July 1975 Porcelain Insulator News

Preferably direct porcelain news item and questions directly to Jack H. Tod, 3427 N. 47th Place, Phoenix, Ariz. 85018. All mail will be answered if reply stamp is enclosed, and the most newsworthy items and questions of general interest will be published as space permits.

Yep, we blew it. After waiting two years to get the photo of this unusual J-D, guess waiting another two months didn't hurt.

I have a two-piece knob (1-1/4" 1-3/4") with the marking shown on the attached sketch. It's very similar to my # M2 knob on page 155 of my Second Edition. Isn't this a new name?
Gerald Brown,
Two Buttes, CO

Yes, this is the first report of this marking, but it is an easy one to decipher. This is Wheeling Tile Co., Wheeling, W. Va., and it was probably founded in the era of the 1919 patent date. It's now defunct.

The patent involved in #1,311,483 of July 29, 1919, Frank Amos, assignor to Wheeling Tile Co. The claims were regarding radial ridges flush with the rim of the cap and also the base part grooves being ribbed.

When collectors report a new cleat or knob marking and one which I cannot attribute, they got a prize and also ring my bell. If it's a new marking that I can readily attribute, they should get a prize even though they don't ring my bell. Thus, Gerald, this mouth we're awarding you the no-bell prime.

It might be helpful in your travels or corresponding with other collectors to know who the most probable active porcelain buffs are. Get out your 1975 CJ Directory and tick off the 392 names listed below. These are ones who I show in my files as having my book. I have no records of those who bought the books from book dealers. It's also interesting to note the several very active porcelain areas.

Canada	6, 9, 12, 18, 19, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 36, 50, 53, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 71, 76, 77, 78, 88, 89.
Alabama	7, 17.
Alaska	2, 4, 5, 6, 8.
Arizona	5, 7, 10, 11, 14.
Arkansas	1, 2.
California	1, 5, 20, 21, 28, 33, 39, 42, 44, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 56, 61, 62, 71, 77, 81, 84, 89, 94, 105, 106, 108, 112, 125, 126, 127, 149, 155, 156, 157, 164, 177, 178, 192, 196, 197, 198, 207, 219, 223, 229, 234, 235, 237, 247, 254, 258, 263, 273, 283, 284, 290, 295, 296, 301, 302.
Colorado	2, 7, 8, 17, 18, 26, 30, 31, 37, 41, 43, 44, 46.
Connecticut	1, 2, 12, 13, 17, 18, 23.
Del.	2.
D.C.	1, 2.
Florida	6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 24, 31, 40, 43, 46.
Georgia	2.
Hawaii	(none).
Idaho	2, 7, 9.
Illinois	3, 4, 14, 20, 21, 22, 24, 29, 31, 38, 41, 46, 49, 54, 66, 67, 75, 79, 81, 82.
Indiana	3, 7, 9, 14, 17, 19, 21, 25, 26, 29, 30, 34, 36, 38, 41, 46, 49.
Iowa	4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15, 17, 19, 28, 33, 41, 42.
Kansas	1, 10, 13.
Kentucky	2, 9, 13.
Louisiana	9, 12, 13, 14.
Maine	1.
Maryland	2.
Massachusetts	4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 28, 32, 33.
Michigan	5, 7, 11, 14, 23, 26, 27.
Minnesota	7, 8, 11, 18.
Mississippi	3, 6, 7.
Missouri	5, 8, 15, 26, 40.
Montana	2, 3, 4, 10.
Nebraska	8, 10, 14, 18, 24.
Nevada	1, 16.
New Hampshire	3.
New Jersey	5, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22.
New Mexico	5, 6.
New York	1, 8, 12, 13, 21, 22, 24, 27, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 42, 43, 44, 47, 50, 59, 55, 58, 63, 64, 69, 70, 73, 74, 78, 81, 86, 89, 93.
North Carolina	(none).
North Dakota	1.
Ohio	5, 6, 7, 10, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 33, 39, 46, 47, 49, 50, 56, 64, 67, 69, 72.
Oklahoma	1, 7, 13, 16.
Oregon	2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 15, 18, 24, 27, 28, 30, 33.
Pennsylvania	4, 7, 10, 11, 15, 21, 27, 28, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 43, 46.
Rhode Island	1.
South Carolina	1, 7.
South Dakota	2.
Tennessee	1, 9, 10.
Texas	6, 10, 11, 13, 18, 93, 34, 41, 46, 58, 63, 64, 65, 70, 74.
Utah	3, 5, 8, 10, 14.
Vermont	(none).
Virginia	2, 4, 8, 15.
Washington	1, 5, 6, 8, 16, 25, 27, 28, 33, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41, 45.
West Virginia	(none).
Wisconsin	1, 2, 12, 28.
Wyoming	10.

Lew Hohn (Rochester, NY) reports the following new Fred Locke marking, found on a white U-925 he obtained. This marking (blue ink) is very similar in wording and format to the #5-1 marking except for the addition of the 1898 patent date. We've numbered this new one #6-3.

This is the second marking stamp with the period after FRED., his given name being Frederic. Of Fred Locke's nearly 50 patents, Frederic appears on only one (1889), and he signed "Fred" on all the documents I've seen. The fact that he obviously didn't like to be referred to by anything other than Fred makes these "FRED." stamps interesting.

Enclosed are photos (retouched here) of two porcelain two-piece transpositions I recently obtained. Both are U-223, but note the wire groove is deeper and lower on the skirt of the brown one. The tops are identical in shape.

The brown one is unmarked, but the white one has the P.R.R. marking between the base and wire groove of the bottom part. The marking is not entirely readable, but it's unmistakable.

Both of these insulators were found about ten years ago on the Salem Branch (Woodbury to Salem) of the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Railroad. This branch was built around 1890 and was originally known as the West Jersey Railroad Company. The Pennsylvania Railroad later acquired the property and it was known as the PRR up until 1933. In 1933 the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads merged all the properties in South Jersey. This resulted in the renaming to the Pennsylvania Reading Seashore Lines Railroad Co.

This Salem Branch has turned up some good glass insulators also. I have an unembossed threadless CD-733 glass insulator that was found on a working line circuit several years ago. I am a glass insulator collector, but my wife collects porcelain insulators.

I am always on the lookout for anything unusual in insulators, so when a friend mentioned having these transpositions I acquired them promptly. We are both employed on the Seashore Lines, he as a lineman and I as a signal maintainer. He removed these transpositions from working lines about ten years ago and has had them stored in his garage since, Both are in perfectly mint condition.

Can you tell me anything about these two insulators in regards to who manufactured them -- their rarity -- their probable current value, etc.?
E. Stanley Reed
104 Hammonton Rd., Box 85
Buena, NJ 08310

Wow! You hit the jackpot, and we'll consider this the find of the year. Never before has anyone found a brown U- 223, and all the white ones have been No Names found on Canadian lines. That P.R.R. marking on the white one is really something.

These were made by Pittsburg High Voltage Insulator Co., Derry, Pa. They made the U-223 style, and they were also the company who made the other known P.R.R. items.

I'd hate to estimate value of such desirable items, but If you insist, I'd say each one would beget from 3 to 5 pints of blood (figured at $40 per pint).

I have a porcelain pony, like the enclosed sketch which has the purest whitest, white glaze I've ever seen. It's so very smooth and "slick" that it almost feels oily! Firing surface is on the base rim. Can you make any comments on this insulator?
Pat Gavan,
Mt. Dora, Fla.

First of all, as you probably know, any one-groove pony with white glaze is a scarce item, so that's a good start.

Many of the Imperial Porcelain Works insulators had such fine glazes, but this definitely isn't an Imperial item. Some other companies had some very fine white-glazed insulators, notably Westinghouse, and Westinghouse did make some ponies similar to this style. However, the Z/4 crown marking makes me suspicious this insulator may be of foreign origin - for export to the American continent with those standard 1" threads though. Sorry I can't be more helpful with an answer on this specimen.