Does anyone know who still offers the old style conductor hat with the cris cross mesh around the brim? "The Hub" in Oakland, Ca. used to carry them for the SP and Key System guys. I only see the all cloth style these days.

Calsteamer@trainorders.com

I bought one at Caboose Hobbies in Denver a few years ago, although I don't know if the mesh is exactly the way you want it. You might try them at the link below. The plastic "Conductor" label for the front is sold separately, along with several other titles (Motorman, Brakeman, etc.)

Caboose Hobbies

> Does anyone know who still offers the old
> style conductor hat with the cris cross mesh
> around the brim? "The Hub" in
> Oakland, Ca. used to carry them for the SP
> and Key System guys. I only see the all
> cloth style these days.

A couple of years ago, the Museum Store at the California State Railroad Museum (Sacramento) had 'summer' conductor's hats that had the diamond mesh top (I can't remember if the mesh was also 'around the brim' as you describe). They also had the brass title badges (CONDUCTOR, MOTORMAN, etc.) Their website does not indicate anything about the hats or badges, but you might give them a try.

Here at the Heber Valley Railroad, we have found a supplier of Marching Band Uniforms that supplies a very acceptable black hat with gold cord/brass buttons to use for our conductors. The hats are all cloth (without the diamond mesh).

-doc-

Heber Valley Railroad
utweyesguy@aol.com

> Does anyone know who still offers the old
> style conductor hat with the cris cross mesh
> around the brim? "The Hub" in
> Oakland, Ca. used to carry them for the SP
> and Key System guys. I only see the all
> cloth style these days.

I'm not sure if he carries a summer hat or not, but trainsquip.net has conductor hats and badges.
dan

svry@attbi.com

> I'm not sure if he carries a summer hat or
> not, but trainsquip.net has conductor hats
> and badges.
> dan
that's transquip.net
M.N.

http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bhsm/toh/eckley/eckley.asp?secid=14
2rivers@upstel.net

Doc's post prompted me to look again at my hat. The "Conductor" label is, indeed, brass and not plastic (or a metal looking like brass.) I remembered that I bent it slightly to fit the curvature of the the hat (which one couldn't do with plastic, of course).

When I bought my hat, Caboose Hobbies had them with either the open mesh on top, or cloth. The mesh around the sides isn't exactly "diamond", but would allow air circulation.

Dick

Caboose Hobbies

Transquip is the place to go. I wish the conductors badges were plastic...they'd cost about 5 bucks.

> Does anyone know who still offers the old
> style conductor hat with the cris cross mesh
> around the brim? "The Hub" in
> Oakland, Ca. used to carry them for the SP
> and Key System guys. I only see the all
> cloth style these days.

A firm that made the Southern Pacific uniform caps is still in business. Lancaster Uniform Cap of Los Angeles has been in business since 1929 and has made all kinds of uniform caps and advertises that, "Since we have been manufacturing Uniform Caps since 1929, we still have patterns dating back to that time period."

I have an SP summer style that has a private label of an LA uniform store that Lancaster says they made. My cap dates from 1969 and is still in use (worn it today).

In the 1970s Lancaster made the SP uniform caps for the Emporium's uniform department in San Francisco. That is now we found out about them.

More recently the firm has made caps used by the Grand Canyon RR. The firm is expensive but does give dealer and quantity discounts.

Brian Norden

Lancaster Uniform Cap
bnorden49@earthlink.net