Train Bell 872 and William E. Warden

[NW Mailing List]

On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 6:17 AM, Daniel Winter wrote:


> I have recently found some items that I would like to obtain some

> additional information and/or advice as to where I might seek more

> information.  First I have located a bell from an unknown locomotive.  I

> have attached three photographs of the bell, number 872 on outside top.

>


Not to disappoint, and I'm not an expert, but I would not assume that the
bell is a locomotive bell. It looks to me like it might be a farmyard bell,
one mounted outside the kitchen door of the farmhouse and rung to call folks
from the fields at suppertime. I'd take it to an antique dealer to get a
confirmation on that to be sure, though. On the other hand, the bell could
actually be a locomotive bell re-purposed in that mounting, which is what is
throwing me off. Either way, with just a number, it will be "well, the
Southern, C&O, and N&W had these engines with that number on their rosters,
so the bell _might_ have been from one of those engines, or that could just
be a casting number or mold number from the foundry and the bell could have
hung on just about any engine." If you watch "Pawn Stars" on the History
Channel, you'll understand that without some sort of paper trail to
authenticate the history of an item, its value drops considerably (even if
you don't want to sell it, just knowing where something came from, as you
do). Good luck in your quest.

Bruce in Blacksburg
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