http://www2.wsav.com/sav/news/local/art ... car/61864/

Berney Safecar???????

Sloan

Interesting has anyone here ever found anything of interest or value while restoring such passenger cars?

What about a Doughboy Prophylactic? Found on former Southern (previously CofGA) coach 906 many years ago during stripping for restoration...

Pillsbury?

That'll get a rise out of ya!

I havn't tried restoring any old passenger cars as of yet,but back in the fall of 1998 when i bought and dismantled the old AC&Y New Washington,Ohio depot wich was built by the PA&W RR in Oct. of 1890 wich i have since been working on restoring for the past 11 years.One day while removing interior wall boards down in between the walls i found two bundles of old brittle paper with a string wrapped around each.When you do find anythng like that it does generate a degree of excitement! I carefully removed them and when i got home later that night i unwrapped them and they were old telegrams sent and recieved at the depot from back in 1891.To me it was priceless,as many gave day to day information of what happened on the RR and in town back then.Just reading them was like going back in time! Some things were pretty darn interesting.I gave the majority of the telegrams to the towns historical society but kept a few that i liked wich i have framed and hanging on my depot walls today.

On Dec. 9, 2002 Norwalk,Ohio demolished it's LS&MS/NYC depot in favor of building a new grocery store wich since went out of business along with a 2nd one that moved in.The building now sits vacant and the far southwest corner of the parking lot is where the depot once stood.The demolition of the depot was a shame and made no sense at all.Anyhow i was lucky enough to get permission to salvage material with a friend for 3 days.Up in the attic scattered about was old paperwork from the mid 1890's.My friend and i gathered up what we could of the paperwork wich was in deplorable condition.I've had the stuff boxed up since and about a month ago i finally began the task of sorting thru the stuff.Most were old telegrams sent and recieved from Norwalk,Ohio pertaining to the RR shops and work done or to be done on LS&MS locomotives.Many give the loco numbers ect. along with other activities in the RR shop.These paper telegrams were in horrible shape,brittle,yellowed or should i say like confetti! as everytime you even handle them they fall apart.I scanned and even printed new copies of all the most important data ones,and then copied them to CD's.I still have other paperwork to go thru yet! Some unregretably were so bad and in so many pcs.that i had to throw them out.You hate to do so as what they contain may be the only way of knowing what went on back then and the only remaining source of information.

All of us are into some kind of RR preservation.What is the best way for preserving old RR paperwork that is 100 years or more old? I've basically never been a really big RR paperwork collector.Everyone of us on here probably collects paperwork in some degree or form be it there favorite RR ect. Finding any old paperwork inside a coach wall,depot wall or just buying some on Ebay or a train show may be the only glimpse one has to the past of learning about the RR or people back then.Sure there are tons of common and duplicate paperwork stuff out there.With railroad paperwork where do you even begin to judge what's valuable or invaluable? A telegram from say 1891, a timetable from 1928, train order,ect. Most all of the daily used bulletins i get from NS at work from my RR runs that i bring home in my grip hit the trash can! Maybe in 100 years they might be worth something? As for now i doubt it!

When Ed Blossom removed seating from CTCo 27 we found a set of keys belonging to one of our members. The keys had gone missing over 30 years ago.

Wesley

F.N. -

Interesting stuff about the paperwork you found, but how about a couple of photos of your work on restoring the old AC&Y depot. Thanks!

Les

Les, I'll try attaching a photo of the depot.I'm new to posting on this forum and havn't tried attaching photo's yet so bear with me.I've alway's loved reading the many post's on RPN and have done so for the past year or so as there are so many interesting topics and discusions and much to learn from you guy's.I joined back in Aug.2008 but then forgot my password,i finally got around to getting a new one,2 months ago! Anyhow if my depot photo comes thru it's from a few months back.I'm finally getting a bit closer to getting her done but still have things to do.Working for NS then on the depot in my spare time has consumed much of my time and i still have other projects on the back burner!Also at 50 i'm starting to slow down some.Thank goodness i started on the depot when i was younger and had more energy.

Fritz

This goes back 10 or so years, so I don't remember the exact details. We have a couple of old SP coaches that were built in the 1870-1880 period. They were retired from service in around 1920, and were set on the ground to use as living quarters for section hands. The line required so much work that the nearby section house wasn't big enough for all the workers. Five of these cars were in Jacumba, about 30 miles east of our location in Campo. They were used as housing up until maybe the 50's or 60's.

We acquired two of the cars, and in going through one of them, one of our guys found a railroad pass issued to either the section guy or his wife, I can't remember. We were able to track down one of the children from that family.

So, this find certainly didn't go as far back as to when the car was used as a coach, but back at least about 50 years.

Popnfresh?

Les, Here's another try at the photo of my depot.I found the 1891 telegrams in the back wall above a window.My guess is that they were stored in the attic and fell down in the wall years ago.

What a classic, pretty little depot! Beautiful work, you should be very proud!

Howard P.

Beautiful depot!

I have some old rr paperwork, but I didn't find it in an old car or depot, but in my grandfather's house. And he was a retired sea captain. I found a small package when we were cleaning out the house to sell it. The package contained:

Three stock certificates for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad Company, issued Oct. 25, 1880. They totaled 46 shares. They don't appear to have been sold or cashed in. I wonder if they are worth anything now. Par value was stated as $50 per share.

A $1,000 bond issued by "The Commissioners of Huron County," to the Toledo, Norwalk, and Cleveland Rail Road Company. It is dated May 1, 1854. Several of the coupons had been clipped, and then all the signatures crossed out, so I assume it had been cashed in.

The annual "Report of the Directors of the Cleveland & Toledo Rail Road Company to the Stockholders." Dated June 1, 1857. About 30 pages, listing the usual financial stuff, plus reports on accidents, numbers of passengers to and from each station, tons of freight hauled, and a list of locomotives (32) with their general specs and condition.

The three stock certificates were signed by Daniel A. Baker, Treasurer, and by a name I can't read, President. Daniel A. Baker was my great-great grandfather, and lived in Norwalk, OH. I couldn't find his name in any of the other documents, so I don't know anything of his involvement with those other roads. Were they predecessors of the W&LE? Interesting part of the family history that I didn't know until I found these papers.

Fritz -

Thanks much for the photo. The depot looks great! You've done a wonderful job.

Les

A big rubber dildo lost under the bunks of a L&N coach converted into a work train bunk car, found as I was gutting it to convert into an excusrsion car for a small tourist line in the southeast. Made me wonder about the track gangs on the L&N........

dave