July 1978 Threadless Corner The Floyd Threadless

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", July 1978, page 18

To my knowledge, none of this particular design have been found. The "slotted" Oakman threadless are somewhat similar, and another special pin type threadless was found a couple years ago, but both of those items are different. I strongly feel the "Floyd" was produced because of the way the patent is written. Floyd states the insulator is made of glass. Sometimes an inventor indicates his particular insulator "could be made" of different materials. When an inventor states "it is made" of glass, or states one other particular insulating material, I believe he must have already done some experimenting before applying for a patent, and more than likely already produced some items. Below are the contents of the patent application.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, George Floyd, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton, and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful insulator; and I hereby de clare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

The object of this invention is a construction of glass-insulating bulb and its shank, which enables the ready renewal of the former when broken, or of its temporary removal and replacement for any purpose.

A is an axial section, and B a horizontal section, at the line XX of my glass insulator; D, a transverse section at the line YY of my shank, which shank may be of brass, steel, or iron, and be parted, D, at the top, and terminate in two similar tapering heads, EE', adapted for insertion up the axial aperture F of the insulator proper and having shoulders GG', adapted to engage over ledges HH', forming the bottom of the en larged termination or chamber I, of said aperture. The chamber I and beveled head EE', being oblong in their transverse section, effectually prevent any rotation of the bulb upon its shank, and hold it firmly in po sition for the application of the telegraph wire, for which the customary groove J is provided. The aper ture F flares or expands outwardly for the double pur pose of facilitating the admission of the shank in the act of insertion, and of permitting of the application of a vise or pair of pincers to compress together the two heads EE' so as to enable the removal of a cracked or otherwise imperfect insulator.

George Floyd had a very good idea. Sometimes an inventor will have one good idea pertaining to an insulator, but will fail to realize the effects and difficulties of his invention in actual use. Floyd not only invented an insulator which "locked" onto the pin, but he also took into consideration the insulator could rotate on the pin. He therefore designed the top of the pinhole with an oblong opening, which prevented rotation. He also took into consideration the fact that the insulator could be damaged or broken in use, and therefore designed the pinhole opening in a manner in which the pin could be removed and another insulator put in use. His invention seems to be a good one, and having advantages over the common "threadless" of the time, I would feel his insulators would be accepted by telegraph line contractors. The only disadvantages I can see would be a higher cost for these, because a special pin would be needed.

Note the signature of the attorney on the patent copy is that of George Knight. The name "Knight Bros., Attorneys" appears on many, many of the patents from the southwestern part of Ohio. This includes the inventions by Hemingray, which leads us to one possible manufacturer of the "Floyd Threadless", if these were in fact produced. With all the possibilities weighed, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if some day someone walked into a show with a "funny lookin' Floyd threadless"! I can just see it now, a deep emerald green CD 729 with the unusual pinhole. Grab your shovel and start diggin'!

If anyone has any information to add, please contact me at 709 Rt. 322, East Orwell , Ohio 44034. At the present time I have a little info in my "insulator library" and have tried to purchase more books, catalogs, etc., but information is scarce. If all the collectors want these articles to be as informative as possible, then I'll need some help. Many have gone out of their way to help out, and it is greatly appreciated. In the future I will need as much information and photos as possible. If you send photos, try to have sharp, clear, high contrast black and white shots, preferably close-ups. I have many articles planned, and would like to correspond with anyone who has information on, or has the following insulators (This includes catalogs, advertising, photos, drawings, information as to where certain items were used, anything): Mulford & Biddle, Lefferts, Tillotson, Oakman, Keeling, Greeley, Boston Bottle Works, Chester, U.S. Tel., So. Ex. Co., Foster, Dupont. Thanks!

Since the article was written on the CD 735 UPRR in the April issue, I've learned of more color variations. I have seen what I would call a "light blue" variant. This isn't the usual aquamarine color found in these -- it leans more toward a blue shade. Jack Hayes reports having a green one. So that makes a total of four colors in that item. Dick Bowman sent the photo of the CD 732's. It arrived just after my deadline for sending the 732 article to the editor, and with a lack of space in the June column, I saved it until this month. Thanks to Jack and Dick for their help.

From the left: "Short" size unembossed, "medium" size unembossed, root-beer amber mold line over dome variant, the embossed LGT & Co.