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 Posted - January 09 2014 : 10:49:55 AM
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Hey everyone. Thought I'd share something interesting with you all that I found in my own hometown. I was driving across the abandoned railroad tracks in town when I got stopped at a light. I looked over at the tracks and noticed in the parking lot of a car dealership parralell to them, an old telegraph pole, still standing. I looked closely at the top and noticed that it still had one insulator on it with the copper wiring and all! I have a few telegraph insulators in my collection that I picked up along the ROW of the Conway Scenic Railroad while working track crew. I used Google Maps to get a picture of the pole that I'm talking about and I took a picture of the closest insulator I have in my collection (New England Telephone & Telegraph). Hope you enjoy this bit of history like I do 
Check out my railroad drawings I have for sale!
www.northeasternrailfan.webs.com
~Matt
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Posted - January 09 2014 : 1:31:16 PM
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Aww, c'mon! You didn't shinney up the pole and get a shot of the insulator that was on it?
Carpe Manana!
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Posted - January 09 2014 : 3:40:05 PM
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| Great colour on that insulator! There's a whole row of old telegraph poles that run along some tracks near my house. I've collected a few insulators. Most of them are just the plain clear ones. Still nice to look at though.
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Posted - January 09 2014 : 4:16:42 PM
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Haha trust me, if I wasn't trespassing, I absolutely would have climbed the pole!
I've noticed the blue tint here in New England. There were also purple tinted ones which apparently go for a lot of money
Check out my railroad drawings I have for sale!
www.northeasternrailfan.webs.com
~Matt
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Posted - January 09 2014 : 4:37:42 PM
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| I had one insulator that I believe was a very dark green colour. From what I understand, the coloured ones are worth more to collectors...
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Posted - January 09 2014 : 9:55:22 PM
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The colored ones or actually just the blue ones are the ones that I find in the dirt along the ROW when I'm on the track crew. Most of them are just pieces but there are whole ones mixed in as well. Its always neat to find them. It's funny but the ticket office of our depot actually uses them on the bottom of their chair legs to keep from scratching the floors. Works like a charm!
Further up our line in the mountains, we still have miles of telegraph poles still standing, most with the wires on them. This one I found in my hometown was a great surprise
Check out my railroad drawings I have for sale!
www.northeasternrailfan.webs.com
~Matt
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Posted - January 09 2014 : 10:33:38 PM
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I don't have any telegraph pole insulators, but I do have the top of a telegraph pole! 
I found it laying beside a local rail trail maybe 15 years ago?  Had a friend meet me out there and we picked it up and threw it in the back of my Subaru wagon. Brought it home and put it out on the back deck. It's in fair condition, some of the wood starting to rot but overall not too bad.
Kind of sentimental connection too, my dad was dispatcher for the railroad over that line...
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - January 10 2014 : 12:14:30 AM
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quote:I don't have any telegraph pole insulators, but I do have the top of a telegraph pole!
I found it laying beside a local rail trail maybe 15 years ago? Had a friend meet me out there and we picked it up and threw it in the back of my Subaru wagon. Brought it home and put it out on the back deck. It's in fair condition, some of the wood starting to rot but overall not too bad.
Kind of sentimental connection too, my dad was dispatcher for the railroad over that line...
Originally posted by JNXT 7707Â -Â January 09 2014Â :Â 10:33:38 PM
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Very interesting! A great place to find insulators (if you're looking for some for your telegraph pole top) check out local flea markets. They get rid of them cheap there, unlike Ebay. And I understand the feeling of sentimentality towards these old items...how long was your dad a dispatcher?
Check out my railroad drawings I have for sale!
www.northeasternrailfan.webs.com
~Matt
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Posted - January 10 2014 : 06:43:32 AM
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he retired in 1976 from Conrail, and so he started out on the NYC and then got to experience Penn Central too. Can't remember the exact amount of years but he was working for the railroad before having to go to WWII.
He worked the "3rd trick" all that time I was aware of, so I would be in bed when he got home at night, and listen to him talk about the railroad as he was eating dinner. Wow if I could have had a recorder and hear them now!
http://tycodepot.com/
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Posted - January 11 2014 : 12:56:50 PM
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quote:I had one insulator that I believe was a very dark green colour. From what I understand, the coloured ones are worth more to collectors...
Originally posted by DaCheez - January 09 2014 : 4:37:42 PM
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On Santa Fe, we used to used to put them on the bottom of the captains' chairs we used at the conductor's desk in the cabooses, so we could slide the chairs around easier.
String Bob
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Posted - March 15 2014 : 5:36:31 PM
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Found a blue insulator similar to the pic in a nearby ravine, looking for where I might find a few more. Any suggestions?
--CRC
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Posted - March 15 2014 : 6:22:19 PM
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How about antique shops?
Or along railroads active or abandoned
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