American Railway Express Scale

 Recently, I acquired a 60 pound scale from Ebay that has a plate mounted to the wooden base. The plate is inscribed, "A.R.E. 55428."

The seller of the scale believed that A.R.E. stood for "American Railway Express." Unless proven otherwise, I am inclined to agree with him. One possible piece of evidence to dispute this claim, however, is the patent date of 1906 on the scale. The American Railway Express was not founded until 1918 and was a forerunner to the Railway Express Agency. However, the 1906 patent would have been in force in 1918, which could have been the date of manufacture.

Readers of this article might be surprised to find the focus is more about the Industrial Revolution and patents, than about railroads. In my research about this scale, I uncovered labyrinthine stories of several scale manufacturing companies, their founding, and apparent patent infringements.

My plan was to do a cosmetic restoration on the scale. Since I could not locate a manufacturer name without dis-assembling the entire scale, I had to do a bit of detective work.

My scale has a poplar base. In my research, I found that Landers, Frary and Clark of Connecticut made a scale that looked just like mine, with a wooden base. There were only a handful of scale manufacturers during the early 20th century, and I thought I had found the correct one.

I sent the metal components out for bead blasting. When they returned, I painted them the original colors. I began re-assembling the scale. As I cleaned up an access plate that covers the regulating screw, I discovered this:

At first, I mistakenly thought that the patented plate was made by Triner and used on a Landers, Frary and Clark scale. Then, I discovered Triner Scale.

The patent for this scale was granted in 1906.

Obviously, there were enough similarities between different companies' scale designs to cause them potential legal trouble with each other. The fact that James Triner was a former employee of the Pelouze Scale Company would have put him at greater risk with his former boss. Like today, however, companies didn't bring legal action unless a competitor was adversely affecting their bottom line enough to justify the cost of suing them. It was a matter of dollars and cents.

The Triner Scale in its new home.

New Creations Victorian Railroad Buildings

 The SP office is now a place of business. Although I don't dispatch trains or other railroad tasks, I work in this office every day.

New Creations Victorian Railroad Buildings was officially re-launched in early December. It had been a dream of mine to produce O scale kits of prototype structures, including from the SP.

My workday usually starts around 5 a.m. With coffee cup nearby, I design files for my laser engraver and 3D print farm.

The year 2021 was a year of acquiring many new skills. Not only did I have to learn five different computer softwares, I had to learn how to run Sadie, my laser engraver. The 3D print farm still presents its own challenges as I learn that craft.

Please visit our website. Better yet, please  visit our kiosk at an upcoming train show.

The Kern County Museum

For 45 years, I had a love-hate relationship with the Kern County Museum.

My first visit to the museum's Pioneer Village was in July of 1970. My family had just relocated to Bakersfield from Florida.

In the early 1990's I began visiting the museum regularly to make detailed drawings and photos of some of the buildings on their property that I wished to model for my HO scale model railroad layout.

I ended up volunteering at the museum for various events. To be honest, my experiences there over the next ten years were mixed.  The Museum went through several directors in a short period of time. The word on the street was that the museum board consisted of an old-guard kabal that fought every director at every turn. The museum had trouble raising operating funds. The oversight of the museum passed through several hands, including the Kern Superintendent of Schools. By 2016, I swore I would never set foot on their property again. 

Fast forward to today, where I attended Homecoming Celebration, an open-house event that they advertised on their Facebook page. It was the first time I had been there for several years. I attended with as open a mind as possible.

The first people I met upon entering the front gate were Mike and Susan McCoy. I knew Mike was the newest director of the museum. We engaged in polite conversation where I kept my guard up. Then, the conversation took a turn.

Mike shared with me how he had fired several staff and the troublesome old guard on the board had resigned. He has managed to raise over $1 million in operating funds during his tenure. After this re-introduction to the museum, my visit was nothing less than enchanting.

The Oil Exhibit

The first attraction I visited was the Oil Exhibit. The charming docent invited me to a small theatre I didn't know existed, to watch a film about the Oil industry in Kern County. The building housed other displays that included a 1/2 scale model of an oil-worker's dwelling.  I was bowled over by the experience and awestruck that such a display would exist here in Kern County.

The Metcalf House

The Metcalf house was the first structure of any size that I modeled from Kern County Museum. My archives list the date of "5/30/94." I remember the day well. I made my scale drawings, then met my late father for lunch. He worked across the street at that time.

Today was the first day I was permitted to enter the dwelling and see the inside. The house is fully furnished and in excellent shape. It looks as though someone lives there.

The Trolley Car Exhibit

I have been reading articles on the Bakersfield Californian website about the ongoing restoration of a trolley that ran up and down Chester avenue back in the day. No article can do justice to the meticulous care the volunteers have exercised in their work on this car, nor the building that displays it. Within the same building, is a large collection of antique cars, where I met another happy volunteer docent.

Bena Station

My visit ended with the Bena Station display, another old favorite. The Kern County Museum today has many memories from my past and new displays. This museum is second to none.

I would write more, but I will be going to the museum quite often. Today culminated with me visiting the Museum's fine website, where I purchased a museum membership. In a way, this is a personal "homecoming" on Kern County Museum's "Homecoming Day."

Shedding Light On The Subject

 My Southern Pacific Museum has been greatly enhanced by the fine work of a local company; Duke Electric.

I made the acquaintance of Juan Sanchez last summer while I was involved in creating this space. He came on a Sunday and he and I spent the day together. He went up into the attic and replaced some wiring while adding new runs. He installed switches on the wall to operate the ceiling fan and lights. He hung my 1930s era light fixtures and replaced the incandescent bulbs with LEDs.

 I now consider him a good friend.

While he was here last summer, he prepared for track lighting by pre-installing junction boxes over the ceiling. Yesterday he and his  brother in law arrived to install the track lighting itself.

While I have enjoyed the museum very much until yesterday, anyone would agree that the track lighting makes everything "pop."

If you were visiting a museum, would you enjoy viewing this scene:

or this:

Compare this scene:

to this:

Many thanks, Juan! You're the only electrician I'll ever call.

Crossing Tehachapi Creek

 

I just added a framed print to the north wall of the SP room. It sits over the Western Union counter. Anyone who has seen the completed work of art agree that it is breathtaking. 

It is the product of three men from different parts of the country. Each played their part by contributing their talents.

John Winfield is a prolific painter in Fort Worth, Texas. He grew up in California, but has lived in the Metroplex for many years. He is frequently sought after for commissions. His Facebook page lists many prints available, of which I was fortunate to obtain this one. One can only imagine the increasing value of his original works.

Jim Hinkhouse , the owner of Trackside Prints and Hobbies, grew up in Denver. He has always loved trains and began modeling at age five. A man of many talents, he is a retired Lutheran pastor who served parishes in South Dakota, Colorado and Texas before retiring into his current occupation. He resides in Georgetown, Texas and sells many pieces of art by John Winfield.

Ed Lloyd is a Bakersfield artist who is also part of the excellent team at the Bakersfield Hobby Lobby framing gallery. When I showed him my John Winfield print, fresh out of its mailing tube, I saw an unusual sparkle come into his eyes. He was bowled over by the vibrant colors in the print.

I watched him try different shades of matboard over the print. One of his co-workers told me later that Ed had some favorite mat colors he was saving for a special project. My print proved to be perfect for those colors.

His choice for the double mat makes the print appear almost 3D, especially the smoke coming from the locomotive. He used museum-grade glass and framed the work to match his other projects in my SP room.

Both Jim Hinkhouse and Ed Lloyd are stunned by the finished product. This artwork has been both a great "perfect storm," and a "sum exceeding its parts."

Merry Christmas from the Friendly Southern Pacific

 https://youtu.be/XT2DsL8wv3s

Edison, California

My first memory of Kern County was Edison. On May the 1st 1970, I arrived in the back end of a 1969 Ford Country Squire as a lad of ten years old. My family of five was relocating from the swamps of South Florida to Bakersfield while towing a Terry travel trailer. My Dad had been hired as the office manage at Spudco in Edison.

I had been an avid rail fan since babyhood. It all started with a ride from Florida to North Carolina on the Silver Meteor when I was two. Our hometown was serviced by the Seaboard, although only for the agricultural industry there. Due to the kindness of the local yardmaster, I was privileged to ride in the cab of a switcher doing some local movements the year before we moved. When I wasn't at home or school, I was always at the train tracks.

Edison looked familiar with its packinghouses. The familiarity ended, though, with weather, terrain and the Southern Pacific. My dialect was to be a problem at school, where even descendants of Dust Bowl Okies couldn't understand me. Today, people tell me I have a "broadcast quality" voice. This is the by-product of years working to overcome a regional dialect.

In John Signor's fine book "Tehachapi," he includes photos of little gems; depots that lined the tracks from Bakersfield to Mojave. There were also some of the larger number 22 stations along the route. The only small depot to survive is Bena station at the Kern County Museum in Bakersfield.  The majority were torn down. Even in so great a company as the Southern Pacific, corporate utilitarianism trumped historical preservation. 

I speculate that, even if the railroad had offered these buildings for sale to the public, the value of these structures would have been lost on the late Victorians who had a cultural disdain for "old things." Edison serves as an example of what happens to abandoned railroad buildings over time. In retrospect, it seems more merciful to tear them down than let them decay.

Edison depot in 1916. The main depot would have fronted the tracks. The building in the background appears to be on the site of the building featured in this article. It could be the original building, but if so the roof was raised to accommodate the transom windows.

Photo courtesy of Mr. John Signor from the Southern Pacific photo collection.

The Edison depot in 1955. By this time, a restroom had been added to the north side of the building, facing the tracks.

Photos courtesy of Mr. John Signor from the Southern Pacific photo collection.

By 1970, the depot was still intact and used, but the paint was faded and chipped.

Photos by Robert Gaddie. Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society Collection.

When I took these photos in the early 90's, the depot was abandoned. The Southern Pacific was soon to be acquired by the Union Pacific. I speculated that this structure would be torn down.

The inside of the building had a very curious layout. The structure was divided in the middle by a wall with two small cubbyholes where items could be passed back and forth, but the only entrances to the two halves of the building were through exterior doors.

The two entry doors. The security of the building was long-gone, and transients were obviously staying there from time to time. I made a detailed scale drawing of the structure.

By 2017, the depot was in a state of advanced decay. The late Robert Gaddie stated in an email to James Lancaster that the fire that finally destroyed the structure occurred in August of 2017.

All photos courtesy of James Lancaster

Edison depot on December 11th, 2020. The depot burned several years ago. Perhaps a transient lit a fire inside to keep warm. Even at this date, the Union Pacific has neglected to  clean up the ashes.

In writing this article, I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. John Signor for giving permission to use photos. His excellent books are available and definitely worth reading.

I am also grateful to Mr. James Lancaster, a founding member of the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society. He obtained permission for me to use photos taken by the late Robert Gaddie.