Re: (erielack) Historic artifacts

["Joe Mayer" <jmayer_@_insight.rr.com>]

The "liberating" of railroad artifacts was also a troubling dilemma for me. 
I can honestly say that most of what I have that came straight from the 
railroad was relieved of official duty by someone working for the railroad. 
My dad was pretty good at working the "Hey, my son here is a real train nut. 
Would there be any chance...", etc. with the railroad workers.  Sometimes 
things worked out, sometimes not.  Here are two examples.

The first was during a family RV trip, when I was 17, through Niagra Falls, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, and back to Ohio via Chicago.  This was the Summer of 
'76, and the EL Westend was dead.  We stopped in Koutts IN so I could take 
some pics of the EL depot there, at the time being used as a meals-on-wheels 
headquarters.  While walking along the rusty, weed-grown tracks to get back 
to the RV, I litteraly tripped over a beat up electric switch stand lamp on 
a long-unused siding.  It was missing one red lens, the top was gone, and 
there was about an inch of water in it.  The weeds were so high around it 
you couldn't see it or the tracks.  It was like I was walking through a 
field.  I walked back to the RV, asked my family to humor me, grabbed a 
paper grocery bag and a pair of lineman's pliars, and soon returned with my 
bounty.

At the time, the station in Wadsworth was still used by a couple of 
departments, including the signaling department.  The only time I was ever 
in that depot was the day a few weeks later when I took one of the 
butyl-plastic lenses in and asked the guys there if they knew where I could 
get another red one.  I was surprised at how nice the guys were, inviting me 
into the old agent's office where there was a big floor cabinet which was 
full of signal supplies.  They pulled out a beautiful red lens of the same 
diameter, brand new and still in the paper.  Not the same style, but I 
wasn't going to complain.  Then they asked "see anything else you need?".  I 
was just dumbfounded, and left with just my lens.

That's the "have" story.  Here is the "have-not".  The station in Wadsworth 
had long ago been freed of the sign on the East end, as that end faced away 
from any road.  But the sign on the West end was there for awhile after the 
building ceased to be used by Conrail.  One summer evening on the golf 
course my Dad struck up a conversation with a man I didn't know.  It was 
John Peronis.  John had signed on with the Erie section gang in the late 
1940's, in time to help tear down Silver Creek tower and the associated 
interlocking piping.  By the time Conrail came into being, he was the 
section foreman.  My Dad started his "My son's quite a rail nut" speach, and 
John quickly stated that I could have the sign.  He said to just stop by 
some time when a crew was there, and tell them he wanted me to have it.  The 
very next morning I had a dentist appointment, and while driving by the 
station I saw a yellow EL truck there.  I was late, and decided I would have 
to stop on the way back.  On my return, the truck was gone, and so was the 
sign.

I corresponded with John a few times in the early 90's.  He was living in 
Florida.  I asked about the sign.  He said he thought he knew who might have 
it and would ask, but I never heard about it again.

So, if it looks like it is going to the trash (not that common any more) go 
for it.  If given permission, don't ask twice.  And don't be late for the 
dentist!

Joe Mayer
ELHS 702 


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