India rubber hinges

Bob Hall · **Joined:** Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:37 am **Posts:** 152

Hello all,
I was recently reading an article dated back to 1899, which described a media train trip comparing an Australian-built Pullman sleeping car with one built by Pullman.
The writer spoke of the internal doors which were fitted with "India rubber hinges" which afforded very quiet operation.
I've done some internet searching, but haven't really come up with much of a description of what these hinges comprised.
Can anyone here shed any light on this question?
Cheers, Bob

Termite7 · **Joined:** Thu Aug 21, 2008 8:29 pm **Posts:** 397

OK...I am prepared to post a "guess".
Not all Rubber is soft. If you have ever held in your hands a very old fountain pen...the barrel is made from Rubber. Honest. The other thing that quickly comes to mind is combs. Men's combs from the by-gone era were often made from hard rubber. So...I can guess that they just poured rubber into the same mold that brass would normally be poured into.
Anybody else care to guess?
T7

Al Stangenberger · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:59 pm **Posts:** 650

Possibly with some sort of fiber reinforcement (strands or fabric)?

Dave · **Posted:** Sun Jun 14, 2020 6:19 am

I recall an old poem from a childrens' book about a tired king wistfully thinking back on how happy he had been as a child with just an India Rubber ball.......

Seriously, I'd send some inquiries to mainline style Australian preservation organizations to find out about it. I'm sure an expert there is very familiar with them.

Al Stangenberger · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 12:59 pm **Posts:** 650

Continuous rubber or plastic strip hinges similar to piano hinges are easily available.

One application is the baggage compartment doors of buses.
Here's a video of how to change one.