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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 10:28 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm
Posts: 1182
The Bear Creek Baptist Church near Robbinsville, NC, has a bell from one of the Graham County Railroad's Shay engines.

In the lobby of West Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., one will find the bell from an Erie Railroad locomotive, donated to the school way back when.


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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:37 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 1:51 pm
Posts: 12151
Location: Somewhere east of Prescott, AZ along the old Santa Fe "Prescott & Eastern"
Alan Walker wrote:
Southern Railway's practice (much to the dismay of railfans of the era) was that bells and whistles were not given away. They were only presented to organizations.

I don't have my hands on it at the moment, but one issue of Horn & Whistle Magazine had a big article on SR presentation bells. See https://www.hornandwhistle.com/ and see if you can find the article.


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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:39 am 

Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2006 7:15 pm
Posts: 13
Location: Rockwell NC
There are several high schools in the Rowan and Cabarrus County area of North Carolina that have Southern Railway bells and are used at football games. With Spencer Shops in Spencer NC being in Rowan County I wouldn`t be surprised of others at churchs and schools in the surrounding area.

Michael


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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2015 1:14 pm 

Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 10:03 pm
Posts: 192
Location: Pennsylvania
philip.marshall wrote:
Doesn't Duke University have a locomotive bell they ring whenever they win football games?

I've seen pictures of this on the news but know nothing more about it as I am certainly not a Duke alumnus.

EDIT: Google tells me it is called "The Victory Bell" and is actually a trophy traded back and forth between Duke and UNC depending on who wins.
(As you can no doubt tell I'm not a football fan either.)


UCLA and USC trade an old SP bell between football victories.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsy-hMQJSys

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Bell_(UCLA-USC)


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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 6:26 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:25 pm
Posts: 6482
Ran across an item when looking for something else that ties in with this thread. When the cosmetic restoration of Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-8-0 #457 was begun in 2003 by the "Friends of the 457", the group soon realized that sometime when the locomotive was on display in the park in Mason City, Iowa, the locomotives bell had been stolen. A new bell was cast, although slightly smaller than the original bell. Some time later, one of the members of the "Friends" noticed what looked like a steam locomotive bell on the roof of a building at the Community of Christ, Eagle Lake Camp & Retreat Center in Brainerd, Minnesota. This bell had originally been used to call participants to diner, but eventually there were complaints from homes in the surrounding area about its loudness, so the center eventually agreed to use it only for emergencies. An inspection of the bell found M & St L in the yoke. An agreement between the center and the group restoring the 457 was eventually worked out, and a trade of bells was arranged. Three numbers were found on the top of the bell; 413, 475 and 631. Engine #413 was a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in December of 1910. The engine had later been renumbered by the Louie to 475. The engine was eventually scrapped in August of 1935 and the bell was given to number 631, another 2-8-0 (note; I believe that this is in error and the 631 was actually a 2-8-2). The 631 was scrapped in 1950, but somehow, the bell survived to end up at the Eagle Lake Campground, first mounted on a tree stump until the stump deteriorated and then on the aforementioned building. So a M&StL steam locomotive bell, finds its way back home thanks in part, to a church connection!

Les


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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Fri Feb 13, 2015 7:34 pm 

Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:10 am
Posts: 2499
The chapel bell on Bear Island in Lake Winnipesaukee, NH is from a 19th century CRRofNJ steam locomotive.

Rob

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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 12:46 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2005 1:27 pm
Posts: 601
Location: Milford,Mass
Attachment:
File comment: In front of the Amtrak station in Mystic, CT Photo Pat Fahey 2004
1-Mystic, CT Bell.jpg # 2-002.jpg
1-Mystic, CT Bell.jpg # 2-002.jpg [ 29.82 KiB | Viewed 4584 times ]
Hi
I found this locomotive bell , in Mystic, Connecticut in front of the station. The Bell is off New Haven locomotive # 3249 a 2-10-2, As far as I know it is still there .


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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:19 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:26 am
Posts: 4773
Location: Maine
I know of several steam loco bells being used as church and firehouse displays, but I'll refrain from posting them here. Fascinating for the honest locomotive lover, and short list for the hideous side of railfanning. Know what I mean?

I do recall an article called "The Bells Keep on Ringing", from the Pennsy company magazine, outlining a PRR steam bell that would up on a mission school in the South Pacific. Probably safe in that location.

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 Post subject: Re: Churches and locomotive (and other) bell connections
PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:02 pm 

Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2004 1:33 pm
Posts: 483
Location: Oroville, CA
I know one gentleman who has about 14 CP bronze bells in his garage--acquired when CP was cleaning out their stores decades ago. he bid on them and got them cheap. CP "brass" found out about the auction after his bid was accepted and attempted to thwart the sale, but legally it was too late. He calls it his "retirement plan" Haven't talked to him in decades, so maybe he's started selling them off. Don't know--but if anyone doubts my story, I saw the bells and their crates with my own eyes back in 1986.

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David Dewey
Hoping for the return to the American Rivers of the last overnight steamboat, Delta Queen!


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