music playing in the background, setting the perfect mood. The coolest thing about it though was that it seemed to actually be coming from some of the old radios that were on the shelves.

There were 1950s vintage Bakelite radios, as well as older wood-veneered radios, all playing the music they would have been playing Way Back When.

Talk about a Twilight Zone moment . . . I thought at first that the shop owners had found an oldies (really old oldies) radio station - until I heard the vintage commercials. Then I was REALLY floored.

As I stepped closer, I realized these little treasures were for sale - and I discovered the secret. They'd been converted to super-cool Bluetooth speakers(!) So you could use them to broadcast anything you want!

I found one in particular that looked cool and The Missus (wise woman that she is) reminded me that, although Christmas shopping was done, I still had a birthday coming up. Suffice it to say, one of those treasures came home with me that day . . .

So what we have here is a 1940 Zenith model 6S439 radio. It's a small tabletop 6-tube AC circuit radio, which originally received signals over the standard broadcast band and two short wave bands. It also has "automatic" or push-button tuning, and the Zenith RadiOrgan tone control (but has only two controls rather than the usual 5 or 6).

While many of the innards are still intact, it would be very difficult to restore to original operating condition. Turns out, there's a local kid (to me, anyway - he's under 30 and gives me hope for the younger generation :^) who finds old radios and tries to restore them to operating condition if possible (and to his credit), but if he can't he installs Bluetooth so that they can still be enjoyed.

And that's what he did to this old Zenith. It makes the PERFECT compliment to my 1940s-era layout and fits in nicely on the operator's sign-in table. Just look at that beautiful two-toned wood!

Certainly fits in nicely, literally and figuratively. And - best of all - not only does it look like it belongs in and amongst a 1940s railroad. . . it sounds like it too! Just give it a listen . . .

We enjoy such a multi-faceted hobby that touches on SO many different aspects of life, from carpentry to electrical, to the artistry of scenery building, the challenge of realistic operations, and even - in this case - the collecting of antiques that help create just the right setting and ambiance for your guests.

No wonder it's called the World's Greatest Hobby!

Have you acquired some non-railroad item that you're using to compliment your layout, train room, or crew lounge? If so, I hope you'll share it with us all in the comments below!

Happy Friday and here's hoping you have a wonderful weekend and some hobby time!

Throwback Thursday: More on the Car from which the Headlight came...

 

W-162

As I try to piece together where my locomotive headlight came from, I received some additional information from Bill on the car where it ended its service...

The car was built at the Worcester, MA plant of Osgood Bradley Car in 1907.

As built, the car was copper clad with a truss-rod under frame and open ends.  One window was located on each end to the left of the doors.

The letter board was also copper clad with “New York New Haven and Hartford” spelled out in gold-leafed cast aluminum letters.

The interior of the car as built had an African Mahogany interior.  Seating had mahogany walk-over frames with burgundy plush upholstery.  Ceiling panels were painted light apple green with a dark green band surrounding each panel with a gold leaf stenciled pattern applied.  The cars are equipped with Pintsch gas lightning fixtures.

In 1929, #1591 and a number of other copper clads were rebuilt at Readville Shop for suburban service.  The car received a steel under frame, steel ends and electric lighting.  The interior woodwork was painted over and the car renumbered #4404.

When removed from passenger service, circa 1949, it was rebuilt again for wire train service as W-162.

As an example of early push-pull, the lead end of the car had the steel on the end removed, the end window from the opposite end was installed on the right side of the door.  Hand operated windshield wipers were installed on these windows.

A Golden Glow headlight was installed on the roof end cap and whistles for signaling installed.  An air pressure gauge and brake handle were also installed.

On the interior, the seats were removed, lockers and tool bins and a desk for the foreman were installed.  Heating was by means of two coal burning stoves, one on each end.

The car operated on the Bridgeport wire train for most of its time in company service.

Monday Mustang Mover

The photo above, provided courtesy my friend Mike Ribuffo (who is also editor of the highly-acclaimed Shoreliner magazine), shows one of the New Haven Railroad's Wire Trains - a special work train that, as you might have guessed, repaired and maintained the overhead catenary on the West End of the railroad. The car in the foreground - numbered "W-162" - was the crew car for the Bridgeport Wire Train and is the subject of today's post . . .

Originally built for the New Haven in 1907 as a first class copper clad coach with open platforms and truss rods, it was rebuilt by the railroad at its Readville shops in 1929. At that time, it received a steel underframe and enclosed steel ends, as well as a new number - #4404. In the late 1940s, it was converted to company service as wire train crew car #W-162.

The W-162 was saved from the scrapper by Mr. Bill Dulmaine, longtime president of the NHRTHA and publisher of the Shoreliner and - while parked on a siding in Grafton, MA - was used for many years as the unofficial "office" of the Association. Many a Shoreliner was developed, pasted up (literally - long before computers), and produced in this car. And during the winter months, the crew was warmed by an old NHRR shanty stove acquired for the purpose.

After many years of faithful service in its second life (actually, third life if you count its original use as a day coach, then wire train crew car), Bill eventually decided to let the car go and it is now the Parlor Car at the Steaming Tender Restaurant - which just so happens to be the site of an annual dinner I host during the weekend of the big Springfield show.

But check out the headlight . . .

In work train service, these cars were placed at the opposite end from the locomotive and spent as much time being pushed as pulled. And when being pushed, the rules required a light as well as whistle on the leading end. So, the W-162 received such appliances when it was converted to work service. Best guess is that this particular headlight came off a steam locomotive that was on the scrap line at the time (c. 1949). Unfortunately, there's no info on which specific engine it may have come from.

Thankfully, shortly after purchasing the car, Bill removed and stored the headlight safely for many years - until recently, when he wanted to give it a new home . . .

He reached out to me and we arranged a date for me to pick it up. Unfortunately, a 4 day hospital stay intervened earlier this month, but this past weekend The Missus and I swung by Bill's on our way to do some leaf peeping. Unfortunately, my truck has also been "converted to work service" and is limited to dump runs only these days. So we drove up in my car instead:

Not exactly the best vehicle to use for hauling stuff (though it's admittedly very good for haulin' tail....), but I figured "it has a trunk - how big could a steam locomotive headlight be?"

Well, as you might have guessed, the answer is "just a bit larger than what you can fit through the trunk opening." I worked up quite a sweat trying every which way to angle, fit, and finagle that light into the trunk. I knew if I could just get it through the opening, it'd fit just fine. 

The trunk's big enough - but the opening just..... wasn't.

Good thing the back seats fold down:

Even then it was challenging to get it in there without damaging the interior in the process. Fortunately, Bill had some chunks of styrofoam to cushion everything for the journey.

And it made it home safe and sound. Whew! Sure does look a good deal larger than the Custom Finishing detail part I use on my models...

The New Haven RR used the Electric Service Supplies Co (ESSCO) "Golden Glow" headlight on all its steam locomotives in later years and also on many of its electric MU cars. In photos, you can usually tell the headlight is a "Golden Glow" because the hinge for the lens is on the top rather than on the side, as with most headlights. And while the only known provenance of this particular light was that it was used on the W-162, I choose to believe the very plausible story that it started its life on one of the NHRR steamers I'm so fond of. Maybe one of these days, there'll be some way to find out for sure.

In the meantime, thanks to Bill's foresight in saving this small large piece of New Haven Railroad history, I'm now the proud owner of an official Locomotive Headlight (says so right on the nameplate). Now I just have to decide whether to try and restore it (and perhaps even light it), or leave it as-is with the original patina. 

Thankfully, there's no hurry to decide.

Friday Fun: DERS-2b, New Tools, New Project

Went over to Randy's place last night to help on his layout and caught these images of his just-completed RS-2 (New Haven class DERS-2b):

You may recall I did an article showing how I detailed a factory-painted Proto 1000 loco to match NHRR #510, but that's basically where Randy started and then he went WAY beyond what I did, adding a lot of additional detail. Be sure to check out his build thread for how he created this amazing model.

In other news....

One of the running-jokes among folks that visit for open houses and op sessions is that first-timers often go to our neighbor's house first, instead of our house. Makes some sense - not only is the neighbor's house right next to the tracks, but there's a big RR crossing sign attached to the outside wall. So it's an easy mistake to make. Fortunately, the neighbor is a friendly sort - and a bit of a 'buff as well - so he just points folks in the right direction - just the next house over.

Well, the neighbor is moving and downsizing so that RR crossing sign is now in my basement. AND just the other day he came by to give me these:

His father had hired out on the New Haven and he had these laying around for years. I don't know what they're for (I think the long one might be a joint bar wrench), but they're both clearly (and not-so-clearly) marked "NYNH&H" so they'll make fine additions to the display with my RR stove and scoop!

Click on the links above for more about these items...

I injured my thumb while helping out Bill with his new layout build last week, so I haven't been doing any modeling lately. But I've started gathering material and doing research for what I hope will be a feature article in the NHRHTA's Shoreliner magazine. As I turned my focus to modeling the Airline Local's steam power - specifically class J-1 #3022 - I was surprised to discover that the J-1 had never been covered in the Shoreliner. So, I figured since I was gathering research/info for my modeling project anyway, I might as well do an article too.

So that's what I've been spending my hobby time on lately.... but once I can hold things again, I have a decoder install to do and a house to finish . . . So stay tuned - and here's hoping you're able to get to your layouts and workbenches soon too - Have a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday: Good Firing Manual

MelR pic

Wow - I can't believe it's been almost three years since I first saw this New Haven RR firing manual at the NHRHTA Reunion train show. I'd never seen one of these before and didn't even know it existed. And, in perhaps a further indication of its rarity, the owner didn't want to part with it at any price. Ever since then, I've been on the lookout for one. I did at least find and acquire a companion exam book later that day.

So, after all this time, imagine my surprise when Randy said he had an "early Christmas present" for me and, you guessed it, it was the New Haven RR firing manual!

There are many things that make model railroading the World's Greatest Hobby. One of them is the myriad of rabbit holes different things you can learn about real railroading through researching and reading prototype paperwork and publications. But probably the biggest one is the great people that you meet. Folks that are so generous with their time and resources - and thoughtful enough to keep an eye out for something they know you'll find interesting and that will fit in with your project.

Adding this firing manual to my collection hit on all those themes at the same time - thanks to Randy and his eagle eye!

New Haven RR Firing Manuals

As this project evolves, I've discovered that I've grown as interested in prototype paperwork & ephemera as in the modeling itself. Of course, things like employee timetables, engine assignment books, and other paperwork inform prototype operations. But even other items like locomotive operation manuals - while not very relevant to a model railroad - certainly make for interesting reading, and may even enrich your operating experience further.

At the recent NHRHTA Reunion/Train Show, I came across a few such items...

... which I enthusiastically added to my collection. But one thing I saw, that I really, really wanted ended up not being for sale . . .

Thanks very much to MelR for the pic. I was apparently too gob-smacked to think of taking one myself.

This is a firing manual for the New Haven Railroad (and Central New England Rwy) dating from the 1920s. I expected such a thing existed, but I'd never actually seen one before. Now that I know it exists, I'll be on the lookout. In the meantime, maybe the owner will change his mind . . .

Speaking of NHRR firing manuals....

John with the NHRR scoop Randy got for me

Long time readers of this blog know that one of the primary inspirations for my Valley Line project is John Wallace. His photos and reminisces of firing on the Valley Local during the late 1940s has enriched the entire project. He also put me on the scent of something else I never knew existed.

A later version of the New Haven's official steam locomotive firing manual!

As a fireman on the present-day Valley Railroad, either booklet would be highly prized. John said he'd been given one by Ted Michalicki, one of the regular firemen on the local, but it'd been lost to time. I knew there was a copy at the UCONN library, but ever since he mentioned its existence, I'd been on the lookout for one myself.

Finally, one showed up on eBay. And I got it.

I haven't read through it yet, but even just flipping through is pretty cool. The illustrations are really neat and informative, but the most interesting thing I've discovered so far is the publication date - 1946.

On my website (you do know there's a website that goes with this blog, don't you?), I have a page describing the End of Steam in the Connecticut Valley. On the New Haven Railroad, at least, 1946 was just about the last year of steam. Their newest steam locomotives - the I-5 Shoreliners (4-6-4) were almost 10 years old by then. Seems strange that they would have devoted any resources at all to producing a new manual on how to fire a steam engine.

But I'm glad they did. While the relatively-small 2-8-2 I hand fire is no match for a stoker-fired Hudson, it'll still be neat to sit by the fire and see if I can't get a few tips on how to use my "new" NHRR coal scoop.

NHRHTA Reunion 2016

Whew - Quite a weekend! It started out Friday night with a small open house for folks coming in from out of town for the New Haven Railroad Historical & Technical Assn's Annual Reunion/Train Show on Saturday - including fellow blogger JoeS & his lovely wife, up from PA, MikeR & his missus from MA, DaveM & ReggieD, also from PA, BillC & BillL from NJ, BobA, DickO, & BillS from closer by (CT), and JimW all the way up from FL(?!). Thanks to all of them for taking the time to visit the Valley Line.

NHRHTA's show this year was at the Valley Railroad and, by all accounts, it was a resounding success. What could be better - a train show, great presentations, and not one but TWO steam-powered trains doing trips throughout the day, with a diesel powered lunch & dinner train as a bonus?! And if that wasn't enough, the entire day was capped off nicely by a "dinner in the diner" aboard the Essex Clipper.

All in all, a really fun weekend.  Here are some photos from the past couple of days . . .

During the open house - MikeR is showing me how impressed he is with the tower that BillS built. (photo by Mike's missus - Melanie aka Mel)

Some of the guys - Mike, Bob, BillL - during the open house (pic by Mel)

DickO & DaveM having a convo at Old Saybrook.

Overview of the Saybrook station area (pic by Mel)

One of my visitors - DaveM - surprised me again by coming bearing gifts . . .

Mentioning that I needed some head-end equipment, he presented me with this great Pennsylvania RR REA refrigerator car. And speaking of cars, included in his bag of goodies was a car (automobile), a panel truck and - the piece de resistance - a coal dump truck lettered for Valley Coal. How cool is that?! Everything on wheels in the above photo came courtesy DaveM - Thank you again Dave!

After a late night Friday night of running trains and generally great conversation, Saturday morning came early. I got some coffee & donuts for me and Bill & helped set up the display table. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the train show itself, Bill's great display for Rapido, or any of the presentations. Argh! I did, however, get a couple of new acquisitions:

The MAIN thing is, of course, the lantern. I know it's an Adams & Westlake (heh - "Adams" - so I had to get it, right?) and it has the embossed NYNH&H on the glass to go with the markings on the top. But other than that, I don't know much about it, how old it is, etc. So if there are any lantern experts out there, please weigh in in the comments (or contact me directly via email)!

Given my evolving interest in interlocking towers due to having a model of Saybrook tower on my layout now, I got the little booklet on the left dealing with all the rules/instructions for dealing with towers. On the right is a little exam booklet for steam locomotive firemen (unfortunately, questions only - no answers(!)) And under them all is what I think is a headrest cloth from a passenger car. It'll make a nice addition to the railroad den (aka "train room") upstairs.

After the show, we had just enough time to get ready to board the dinner train...

This is not the dinner train, but this was happening in the yard right before we boarded. (pic by Mel)

The dinner train itself is a great example of gone-by elegance and a slower, more civilized pace (at about 8mph, actually) (pic by Mel)

As much fun as the show was, the dinner was even better. I had great table companions (BillS, his missus and daughter) and most of the car was taken up by other show attendees which made for a lot of laughs and a great night.

Whether or not you're a fan of the New Haven RR, I hope you'll consider attending the NHRHTA Reunion & Train Show next year. With any luck/hope, it'll be taking place at the Valley Railroad again which guarantees - no matter what particular railroad you follow - if you're a train buff, you'll have a truly amazing day!

Wordless, um, Saturday? #132

Wow - I was away on vacation and totally forgot to post a Wordless Wednesday last week. I don't think that's ever happened, no matter where I've been. So, to make up for it (and to ensure that my numbering remains intact at least...) herewith is Wordless Wednesday #132 - on Saturday (and with a few words to hopefully make up for the tardiness...)

I discovered this stove in the Chatham station. It's the same type as my stove - a Stamford Foundry Ledger B - but it's MUCH larger, hence a different model number (No. 14).

Here's my stove for comparison - a Ledger B No. 9. Clearly, the same stove was made in different sizes for different applications. The No. 14 was intended to heat an entire station whereas the No. 9 was sufficient for the crossing shanty it was put in. For more of that story, click here.

It sure would be cool to find and reinstall the neat guardrailings. Let me know if you ever run across such a thing.

Wordless Wednesday #112

Rosie wonders when the old NHRR shanty stove will be warm again...

Friday Fun - Stove Story

I've posted pictures of this before, but just realized I haven't told the story about my pot belly stove.

It started a couple years ago when I started looking for a caboose stove to put in our den/railroad room. I was in no real hurry, so my search was pretty casual - and I didn't find anything.

Fortunately and serendipitiously (sic?), I happened to mention at dinner during the Springfield show last year what I was looking for, and somebody said - "I have a railroad stove - it's not a caboose stove, but you're welcome to it if you want it." Turned out that the stove came out of the New Haven Railroad's South Main Street crossing shanty in Millbury, MA and had been used for many years to heat the parlor car that's now at the Steaming Tender restaurant. Coincidentally, that's where we also happened to be eating dinner at the time.

Stove pictured "in-service" after retirement from the railroad.

Also coincidentally, the stove had been used to warm volunteers who worked on the Shoreliner magazine years ago. So moving it over to the NHRHTA Photo Library room to warm the present-day volunteers on Thursday nights seemed especially appropriate. While I'd started out looking for a caboose stove, those tend to be pretty boxy and utilitarian. I think this little pot belly looks a lot nicer in the railroad room, which has a lot more in common with a shanty or station than a caboose anyway.

Once I got the stove home, I did some further research on it. Turns out it was produced by the Stamford Foundry in Samford, CT (an on-line industry for the New Haven). The "Ledger Model B" was their pot belly model stove and the No. 9 was their smallest version. It heats up our large den/photo library room, so it must've been more than adequate for a little crossing shanty, even if it was uninsulated.

The Stamford Foundry. Click here for more details.

Fortunately, I already had a hearth and a tie-in to a separate flue, so all I really needed to do was give it a once-over and connect it. As part of my combo Christmas/birthday present, the Missus paid to have a stove restoration shop go over it, convert it from coal to wood, weld a couple cracks, sandblast it, reseal it, and give it a new coat of stove black. It came back looking like new, but after firing it up I noticed that a couple of the seals weren't completely "sealed" - I could still see some of the flame through the joints.

No worries - I expected there'd be a "settling-in" period. So friend BillC (who was visiting during this year's Springfield show) and I got some stove cement and took apart part of the stove.

The stove was built in sections, each cast separately and connected together with screws, bolts, and threaded rod. It was a little bit of a pain to get it apart and then have to scrape, chisel, and wirebrush the sealing surfaces. But once that was done, all I needed to do was add a "generous" bead of the cement. Once it was all put back together and "cured" it was time to fire'er up again.

Have you ever added too much batter to a waffle maker?

Well, I guess I should have known the cement would expand when heated. Fortunately, it's black - and I was able to scrape most of it away as it came out (no, I didn't use my finger) so it isn't noticeable. At least you don't see any flames anymore!

And after another minor snafu when I realized that even "high temperature" paint will chip off if not fully cured, things are finally settling in nicely. We've fired the stove up a bunch of times and it certainly makes for a wonderful, railroady atmosphere.

All I need now is a cracker barrel and a checkerboard!

Wordless Wednesday #110

Part of the "Train Room" (a.k.a. den). Too bad this room is 2 floors up from the layout - it'd make a great crew lounge!

Wordless Wednesday #102

More Memorabilia: Firing the Steam Locomotive

In keeping with the "firing" theme of the last post, I wanted to mention a very closely-related item . . .

John Wallace had told me some years ago that the New Haven actually produced a manual for firing steam locomotives and that he'd been given a copy by either Dave Corsair or Ted Michalicki (both firemen on the Valley Line). Alas, over the years, the manual's gone missing and the only copy I ever knew about was located at the New Haven Railroad archive at UCONN. I'd always meant to get there to at least make a photocopy - one for me and one for John - but never got around to it. I'd certainly given up any hope of ever owning an original.

Well, long story short, I saved a search of it on eBay and - after getting dozens if not hundreds of hits for a Reading RR manual (and a repro at that) - the New Haven one finally popped up!

Of course, I had to get it. And get it I did. I thought I'd at least posted a pic of it when I first got it last year, but couldn't find it so here it is again? for the first time:

It's a fairly fragile, spiral-bound book with cardstock covers. All in all though, it's in remarkable condition for its age, with only one loose page (a miracle itself, considering the binding).

It was produced for the railroad by the CT State Dept of Education and (very) interestingly it's much newer than I'd expected, with a publication date of 1946. As long-time readers of this blog know, steam power on the New Haven faded very quickly over the next 3 years (click here for that story) so I think it's pretty unusual that the railroad bothered to produce a steam locomotive firing manual at such a late date.

But I'm glad they did. The information is, of course, especially interesting to anybody that's lucky enough to still be firing a steam locomotive in the 21st century and the illustrations are really cool too (in case you just want to flip through and look at the pictures). I've only casually thumbed through the book so far, so will be sure to post about any particularly notable items when I go through it more thoroughly.

In the meantime, along with the scoop I got for Christmas, it looks like I haven't any excuse left at all not to be(come) as authentic a New Haven RR fireman as is possible almost 65 years after the end of the steam era.