I've seen the gauntlet gloves, pocket watches, Kromers, and hickory stripes all all offered and made available to help complete our period railroad uniforms, but rarely an enginemen's goggles.

Does anyone know where these could be obtained/purchased/absconded with? There are a few sites that specialize in vintage eye wear, but they are few and far between and often fairly pricey.

KL

If you're looking for something tinted, glacier goggles work really well. They're designed for cutting down UV rays where sun is reflected off snow at high altitude, so they're usually pretty dark. This is great if you're firing, but with the darker ones it's sometimes hard to see gauges, etc. The side shields are really good for keeping cinders and dust out of your eyes.

They're not exactly authentic, but some of them look the part pretty well, especially the older styles, which can often be found on eBay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Julbo-Glacier-Glass ... 1|294%3A50

Here's a new set:

http://www.opticus.com/proddetail.php?prod=Ext130

Downside: they scratch pretty easy if you're not careful.

These are not vintage railroad fireman's glasses however these are used in the ceramics industry in order to look into kilns. Industries that have smelters, kilns, furnaces etc, all use glasses to protect the mechanics eyes and also allow him to see into the bright furnace.

http://www.clay-king.com/itemglasses.html

If you want things badly enough, you can get them. I have seen/used goggles handed out by optical companies to victi--errr, patients of laser eye surgery, to be worn during healing of the eyes. Optical quality, yet cheap and disposable, and MUCH better than shop goggles or safety glasses. The ones I used came from a source at Alcon Labs, which supplies prescription eye drops to eye surgery clinics.

One glass blower who worked at the Md. Renaissance Festival used to have hand-crafted antique-look glasses for his eyes, with flip-up/down UV lenses for looking in the "glory hole". The end result: eye protection, 1400's fashion.

As an eyecare practitioner, this is where my occupation and avocation mix.

Of course there is eBay. A current listing is for a pair of PRR Safety Glasses athttp://cgi.ebay.com/Pennsylvania-Railroad-PRR-Safety-Glasses_W0QQitemZ150343221137QQihZ005QQcategoryZ130QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A word of caution: Though just right for that period look with your hic'ry stripes, such antique eyewear likely does not meet the safety standards now mandated for protection. Both frame and lenses must meet the specified standard--inother words you cannot have the frame fitted with new safety lenses and expect it to meet the standard.

sc 'doc' lewis

Kelly,

If they do not need to be tinted I would try your local Harley shop/dealership. I have seen very similar goggles on the shelves or at least in the catalogs.

If you want to go for that Wild One look Bobster makes a line of similar looking goggles for motorcyclists.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/5/ ... ggles.aspx

If plastic they may not hold up to heat although I think the lenses can be changed out.
They also sell German looking helmets.

Check out the Jackson "WC" series. The WC-3's work well to see the fire, but WC-2's are also available if you are having trouble seeing the gauges. They look pretty authentic from a distance and meet modern requirements for metalworking. For $15, you can’t go wrong.

Restoration Hardware (find it in your local mall) was selling some great repro. old school welder's goggles a few years back. Not sure if they still have them, but for a price only around $10-15, you couldn't go wrong...

In my experience, goggles work better for me than safety glasses. Maybe it is the shape of my face, but I could never find a good set of glasses that kept cinders out of my eye. There was always enough of a gap between the shields and the face where an cinder would get through.

Goggles worked best, though I used a modern set. These glacier goggles look interesting.

Thanks, gentlemen. This has been a very informative thread (and for many, by the viewcount) and the back channel emails have been helpful too!

KL

[quote="Ed Kelley"]Restoration Hardware (find it in your local mall) was selling some great repro. old school welder's goggles a few years back. Not sure if they still have them, but for a price only around $10-15, you couldn't go wrong...

Just FYI, I bought a set of these and tried them out. Yes they look cool, but I'm sorry to say they don't really work all that well. No peripheral vision, and somehow little bits of debris still find their way in through the louvered vents on the sides.

Stephen

Like said, check the Harley dealerships. My dad has a couple pair like what you have pictured to keep the bugs out of his eyes while riding his Harley