. . . good potential for insulators and for good reason.

I'd been driving for two hours watching pole after pole of aqua Hemingray 42s. A pure green glint caught my eye. Traveling southeast along route 97 from Hancock, NY to Port Jervis, normally I would travel on route 17 through the Catskills. My business in Endicott ended early so I took the opportunity to enjoy the scenery along the Delaware river and the ex Erie Railroad mainline that nature had forced to follow its banks. Here in Port Jervis, the color and character glass I'd been casually watching was a little different.

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I stopped the car and fought my way through some thick underbrush. Crossing what appeared to be a large ditch, I located the source of the pure green glint. Perched high on the uppermost crossarm of a telegraph pole, devoid of wires, was a very green beehive. I glanced at the opposite side of the ditch where the intricate stonework caught my eye. It spoke of craftsmanship and manual labor one just doesn't find in the 20th century. And for good reason, I was standing on the remains of the Delaware and Hudson Canal. 100 plus years since abandonment, nature had all but obscured its original purpose and glory. But not to the extent that the railroad had obscured its utility.

Being new to the field of insulator collecting, I quickly decided that a green anything was worthy of committing to a vertical ascent. Sparing the technical details, let me say that 20 years of rock climbing and single rope techniques serves one well in this hobby. It sure opens up access to the uppermost gems that are safely beyond the reach of discarded railroad tie makeshift ladders. Here at the tip top of the pole was a bright green "B" beehive that had managed to escape the ravages of both rocks and BBs.

Port Jervis appeared to have good potential for insulators and for good reason. Port Jervis has been a communication hub since it very beginning. Many people mistake the city for a port on the Delaware river but in fact it was an important port on the D&H canal. The city is located in southeast New York State in a steep valley carved by the confluence of the Delaware and Neversink rivers. The D&H canal meanders 108 miles from Honesdale, PA to Kingston, NY. It generally runs southeast from Honesdale along the Lackawaxen and Delaware rivers. It then takes a hard left turn at Port Jervis heading northeast up the Neversink Valley, eventually reaching Kingston, NY. 

The sole purpose of the canal was to transport hard coal from the anthracite region of northeast Pennsylvania to New York City. It was brainchild of the Wurts brothers who saw the canal as a necessary transportation evil. They had considered a more direct path to New York but it would have required tunneling through the Shawangunk mountain range and an elevation gain of about 1000 feet. At 10 feet per lift lock, the challenge was too great. They finally opted for the gentler gradient of the Neversink on to Kingston. From there, it was an easy float down the Hudson to New York City. The canal reached Port Jervis in 1828.

The city is named after the chief engineer for the canal, John B. Jervis. Among Jervis's other accomplishments were construction of the Croton aqueduct providing water for New York City and the Jervis truck (those little bogie wheels in front of the big drivers) which was instrumental in keeping locomotives from jumping the tracks on curves. By 1847 the Erie Railroad had reached Port Jervis as well. When the railroad was finally complete from Piermont, NY on the Hudson River to the shore of Lake Erie, Port Jervis was to become an important Division Point along the railroad. It was not long before the railroad would build extensive shops and service facilities. The railroad had a far greater impact on Port Jervis than the canal ever did.

A single telegraph line was in operation along the entire length of the railroad by 1851, insulated with CD 736's. Ezra Cornell was charged with its construction. A good choice since it was Cornell who built Samuel F.B. Morse's experimental telegraph line from Baltimore to Washington, D.C.. Cornell started the Morse line with a buried conductor. He even designed and patented a trenching machine that is remarkably similar to the modern day "Ditch Witch". Unfortunately, Cornell was about 100 years ahead of the times. Insulation problems with the buried line forced him to find an alternative solution. He suspended the line on wooden poles and insulated the whole affair with door knobs (or glass plates depending on who's account you choose to believe).

Cornell would go on to build many more lines then eventually he would consolidate them into one corporate giant called Western Union. From a late 20th century perspective, Western Union is most known for wiring money. In its day, Western Union was a high tech corporate giant that would have made Microsoft look like a corner deli. Western Union didn't have total control of Port Jervis, Postal Telegraph would also string lines through Port Jervis. Well... until Western Union eventually acquired them as well. Later in life, Cornell founded the university in Ithaca, New York that bears his name. Not a bad list of accomplishments for one man. 

Delaware & Hudson Canal, Pond Eddy, New York, 
just north of Port Jervis, New York, c. 1890's 
Erie Railroad on right bank of Delaware River.
 (Courtesy of Minisink Valley Historical Society, Port Jervis, NY)

D & H Canal looking north, Pond Eddy, New York, c. 1890
(Courtesy of Minisink Valley Historical Society, Port Jervis, NY)

Telegraph Office and Lock Tenders' House, Lock 52 
D & H Canal near Neversink Aqueduct, 
a few miles northeast of Port Jervis, New York. 
(Courtesy of Minisink Valley Historical Society, Port Jervis, NY)

Cyclist on D & H Canal towpath at Huguenot, New York, c. 1900 
shortly after abandonment. 
(Courtesy of Minisink Valley Historical Society, Port Jervis, NY)

The very first train order issued by telegraph also occurred that year on the Erie RR in Port Jervis. Up to that time, movement on the railroad was strictly governed by time table. The superintendent of the Erie, Charles Minot, was growing impatient as he was sidetracked waiting for a scheduled train to pass. The other train was several hours late due to a problem west of Port Jervis. Using the telegraph, he ordered the other train to be held at Port Jervis so his train could proceed. The engineer was unwilling to violate procedure and the time table so Minot had to personally pilot the train to Port Jervis. From this time forward, the railroad and telegraph would be inextricably linked. One telegraph line had grown to 60 as I observed fetching my green beehive. After the canal was abandoned in 1898, the Erie ran their telegraph lines along a section of towpath that paralleled their yard in Port Jervis.

The D&H Canal had petitioned the New York State Legislature for the construction of a telegraph line along the canal in March of 1862. By September of that year it was completed (not many bureaucratic bottlenecks in those days). It's purpose was more for office communication and maintenance rather than control of boat movement. Photographs show that at the time of abandonment, the D&H had aggressively doubled their telegraph capacity by adding a second line. They probably wouldn't require any more than that either. By 1870, railroad freight rates had reach parity with the canal. The added benefit of speed and year round operation doomed the canal.

The canal strung their lines on the outside of the towpath so not to interfere with towlines but at the same time, provide easy access for repairs. I've searched hundreds of canal photographs for a close-up of an insulator but so far have found none. It remains a mystery as to what the D&H used to keep electricity in the wire and off the pole; other than it was probably glass. 

When I arrived at home, I suggested to my able partner, Gregory, that we may want to poke around Port Jervis and perhaps we might find something interesting. He was up for it as he always is then peppered me with questions regarding the probability of finding any $10,000 insulators. I told him it was low and reminded myself to, in the future, keep the price guide away from my 11 year old assistant.

Fire alarm circuits in front of Port Jervis 
Train Station, Port Jervis, NY. Left to right: 
Two clear CD 107s (probably Armstrong), 
a CD 160 Hemingray-14 in aqua, and a 
CD 202 Hemingray-53 with round drip 
points in clear.

The next Saturday, we were off to the fertile crescent of telegraphic communication, Port Jervis (PJ as it's known by the locals). No sooner did we hit the city limits and Greg spotted some glass, lots of it, and in an unexpected place. Main Street, every street. It turns out that Port Jervis' fire alarm system is open wire on glass insulators, not so surprising given the history of the town.

The system is operational. Almost entirely circuited on aqua Hemingray 14 (CD 160) baby signals. A clear Hemingray transposition (CD 202) is used at each alarm box. In some ways, time has stood still in Port Jervis.

We continued our search which yielded nothing exotic. Eventually we ended up back on the same towpath that had sparked my interest in the beginning. We did find some amber carnival Pyrex 63's CD 234 and loads of "B" hives. No CD 736's but the carnival pieces were a welcome addition to an aqua sea that our collection is.

Fire alarm circuits, city of Port Jervis. 
Left to right: Two CD 160 Hemingray-14s 
in aqua, a CD 107 in clear, and another 
aqua CD 160 Hemingray.

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My able assistant, Gregory Ceccherelli (Peanut) on tow path
of the D&H Canal, December 1999, city of Port Jervis. 
Note: The U.S. Coast Guard still considers the entire 108 miles 
of the D&H Canal a navigable waterway!

Greg holding a light green "B" hive, towpath of D&H Canal, Port Jervis.

The more beehives we acquire, the more variability we find. Even in the same embossing style. Skirt depth, wire groove profile and outside dimensions seem highly variable. The mold makers at the Brookfield factory must have been very busy. Clearly, the Erie Railroad purchasing department was happy with Brookfield products. They are almost exclusively represented on these poles. Finding Brookfield products in Port Jervis seems appropriate though, the original Brookfield factory was in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, the western terminus of the Delaware and Hudson canal.

Looking west at Otisville Tunnell, ex-Erie RR (now Norfolk Southern), 
Otisville, New York, 10 miles northeast of Port Jervis. Note: 60 to 62 clear 
CD 154 Hemingray-42s on these poles.

Port Jervis reached its heyday in the early 1900's. Being a railroad town, its fortune followed that of the Erie Railroad. When the east coast railroads had a simultaneous meltdown in the early 1970's, it dealt a devastating economic blow to Port Jervis. Conrail reduced Port Jervis' role and the city has struggled ever since. Things have been looking up recently however. Since Norfolk Southern has taken over the rail line, they see it as critical. Norfolk Southern is spending millions to upgrade the line through southern New York and Port Jervis. The lower cost of living here attracts those from the New York City area despite the hour and 45 minute commute. Port Jervis has passenger rail service to Hoboken, New Jersey and there are plans for a direct route to NYC.

The economic downturn is directly responsible for the existence of an antiquated open wire fire alarm system. Where other cities either upgraded or discarded their old fire alarm systems, Port Jervis has held onto theirs. Lack of funding has a way of forcing people to make due with what's available. Perhaps Port Jervis has a fascination with things antique. Despite being overgrown with rather large trees, unwatered and paved over in spots, the United States Coast Guard still considers the Delaware and Hudson Canal a navigable waterway. -- all 108 miles.

Port Jervis Jewels 
CD 145 "B" [035], light aqua and the fattest beehive I've ever seen; 
CD 145 "B" [010], light aqua; 
CD 145 "B" [040], emerald green/aqua skirt, pronounced amber streak on skirt
CD 234 PYREX [010], marigold carnival 
CD 145 "B" [020], green 
CD 145 BROOKFIELD [230], light aqua 
CD 145 "B" [020], light aqua, note short pin hole, 1-1/2" of glass in the crown

While we found no insulators of great value, our Port Jervis experience did leave us greatly enriched with a sense of history and meaning behind the place. As is often the case with any journey, you may not find what you were looking for but what you do find in it's place is usually more intriguing. 

Special thanks and gratitude to Peter Osborne, Director of the Minisink Valley Historical Society for his priceless help and resources... not to mention hours riveting anecdotes, stories and an occasional political debate.

Bibliography: 
Armstrong, John H., The Railroad, What it is, What it does, 4th edition, 1998. Simmons-Boardman Boooks Inc., Omaha, NE 
Lowenthal, Larry, From the Coal Fields to the Hudson, A History of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, 1997. Purple Mountain Press, Fleischmanns, NY 
McDougald, John and Carol, Insulators, A History and Guide to North American Glass Pintype Insulators, Vol 1 and 2, 1990. The McDougalds publishers, St. Charles,IL 
Shaughnessy, Jim, Delaware and Hudson, 1997. Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, NY 
Stover, John F., American Railroads, Second Edition, 1961,1997, the University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Il
"The Port Jervis Evening Gazette", The Railway Telegraph Systems. December 7, 1869
"The Port Jervis Evening Gazette", Postal Telegraph, February 3, 1883 
The Tri-states Union, a Bill Before the Legislature, March 14, 1862 
The Tri-States Union, Telegraph line, May 2 1862