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Posted 3 years ago
sledguy
(1 item)
I located these two Hemingrey glass insulators yesterday when we were excavting a sinkhole on our city sno-mobile trail. Turns out there were two old stone and mason structures underneath that were starting to fill in with dirt from the trail after a series of heavy rains. I managed to rescue them before we had to fill in the structures to prevent further damage to our trail. I located several types of Hemingrey insulators on the internet but none exactly this style. I am trying to determine their approximate age. Any help out there?? ken
InsulatorsInsulators were originally designed to keep the wires linking telegraphs an…
Are there any other markings on it besides the H. G. Co?
There is a capital H on the very top.
Sorry to be so specific but any specifications on it...like width and height or anything?
These are standard CD145 Aqua colored railroad beehives with prismic style embossing. There production was made in the millions in the 1960's and can be found quite prevalent through out the lower 48 states. I have around 50 of them myself and make great yard ornaments.
Check out website; http://www.insulator.info. for more detailed information.
Nice fine though!
They are 4and 1/4 in. hi and 3and 1/8 in. wide at base and if these are from the 60's they would have had to been put in there by aliens.
I was thinking more like early 1900s. Growing up I lived in a house that was only ever owned by my family. The first ones to live in it were back in the early 1900's (about 1905ish). when we moved in many many years later, we somehow inherited one of these as well with the house and looks the same. The website below shows its from 1880's-1930's.
http://www.hemingray.info/database/detail.php?cd=145&source=id
If you click on some of the ones people have posted below, there are ones that are very very close. They seem to all be a little bit different. Can't be entirely sure, but this is what I have found and know. Not sure if they're worth anything, but good luck!
You boys keep believing what you want to believe.
Thanks Erin, it sure looks like the mystery is solved. That was the same era my search had put it in also. The proof is in the pictures!!
Your right they were produced through the thirties and I mistakenly meant they were distribed on the lines through the sixties as I had a linesmen tell me that put up alot of them replacing broken ones. The prismic style embossing were used on some of the ones last produced. The linesmen that I talked with told me that there were alot of these beehives were warehoused by the cases.
I am curious as what were the rooms that you found them in? Old storm cellars ? How big were the rooms to have mounted insulators in side them? Were the two that you pictured the only ones that you found or did it at one point there might have been more? My your pictures the walls and ceiling of the room looked pretty intact for being motared in stone.
The buildings we found them in were all that was left of what was probably old warehouses from around the turn of the century. They were located along an area that was thriving along the lakefront at that time. Copper was still king and being shipped worldwide from both sides of the Portage Lake shipping canal. The trail was originally railroad tracks that passed over these structures so they had to be well constructed. They most likely were airtight until the trail was modified about 10 yrs. ago. The remaining buildings were 16 ft. wide and at least 8 ft. high and about 14 ft. into the hillside. There was at least 20 ft. of earth above them. The two insulators were all we found. The wood crossbar they were mounted on fell apart in my hands as I pulled it from the wall. The arched roof was approx. 2 ft. thick and the walls were also. Nice stonework!
Wow awesome ! Think of the mastercrafting that it took to build such rooms to last this span of time. Just like stepping back in time a few centuries. If the walls could only talk.
Thanks for the information.
My sentiments exactly. It was a neat,tho brief, trip back in time. Glad to share.
Nice find! These were made by the Hemingray glass Co. These do have prism style embossing and were made around 1895-1905. They are one of the more common styles of insulators made and were mostly used by railroads. Thanks for sharing your find!