Woohoo! Finally!

Talk about signals ranging from wigwags to EVA signals here.

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AndyWS
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Woohoo! Finally!

Post by AndyWS »

Today I have officially started my own crossing signal collection. Several of you long time members know that every August I go to the Badger Steam & Gas Engine Show near Baraboo, WI. They have a giant flea market where you can buy all sorts of antiques - engine parts, toys (including a $7,000 7 1/2" gauge live steam locomotive!), books, electronics, tools, household knicknacks, etc. Since the 2006 show (about 6 weeks before I came across Mike's site and asked if I could be a regular) I have been seeking out a particular vendor there who has a large amount of railroad equipment, including models, and numerous crossing signal parts every year.

At the 2006, 2007 and 2008 shows, I always got to him too late for the best things. Anything I was interested in was already marked "sold," or else he would have nothing and later in the day I would run across somebody who had a huge trailerful of signal parts after buying it all out from under my nose.

Well, today my luck finally changed. There on top of his display was a complete set of 8" Griswold Type B lights, including all visors, backgrounds, wiring and brackets. There was no "sold" tag on it and it was marked for $80. He offered it to me for $70, and I talked him down to $60!!!! :Grin: I called my dad and asked him to drive over in the borrowed golf cart he had brought to ride around the show (he has a bad hip) so I could use it to haul the lights back to my car. We did that, then Dad got a socket wrench set from his car and helped me un-bolt two of the lightheads from the bracket and remove the visors from the other two, so it would be easier to fit in my car.

So there you have it, I picked up a complete set of Griswold lights for $60. They seem to be in good shape, the lenses are all solid with no cracks, and the backgrounds and visors have faded paint and are somewhat dented and bent up, but there are no significant cracks or breaks.

The lights immediately after I bought them:

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Here they are loaded into my car:

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Last edited by AndyWS on Tue Jan 24, 2017 10:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Smjh1979
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Re: Woohoo! Finally!

Post by Smjh1979 »

Nice lights. Glad you were finally able to get some of them.
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cabman701
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Re: Woohoo! Finally!

Post by cabman701 »

Those are nice and what a good price! :Grin:

I'm sure after a little TLC they will look like brand new again.
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AndyWS
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Re: Woohoo! Finally!

Post by AndyWS »

Today we partially disassembled the signal to make it easier to unload from the car and take down to the basement. We removed all the backgrounds and visors, and removed three of the four lightheads from the central bracket.

Here is the wiring inside the junction box:

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The signal after being taken apart. I labeled each lighthead with a marker to indicate where it and its mounting arm go on the bracket (FR for front right, etc):

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The backgrounds and visors:

Image

The nameplate/cover for the junction box:

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We touched the wires for one of the lightheads to the terminals of a car battery, and it lit right up. :Smile:
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owensri
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Re: Woohoo! Finally!

Post by owensri »

Great catch! That was an excellent price for them!

I'm curious...are the backgrounds plastic or metal? My Type B's are plastic BTW. :TUP2:
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AndyWS
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Re: Woohoo! Finally!

Post by AndyWS »

Thanks, everybody!

The backgrounds and visors are metal.

Thanks for the info, KLM92. I didn't know there was more than one version of the Type B light.
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