Fabrication of N&W Number Boards

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

Of the steam era number boards that I have or have personally seen for
the lighted number boards for predominantly the Pyle National headlamp,
I can say that they were all basically free-hand construction and were
hand cut with little or no assistance from a stencil or a straight-edge.

 

They consist of a layer of milk glass underneath, a 'stencil' of the
numbers made from thin steel sheet or copper, painted black, of course,
or a stencil made of RUBBER ( hey-its thin , its available as sheet
stock, easy to cut and its black!) and a sheet of class glass over the
top.

 

Given the need to have a thin material to cut the number mask from,
there are probably some made from brass sheet out there somewhere, too.
No doubt some apprentice or shop helper was given the assignment to get
the numbers ready while the locomotive was being painted.  He would
certainly scrounge around the shop or shop stores to find the thin
material to cut by hand rather than by sawing it with a jig saw.  These
numbers wouldn't be used enough to make a drawing and create standard
parts for stock.  They just had to be hand made as needed.

 

G Rolih

Cincinnati (home of Moscowitz scrap yard the last resting spot of many a
steam locomotive)

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
[mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org] On Behalf Of
nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
Sent: Sunday, January 15, 2006 8:55 PM
To: NW Mailing List
Subject: Fabrication of N&W Number Boards

 

With y'all'z indulgence, I'd like to revisit a question I raised on the
List several years ago with inspecific results.  Hopefully this time
around, there may be "new blood" in the List gene pool, or perhaps
someone will have run across a record...

 

What was N&W's practice on the fabrication on engine number boards?
Were the number boards a sandwich of two pieces of glass with a metal
insert in the middle, from which the numbers were cut out?  If so, what
was the metal?  Is there a set of standard plans for the numerals?

 

-- abram burnett

      (ruminating from the Imperial City of Novcumberlandgorod)

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