Original locomotive bell from "The Jupiter"? [???]
CHRISTENSEN BROS. HOME RANCH DINNER BELL
Eugene, OR. (1950 - present)
Used as a dinner bell on my husband's family ranch in Eugene, Oregon, for more than 50 years, this bell has since revealed a more interesting life beyond what was thought of as "just an old schoolhouse bell." It is said to have come from a rural Lane County Schoolhouse in Eugene, Oregon, which my husband's father, aunt, and uncle attended during the 1920's. It is 22" across the mouth, 9" across the top, and must weigh somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 pounds or more. The top is embossed with what looks like the letter "A" with a hyphen followed by the number 22. We do not have the yolk.
About eight years ago we had the clapper repaired. The welder stated he had some trouble welding it, and that it appeared to be made of material other than iron. We thought nothing of this and continued lugging it around with us as we moved. Then one day I decided to clean it. During the cleaning process it started to reflect a golden sheen and pictures, logos and letters began to appear (although vaguely). Among some of the things we noticed were what looked like a Union Pacific Shield, capital letters CPRR GVG&N, the number 3, 8, or possibly a 2, an eagle insignia and the word "Jupiter."
A friend of ours stuck a magnet to it, and immediately dismissed it as being "just iron." However, upon further investigation we found out that some old bronze and/or brass ship or railroad bells were made with a conglomeration of materials which could produce a magnetic attraction. We also found out that some of the old railroad bells were donated to schoolhouses, melted down for use of the metals or were simply lost in time.
After considerable research regarding the emblems and words that appeared during cleaning, we truly believe we have the original bell made in N.Y. for the Central Pacific Railroad Locomotive, "Jupiter," commissioned into service March 20, 1869, San Francisco, CA.
—Robert & Nancy Christensen
The following images are the attachments referred to in Kyle Watt's comment.
S-537 Russell View from atop CP Jupiter, at Promontory Summit, Utah. May 10, 1869 bell detail a:
Hart 358 Monarch from the West - SP Coll b a:
Hart 349 var 1 Scene near Deeth, Mount Halleck in distance - CP Loco 63 - SP Coll b a:
I-55 Wyoming Station, UP Engine 23 on main track, Cal State Parks coll a:
Schenectady late 1860s Bell - 361rr:
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 2:07 PM
6 Comments:
From: "Arnold Menke" waspman@cableone.net
Your bell is interesting. The old Jupiter ended up on the GVG&N as their #1. I have a photograph of the engine taken about 1900, one year before the engine was scrapped. The bell appears to have a raised bead just above the bottom edge which your bell lacks. There is no doubt about the Jupiter becoming GVG&N #1. I wonder if your bell truly came from this engine.
Did you photograph or somehow record the "pictures" and letters revealed during cleaning?
—Arnold Menke
From: kylewyatt@aol.com
While the bell is a very interesting one, it does not appear to be original to the Central Pacific Jupiter. You mention it having the following "a Union Pacific Shield, capital letters CPRR GVG&N". A bell with the letters "GVG&N" would clearly not be on the original Jupiter as built, since it was only in the 1890s that the locomotive went to that railroad. There is always the chance that a replacement bell might have been cast for the locomotive, but it would not have both CPRR AND GVG&N cast onto it, as at most only the railroad that owned it at the time would have its initials cast onto the bell. And most commonly railroad markings are stamped into bells with letter sets, not cast into them.
But perhaps more to the point, as Arnold mentions above, your bell does not have the same shape as the original Jupiter Schenectady bell. Attached are some photos to help illustrate.
S-537 Russell View from atop CP Jupiter, at Promontory Summit, Utah. May 10, 1869 bell detail a - This photo was taken from the top of the Jupiter at the Promontory celebration May 10, 1869 by official Union Pacific photographer A. J. Russell, and shows the top of the Jupiter's bell. Note the sharp edge in the photo, not the rounded beaded edge at the top of your bell.
Hart 358 Monarch from the West - SP Collection b a - This photo by official Central Pacific photographer A. A. Hart shows the bell of Central Pacific #60 Jupiter at Promontory.
Hart 349 variation 1 Scene near Deeth, Mount Halleck in distance - CP Loco 63 - SP Collection b a - This photo by official Central Pacific photographer A. A. Hart shows the bell of Central Pacific #63, a sister to the Jupiter ordered from Schenectady at the same time.
I-55 Wyoming Station, UP Engine 23 on main track, Cal State Parks collection a - This photo by official Union Pacific photographer A. J. Russell is of Schenectady built Union Pacific locomotive #23, very similar to the Jupiter.
Schenectady late 1860s Bell - 361rr - This is a modern photo of what appears to be a genuine Schenectady late 1860s bell.
Hope that helps.
—Kyle Wyatt
From: cbrodeo@gorge.net
Thank you for the information and pictures. However our bell does match the Schenectady bell. What we have been able to make out on the our bell depends on angle and light. It very hard to read, but what we discovered lead us to the Jupiter, which we did not know it existed, before cleaning the bell and trying to trace certain areas, we found it very hard to trace on a round sloping surface. We have to believe what I have seen over the past two years. ...
—Robert & Nancy Christensen
From: "Arnold Menke" waspman@cableone.net"
Your bell lacks the ring or rim about the lower edge that was on Jupiter's bell. Also from some of the views that Kyle Wyatt has, you can see that the top of the bell was rather flat, and not rounded off as in your bell. Your bell is plain in comparison.
—Arnold Menke
From: "Wyatt, Kyle" kwyatt@parks.ca.gov
All I can say is that your bell does NOT match the Schenectady bell. If it still looks similar to you, then you need to look more closely and critically at the shape. When looking at the details of the construction of the two bells, the differences are dramatic and clear.
Secondly, it would be impossible for the original Jupiter bell from Schenectady to have GVG&N initials cast into it (and unlikely to have CPRR initials cast into it – it was not the style of the times to cast in the purchaser's initials – if anything they would be the manufacturer's initials, and often not even those). And if it were a later replacement bell from the 1890s, it would be very unlikely to have both GVG&N and CPRR initials cast into it.
—Kyle
I must also agree with Kyle. Its most certainly not the Jupiter's original bell. I am also of the opinion that it is likely to have never been on a locomotive. The casting quality is far below period standards for any locomotive manufacturer. Also on locomotive bells, where the top of the bell meets the iron yoke, loco bells are much thicker and designed with a raised ring (as seen in Kyle's photos) and often a machined tapered section to fit inside the yoke which relieves the constant shearing stress on the fastener that holds the bell, yoke and clapper together.
Looking at your photos, I'd say that your bell is perhaps a re-cast of some other type of bell such as a school bell.
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