Reading Company Locomotive Original Bell off No.1187 video

Schuylkill Valley · **Posted:** Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:44 pm

Hi all,
My friend Ron, from Monocacy,PA. owns the bell. His Granfather worked at the I.G.Brook Iron Company back in the day, when Number 1187 was sold to the Iron Company. The Iron Co. replaced the original bell with their own and was going to scrap the original bell, but his Grandfather saved it. I looked in side the bell and on the outer edge it's stamped Baldwin No.1187 . Hope you enjoy the video.

Len.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC-T6IsYrFA&feature=email

softwerkslex · **Posted:** Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:33 pm

Why would they care? What is the point of switching bells?

"Baldwin 1187" would be the builder's serial number, not the railroad locomotive number. Anybody know what Baldwin serial 1187 was?

Les Beckman · **Joined:** Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm **Posts:** 6482

softwerkslex wrote:

Why would they care? What is the point of switching bells?

"Baldwin 1187" would be the builder's serial number, not the railroad locomotive number. Anybody know what Baldwin serial 1187 was?

Most bells were stamped with the road number of the locomotive, and I believe it was usually done by the railroad, rather than the builder. I was able to find a locomotive number on the bell at the church in Kentucky where my son-in-law is the pastor, identifying it as off of an L&N J-4 class 2-8-2. Most bells didn't have the identity of the railroad on it (the railroad KNEW what railroad it was after all!) but just the locomotive number. I have never heard of a railroad stamping the locomotive builder on a bell, but I suppose it could have happened. As for switching bells, I think that was fairly common. Especially if a locomotive was taken out of service (an older locomotive retired, one in a wreck, etc.), then the bell was given to another locomotive. I remember reading somewhere that a Southern Pacific locomotive bell carried three different locomotive road numbers.

Les

Mike Tillger · **Posted:** Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:25 pm

Reading 1187 started life as Baldwin #21831

Schuylkill Valley · **Posted:** Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:23 pm

Interesting, Mike, thanks for the info. I'll relay that info back to my friend Ron. who owns the bell. I saw a stamp in side on the outer edge of the bell. it's hard to read, but I could make out the Baldwin 18 the rest of the numbers are real warn. I could only see it when the sun light was shining on it.
I clean that bell out real good, there was coal sute about 1" thick on the walls of the bell , before cleaning it it sounded bad, but afterwords it sounded real good as you can hear in the video. Ron's Family has had the bell since the early 50's or when ever the Reading sold her. Ron has photos of No. 4 working the Iron Co. that his Father took. Its a brass bell, but the ringer was diped in Pigiron for some reason.

Len.