Number Boards on Y6 2156

[NW Mailing List]

Abe:

I’ve seen N&W number boards for steam from a variety of materials we have several drawings relating to this:

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=71828
Is the 1915 drawing for the electric headlight boards for the electric locomotives, and it specifies zinc .028 thick for the materials

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=71826
Headlight from 1914, for Z specifies zinc .028 for materials

https://www.nwhs.org/archivesdb/detail.php?ID=71825
This is the later, 1931 drawing for the 14 inch Pyle-National headlight, again, no material specified

What I have in my collection for steam era stuff is zinc or galvanized metal boards, I’ve also seen rubber ones, like out of inner tubes for tires or gasket material, and at least one out of thin cardboard like you used to find in shirts.

I also have a diesel board out of the thin cardboard.

For one of my headlights, that did not have correct boards, I cut them out of .015 styrene with an X-acto knife, spray painted them flat black, and it looks great. At the same time, I made 3-4 other numbers in case I wanted to change them out, but never have.

I’ve never seen any of copper.

We have at the archives a set of numbers for Alco number boards that are cut out of what is called stencil board, a sign shop supply that was used to punch out stencils out of a stencil cutting machine.

Best
Ken Miller



 

> On Aug 24, 2023, at 1:53 PM, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:
> 
> As one who ye tinker'eth with old engine number boards, I would like to ask how the number boards for the 2156 were rebuild when the engine came to Roanoke from St Louis ?
> 
> Specifically, what material was used for the number cut-outs sandwiched between the inside opal glass and the front clear glass ?
> 
> The really nice ones (not N&W) were hand cut from Copper sheet, using tin snips. The number boards off N&W Eng 306 (an RS-3) have a cut-out sheet fabricated from something like poster-board or very thin linoleum. (Yes, that was a Roanoke shops re-numbering job, changing the engine's original number boards as supplied by American Locomotive.) Another individual who owns an N&W headlight tells me his number cut-outs are made from black paper.
> 
> It is almost unbelievable that the N&W, which did everything else with such mechanical perfection, would cheap-out on the number boards, and use just black paper.
> 
> So, how were the number boards restored for the 2156? Anyone know what material was used for the "sandwich" ?
> 
> -- abram burnett
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