Erie Railroad lower quadrant semaphore blade


Erie Railroad lower quadrant semaphore blade

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Erie Railroad lower quadrant semaphore blade:
$900.00


Up for offer is an original lower quadrant semaphore blade from the interlocking machine that was located at Kingsland Indiana. This semaphore was the home signal for the southbound Lake Erie and Western Railroad, (later Nickel Plate RR) as it crossed the Erie Railroad in Kingsland. The Erie Railroad GS tower (as pictured in photos #5 & #6) was constructed in the early1900s as best I can determine and was dismantled in about 1983 after the Erie tracks were taken up. This semaphore is pictured as it hung in 1974, being the lower blade in picture #4 and was part of this installation. I was able to network with a gentleman in about 2004 who photographed the signal mast in place in 1974. The rust on the lower semaphore blade as seen in photo #4 matches the rust pattern on my semaphore blade that has been hanging in my garage since 1981. I was exploring the Kingsland GS Tower site in 1981 after the signal masts had been torn down sometime after 1975 and stacked by the old Kingsland Erie Depot. Lying in the weeds and covered by at least 5 years of dirt, weeds, and mud, was the lower semaphore blade, left in place where it fell. It was a mess; rusted and with all lenses missing but not bent up. I took the semaphore blade home and disassembled it. The spectacle casing was bead-blasted to bare metal and then repainted. I was unable to find original lenses but had a local glass shop make substitute red, yellow, and green roundels. (The green roundel has 2 cracks from a previous move.) Two of the brackets that held the roundels in place were rusted beyond repair but the one remaining bracket was used by a local machine shop to construct 2 steel replacement brackets. The semaphore blade itself measures 53\" long and remains original in every respect. It is coated in porcelain and bears over 100 years of rust and pits but the blade markings and color are quite good, as can be seen in photo #1. The semaphore is the lower blade in the far distance, just above the Erie Lackawanna locomotive nose in the last photo. It is not from the closest signal tower.
The Kingsland Interurban wreck that occurred on 09/21/1910, took place about 1/4 mile northeast of this signal mast. At least 41 people were killed in this horrible crash and it remains the worst interurban wreck in American history. Even though the wreck was on the Wabash Valley Traction interurban line which ran parallel to the L.E.&W. tracks, this signal mast must have borne witness to the crash. I believe this semaphore blade is the only remaining piece of railroad hardware that stood near this site, although I have no proof of this statement. I have been unable to find any pictures of the wreck that included this signal mast in the background but I believe this signal mast was in place before 1910.
This semaphore is 6\' 6\" long and weighs about 80 pounds. Shipment could pose a problem due to the size and weight so I would recommend picking the blade up from my home near Brunswick, GA after October 18th. The blade could be disassembled and shipped in two separate boxes. I would estimate the cost for shipment at $175.00 which will be added the cost of the blade.

Erie Railroad lower quadrant semaphore blade:
$900.00

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