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A Very Kelly Christmas: 1940
... not pictured, is the sister-in-law. Occupation: Pipe Carener (cleaner?) Industry: Navy Yard Commissioner Kelly ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/16/2018 - 5:35pm -

December 1940. "The family of John Kelly, who works in the Navy yard in South Boston. Their present tenement in Quincy is completely inadequate. They have been unable to move because every real estate agent has turned him down, claiming there was no reason why they should rent to large families when there is such a great demand for decent houses by hundreds of incoming shipyard workers." Medium format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Overwhelmed -the mother and the girl sitting next to Dad. Not surprising when the eight other members of the family are male. So much family resemblanceThe little boy reading the comics looks more like his mom. Completely inadequateInadequate though this tenement may be deemed to be, it’s still a far cry from some of the lodgings we’ve seen on Shorpy from a decade earlier. I see a lamp with a shade, matching upholstered furniture, a Christmas tree, decent clothing. Maybe there aren’t enough bedrooms, but it’s a step up from much of the Depression-era housing we see on this site. (Note to John Kelly: easy for me to say, but maybe give your weary wife a break, pal.) More crowded than we thoughtHere is abstract from 1940 census John L Kelly 39 Elizabeth Kelly 42 John L Kelly 14 David Kelly 12 Alfred Kelly 11 Joseph Kelly 9 Elizabeth Kelly 7 Leo Kelly 5 Philip Kelly 3 Robert Kelly 2 Agnes Ormond 48 Agnes, not pictured, is the sister-in-law. Occupation: Pipe Carener (cleaner?) Industry: Navy Yard Commissioner KellyIronically, Leo grew up to be the Quincy Housing Commissioner. I grew up in Quincy, and they are a well-known family. (The Gallery, Boston, Christmas, Jack Delano, Kids)
Sweet Snuff: 1938
... Do I want to smoke it in a cigarette or smoke it in a pipe or dip it or snort it or chew it? The only delivery methods not advertised ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/23/2016 - 11:12am -

September 1938. "Express Agency office and general store in coal mining town of Scotts Run, West Virginia." Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. View full size. It's milderThan what? – a kick in the chest by a mule? Those Signs Would be Valuable TodayThese metal advertising signs, and the Railway Express Agency sign, would be quite valuable today. Back then, they were considered to be of little value and thus were allowed to rust away. The structure has a deep roof overhang on the left side, supported by diagonal braces rather than posts. The right half of the building is an addition as evidenced by the different width of the clapboards. There's an interesting worn area on the clapboard just to the left of the REA door. This adds evidence of un-depicted human activity to the photo. The weather-beaten porch floor looks like a tripping accident waiting to happen. Semester's worth of college moneyin those signs. Oh that Mail Pouch.... Just beautiful to see that. AhhhhhSnuff and Coal Dust, life was good back then. You can die of black lung or mouth cancer. Decisions, decisions!Do I want to smoke it in a cigarette or smoke it in a pipe or dip it or snort it or chew it? The only delivery methods not advertised here are the more modern ones: patches, lozenges, and gum. As a long-time smoker, clean for some four years, I confess that these signs prompt more than a little nostalgia for the days when we could feign ignorance as to the damage we were self-inflicting! Porcelain damageRailway Express sign top center damage: that is why all the old porcelain signs you find have the same type of damage spot. Putting them up with a hammer and nail. Muscle up on the last hammer blow. There goes the glass. (The Gallery, Small Towns, Stores & Markets)
Lord of the Stoves: 1901
... of a room with a pot-bellied stove and make the smoke pipe as complicated and twisting as possible to its exit through the wall or ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/08/2014 - 12:57pm -

Chelsea, Michigan, circa 1901. "Glazier Stove Company shipping room." Heated by a Round Oak No. 20 stove. Detroit Publishing glass negative. View full size. All stove upAnother of my many obsessions of childhood was stove pipes. In the late 40's and into the 50's, you could still see a few stove pipes rising from the back of older houses, usually out of lean-to type rooms (another obsession). I would draw pictures of a room with a pot-bellied stove and make the smoke pipe as complicated and twisting as possible to its exit through the wall or roof. I would have loved this picture, but would have wanted several more bends and elbows before exit. Deja vu all over againJust when I think we're done with the Glazier Stove Company, you pull us back into it again. Yet I'd do anything to have one of those old stoves in my kitchen. The utilitarian boxes that we call stoves these days are just boring. OneJust had to continue the Tolkien reference: One stove to heat them all and in the darkness shine for them. Round OakRound Oak stoves were manufactured in my hometown of Dowagiac, in SW lower Michigan. Both sides of my family have history with Round Oak: great-grandfather on my mom's side managed the foundry, and his brothers worked in various administrative positions; both great-grandfathers on my dad's side were Polish immigrants who worked in the factory. Both of my grandfathers worked at Round Oak as well. I wonder where this particular stove ended up. They are quite collectible these days. [If your dad is like most people, he would have had four great-grandfathers. - Dave] Both of MY great-grandfathers on my dad's side...his grandfathers. (The Gallery, DPC, Glazier Stove Works)
Jurassic Park: 1942
... has been replaced (an upgrade?) based upon the shiny down pipe. Compare it to the engine in the background. Regarding the tubes, I had a ... themselves contain the very small diameter superheater pipe bundles. The superheater pipes heat the steam well past its boiling point, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/17/2014 - 5:20pm -

December 1942. "Chicago, Illinois. Working on a locomotive at the Chicago & North Western Railroad repair shops." Photo by Jack Delano. View full size. I'm not entirely sureBut, it looks like some boiler tube work is underway. Big job...The smoke box is open, but I don't see any tubes laying around. It actually looks as if the cylinder has been replaced (an upgrade?) based upon the shiny down pipe. Compare it to the engine in the background. Regarding the tubes, I had a friend who worked for Rogers Locomotive in Paterson, NJ. He said they would take the tubes out of the longer locomotives, cut off the corroded ends, and recycle them into shorter locomotives. Mr. Gannon was 103 years old when he related this story! Boiler vs SmokeboxThe tubes are in the boiler at this point, not visible from this angle. The end of the pressurized boiler is at the end of the shiny sheet metal jacket covering the insulation. The rough steel forward of that point is the non-pressurized smokebox, which uses changes in gas flow direction and the coarse screening at the top to remove most of the cinders from the exhaust. The boiler contains both small diameter fire tubes, and larger diameter flues, which themselves contain the very small diameter superheater pipe bundles. The superheater pipes heat the steam well past its boiling point, drying it so that the water molecules become much more energetic, getting more power from each gallon of water. The tubes and flues end at the front of the boiler, held by the front flue (or tube) sheet. Removing the tubes and flues requires first removing the steam pipes in the smokebox, which are present in this photo. Similar to the boiler, the steam pipes angling down to the cylinders are rough steel castings, covered with insulation, with a shiny sheet metal protective jacket. Later steam locomotives were extremely complex, both to increase thermodynamic efficiency, and to help crews operate the increasingly heavy controls. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
The Potato Farmer's Daughter: 1940
... porch there is a structure that appears to be corrugated pipe... The wooden panel leaning against it looks as if it could be a cover, ... right looks like a well with a crank and chain. A thick pipe is visible under the porch - but why is the well standing on the porch? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/07/2019 - 5:03pm -

October 1940. "The daughter of Mr. Dave Labbee, French-Canadian potato farmer, outside their house near Wallagrass, Maine." Acetate negative by Jack Delano. View full size. All the world's a stageWhat with the girl's beauty and that pose -- not to mention that skirt length and those hose -- hey! that rhymes! -- I am inclined to believe our little miss was enjoying the attention of the photographer. Must've been a warm October in Maine for her to strut her stuff "onstage" dressed like that. But then maybe she was merely walking across the porch and glanced over at the opportune moment. Either way, the young girl peeking through the screen door wants in on it. [That's Mother. - Dave] However ... when I was eight or nine, I used the long front walk of a big fancy house where we lived one summer rent-free -- true story; my "stepfather" was a con-man -- as a runway of sorts. With a parasol as my prop, I pranced up and down singing a song I'd made up. Presumably this was for the benefit of neighbors and passers-by, although I don't remember attracting any notice. I do know that there was no applause and certainly no photographer, and I have no idea what I wore. Probably shorts and a sleeveless top. But then that was Florida, where it's always warm. Wood!So much to love about this photo, beginning with the wood: shingles on the roof, shakes on the wall, lap siding, rough-hewn boards for the stairs and deck, logs for the porch. I can smell it from here, across the border from French Canada where I live, almost 80 years away. Also love the plants in the cans (incl. Jewel shortening). But what’s that item standing up in front of the window on the right, beside the classic barrel? (The girl is great, too!) Well, well, well?Could the thing in front of the window be a wellhead? It looks like it has a crank handle and rope around a spindle, and below the porch there is a structure that appears to be corrugated pipe... The wooden panel leaning against it looks as if it could be a cover, with a notch for a rope. But I'm just guessing. Going to guessThat the item to the right in front of the window is a crank attached to a rope to draw water in a bucket from the well below. Fragrant woodThe object standing in front of the window on the right looks like a well with a crank and chain. A thick pipe is visible under the porch - but why is the well standing on the porch? And the girl was very bold and even provocative. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Kids)
TVA: 1942
June 1942. Gas-welding a joint in a line of spiral pipe at the Tennessee Valley Authority's new Douglas Dam on the French Broad ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 8:18pm -

June 1942. Gas-welding a joint in a line of spiral pipe at the Tennessee Valley Authority's new Douglas Dam on the French Broad River. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. Fark-weldingMore recent Farkage. Read this, peopleGot linked here from the 2K forums. This guy looks EXACTLY like BioShock 2's Jacob Norris. I wonder if they used this exact photo in art design research for the game. The fact that it was taken in 1942 (the game being set in 1958, and predominantly styled with late-forties fashion) makes it all the more interesting. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Farked)
Morris Lapidus: 1946
... in this photo: the acrylic table leg, the bowtie, the pipe, the nine framed parchments, or the cowhide on the chair. I vote for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/16/2014 - 9:05am -

        The architectural ubermensch of Miami Beach, best remembered for the Fontainebleau Hotel. Dec. 13, 1946. "Morris Lapidus, 256 E. 49th Street, New York. Lapidus in his office." Large-format acetate negative by Gottscho-Schleisner. View full size. RawhideChair and ashtray no less! Mid-50's Moderne waiting for its decade. MooI’m not sure what is the most outstanding feature in this photo: the acrylic table leg, the bowtie, the pipe, the nine framed parchments, or the cowhide on the chair. I vote for the cow. ConservaradMr. Lapidus' bowtie straddles both realms; stodgy and stylish. double mooIs that cowhide on the ashtray, too?? No davidk...my vote goes to....the plant on the credenza. Here in Australia, I would refer to it as "Mother-in-laws tongue". Why, I have no idea, but as a child growing up this is what the adults called it. I know it is hardy and difficult to kill. NEVER put it in the ground! (The Gallery, Gottscho-Schleisner, NYC, The Office)
Next Stop, Niketown: 1908
... assembly can be moved up and down the vertical pipe, to adjust the height of the goal. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/25/2016 - 7:13pm -

        No doubt some of your chums are already enjoying this fast-paced sport. Why not give it a "shot" to-day? New York, 1908. "Basket-ball at Columbia University gymnasium." 8x10 inch glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection. View full size. 10 poleBrings back memories of a number gymnasiums from my youth. Loved the ropes and the horizontal ladder. But what type of activity would be associated with the assembly of 10 vertical poles affixed to the wall? No Dunking!Is that a group of very short guys, or is the basket 12 feet high?? I don't foresee a lot of slam dunks. Deja vu all over againThose Basketball Bloomers are almost in style again today. You needed a stick back thenNote the closed bottom on the net - whenever somebody made a basket, they had to get a stick and poke the ball back up through the rim to get it back. The Internets tell me that the change to an open net happened around the time of this photo. The hoop is also solidly mounted to the backboard; no dunking like on a modern hoop with springs. It looks to me like the rods on either side of the hoop, and the small backboard under the main one, may have been added later. It also looks like the whole backboard-hoop-supports assembly can be moved up and down the vertical pipe, to adjust the height of the goal. (The Gallery, G.G. Bain, NYC, Sports)
Illinois Central: 1942
... the boiler in front of the cab, with it's sand delivery pipe running down the side of the firebox to deliver dry sand to the top of the ... With no moving parts, it takes steam from the boiler (the pipe connection at the top), sucks water from the tender (the connection below, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/21/2014 - 12:40pm -

November 1942. "Chicago, Illinois. Engine taking on coal at an Illinois Central Railroad yard." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. PartsThis is apparently a switching locomotive, as indicated by the sandbox (sometimes called a dome) atop the boiler in front of the cab, with it's sand delivery pipe running down the side of the firebox to deliver dry sand to the top of the rail behind the rear driving wheels for additional traction when starting to move a heavy cut of cars. Illinois Central locomotives, such as this one, had very commodious cabs. Small windows in the front wall of the cab, directly behind the sandbox, are to allow the engineer, and fireman, to see the color of the smoke as it is expelled out the stack - information important to maintaining the proper, efficient operation of the locomotive. The three parallel pipes running out of the picture to the right, from below the engineers position in the cab, are air brake control lines. The "broken grate" firebox (the bottom of which is indicated by the double row of rivets just below the air brake lines) is above the driving wheels, indicating that this engine was designed about two decades before this portrait. The gadget on the side of the boiler, directly below the sandbox is the injector. A simple, inexpensive, reliable, and miraculous device under the control of the engineer, that has been applied to every steam locomotive since the Civil War. With no moving parts, it takes steam from the boiler (the pipe connection at the top), sucks water from the tender (the connection below, that runs diagonally below the cab), and forces that water forward (the pipe to the right) into the boiler! This locomotive also has been equipped with a canvas awning above the engineers window (now, rolled up). This enables the engineer to stick his head out and look back, during inclement weather, to see signals during switching movements. Recently rebuilt 3600 class 2-10-0 locomotiveThe IC constructed 15 2-10-0 locomotives which were numbered from 3610 to 3624 over a period from 1939 to 1941. These were big engines that were pieced together from salvaged 2-8-2 and 2-10-2 locomotives. The lack of a trailing truck under the cab makes this an engine unsuited for much switching work as the trailing truck helps guide the drivers thru curves and switches. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Gas Giant: 1937
... that people inhaled it to commit suicide ("taking the gas pipe"). The tank-like structure, called a gasometer or gas holder, telescoped ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/14/2017 - 3:32pm -

        An old-school gasworks (back in the days before the widespread use of natural gas) where coal was heated to produce "city gas" or "illuminating gas," which was so poisonously toxic that people inhaled it to commit suicide ("taking the gas pipe"). The tank-like structure, called a gasometer or gas holder, telescoped up and down depending on how much gas was inside, its weight serving to pressurize the system and push gas through the lines. 1937. "Charlotte Street Gas Works, Charleston, South Carolina." 8x10 inch acetate negative by Frances Benjamin Johnston. View full size. Still Energetic!Building is still there, now an electric substation: No Smoking!I hope the tank was maintained to a higher standard than the adjoining brick building appears to be! Toxic for decadesThese coal gas plants (sometimes called 'manufactured gas' plants) were so noxious that many former locations are still toxic sites decades after being shut down, now needing extensive decontamination. I watched one such site being rehabilitated in Marin County for use as affordable housing. The process took over a year and required the removal of 28,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil. Gas HoldersThe plant I worked in had ten gas holders of varying sizes to store argon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and a few other gases. Several were still in use into the late 1970s. They Don't Tear Anything Down in CharlestonLooks like part of the building is still there. (The Gallery, Charleston, F.B. Johnston, Industry & Public Works)
Spook Hill: 1940
... was that it was late Victorian. Each room had a capped gas pipe, five feet off the floor, where once there was a sconce. At some point, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/28/2018 - 6:35pm -

March 1940. "Old mine office. Virginia City, Nevada." Medium format negative by Arthur Frankenstein for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. The Savage MansionAnd looking a bit better, though I suspect the Basketball Hoop/Bicycle Rim is gone. https://noehill.com/nv_storey/nev0087.asp Mansard Family MemoriesThat mansard roof is so reminiscent of a house in Connecticut where I lived in college, sharing the second floor with three paying housemates, and a seemingly endless procession of couch-dwellers and hangers-on. In 1990, I didn't know how old the house was. All I could say was that it was late Victorian. Each room had a capped gas pipe, five feet off the floor, where once there was a sconce. At some point, one adventurous soul figured out how to scale the cornice and find an unlatched sash on the vacant third floor, where we found multiple layers of 19th century wallpaper. Then came Zillow, and I learned the house dated to 1875. Presumably its mansard roof once sported this capricious arrangement of hand-cut cedar shakes. I count myself lucky to have dwelt there before the novelty board siding was covered with vinyl, even though the uninsulated balloon frame cost us $400 per winter month to heat. On one level, I know I shouldn't find such a structure incongruous as a mining company office. But I do. A radio ham inside?Very interesting the wire antenna stretched between the tree on the right and the dormer. There is the insulator which decouples the copper wire from the cotton thread attached to the tree. Probably someone inside was using a radio. Massimo IZLPE. And open for toursWe toured the house on a 2015 visit. It's very interesting. There are a lot of artifacts from the time inside, as well as pictures. In fact, Virginia City is well worth a visit. (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Halloween, Mining)
Sloss Benzol: 1935
... the way, the Sloss company (eventually absorbed into U.S. Pipe) discovered that some of the byproducts of steel manufacturing were ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/02/2019 - 6:16pm -

December 1935. "Alabama miners' houses near Birmingham." 8x10 inch nitrate negative by Walker Evans for the Resettlement Administration. View full size. A jaunty angleA little derivative, but we all have our influences. I just joined up. Posting this just to see if I succeeded. Not always a given. Rings around the competitionJames W. Sloss was one of the first iron founders in the Birmingham area. Along the way, the Sloss company (eventually absorbed into U.S. Pipe) discovered that some of the byproducts of steel manufacturing were marketable in their own right, among them benzene, which they refined and marketed as a motor fuel ("Sloss Special Benzol, the perfect motor fuel"). I don't know how other Shorpyites may feel, but I for one would be nervous about running my car on a fuel that is even more toxic, and just as flammable, as gasoline is. Welcome aboard!A lot of us count Walker Evans as an influence. So many insulatorsThe thick cable running across the center of the photo easily caries as many pairs of telephone wires as those huge poles and crossarms do. It's surprising to see them still in use, this late in the evolution of the phone system. (The Gallery, Birmingham, Gas Stations, Mining, Walker Evans)
Loosey & Rickety: 1939
... house was retrofitted for indoor facilities with a soil pipe attached to the outside of the home. It was probably a status symbol and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/02/2019 - 1:15pm -

November 1939. "Old house in Holmes County, Mississippi." Medium format negative by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Fine and Fancy FilagreeI have never seen such delicate and intricate porch filagree - or as some say - gingerbread. This looks like it could be Faulkner's inspiration... for Miss Emily's house in "A Rose for Emily" (1930) [APPLAUSE]"Loosey and Rickety" -- best title ever! Outdoor PlumbingIt looks like the house was retrofitted for indoor facilities with a soil pipe attached to the outside of the home. It was probably a status symbol and source of pride at some point. But wait; what's that place today?A FRED and breakfast? Is there a station pumping ETHYL on the corner? Is the outhouse behind the house the LITTLE RICKETY? (The Gallery, M.P. Wolcott, Rural America)
Two Belles: 1906
... ahead. As for the wood stove , its clear there is a steam pipe right by the wheelhouse to supply the whistles . So the stove must be ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/16/2016 - 2:05am -

The Mississippi River circa 1906. "Steamboat landing at Vicksburg, Miss." Starring the paddlewheelers Belle of Calhoun and Belle of the Bends. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Blacks Only?It looks like the Belle of Calhoun is a blacks only boat. Can anyone clarify? "Blacks only"?-"clarify"?Yes blacks only on the roof and as laborers. Didn't you notice all the whites on the second level. Wheelhouse WindowsCan anyone explain the front windows in the wheelhouses of both ships? It appears to be some kind of a wood partition rather than glass like the side windows. Also found it interesting that there would be a wood stove in the wheelhouse of the Belle of the Bends. I thought they would have piped up steam from the boiler for heat. Wheelhouse windowsI think the wood is there because of the boiler stacks positioning in front of the wheelhouse . They couldn't keep the glass clean or the soot from getting into the wheelhouse if the glass was removed . So they take out the glass and then install the wooden baffles to keep the weather out but still allow clear sight ahead. As for the wood stove , its clear there is a steam pipe right by the wheelhouse to supply the whistles . So the stove must be there for when the boilers aren't running. Those are my best guesses. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC)
Fairest of Them All: 1941
... tortoiseshell trim. Stovepipe Is that a big stove pipe behind mom's face? Is the stove in the middle of the room? It just looks ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/24/2020 - 1:37pm -

March 1941. "Mother and child. Bedford County farm, Virginia." Medium format acetate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. Bobby PinBobby pins used to be everywhere. They were great if dangerous projectiles to shoot from a rubber-band powered hand-slingshot, making a satisfying whistling bullet noise. Reflection of LifeJohn Vachon was a master with his camera. Catching the baby's face, plus mom's in the mirror is not an effortless task - especially keeping himself out of the picture. On another note, today's generation would consider the living conditions depicted here as "squalor" but was the norm for many of our ancestors who didn't give it much thought and were happy nonetheless. Sadly, I know some people today who could call CPS to report the conditions in which this child was living. Too much is taken for granted these days. The look of love.A lovely, timeless photo. I'm suddenly thinking of my own mother, with tenderness. I hope you're thinking of yours. Picture framesMy mom had five silver picture frames on the top of her bureau, the same size as those two with the man and the woman. The frames contained photos of her five children as little ones, and she had to polish the five frames about once a year, with Silvo and a rag, which she didn’t seem to mind. Also on the same bureau top was a silver set of brush and comb and mirror, with tortoiseshell trim. StovepipeIs that a big stove pipe behind mom's face? Is the stove in the middle of the room? It just looks very strange to my eyes today in 2020. [It's a stove ducted through a closed-up fireplace. -Dave] (The Gallery, John Vachon, Kids)
Backwater: 1937
... We are so far back in the sticks here, they had to pipe the sunlight in to it. This road was originally the Jennings Brothers ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/25/2020 - 5:43pm -

December 1937. "Water tower on railroad through Jennings, Maryland. The train now runs only once a week." Medium format acetate negative by Arthur Rothstein. View full size. AbandonedLooking at topo maps, the line appears to have been in operation as late as 1952, but abandoned by 1956. Those wanting to know the exact date could consult Surface Transportation Board (STB) records. JerkwaterThere's a spur in our neighborhood which saw short-train low-speed traffic twenty years ago. Then after that, they parked work trains there while improving the main line. It's been abandoned since then, and barely looks worse than this line. Jennings Brothers Ray-rodeWe are so far back in the sticks here, they had to pipe the sunlight in to it. This road was originally the Jennings Brothers Railroad. They brought their railroad and sawmilling equipment from up near Lopez, Pa. The lumbering eventually was finished, and the railroad was later known as the Northern Maryland & Tidewater RR. By the time of Mr. Rothstein's visit, this operation was known as the Castleman River RR, which followed the Casselman River most of the way. Connecting with the B&O Salisbury Branch near Salisbury, Pa, the line ran down through Grantsville, Md and Jennings to Bittinger, Md. Traffic was some coal outbound, a little general freight for Grantsville, and some brick-making if I recall it right. All of the CRRR's old engines had been retired; they were renting old locomotives from connection B&ORR. Castleman River RR went out of business c. 1956. Find out more in "Tall Pines and Winding Rivers" self-published by Ben F.G. Kline about 1982. Frozen in TimeBy the look of the track warbles would be a better description for the train than 'runs'. On account of the frozen water tank how would a train refill in this event? (The Gallery, Arthur Rothstein, Railroads)
Let's Chill: 1943
... aaahh memories! Asbestos & Canvas Best pipe wrap ever. Ice plant at the end This photo, taken in the Santa Fe ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/30/2012 - 7:29pm -

March 1943. "San Bernardino, California. Cars being precooled at the ice plant. Air at a temperature of 20 degrees Fahrenheit is blown through the cars for 20 minutes in one direction, then in the other. Shippers specify the number of hours precooling required for their product." Photo by Jack Delano. View full size. Now you know my nameBrings back a lot of memories, we also iced passenger cars before air conditioning on the C.P.R. and this was in the 1950's on the Canadian prairies. aaahh memories! Asbestos & CanvasBest pipe wrap ever. Ice plant at the endThis photo, taken in the Santa Fe "B Yard" in San Bernardino Yard in 1973, shows the facility at the very end of the "icer" era. San Bernardino was also the main point for servicing the mechanical refrigeration units which replaced the ice cooled reefers. Now, most railroad mechanical refrigerator cars have been retrofitted with the same style of refrigeration units used on trucks, and the most modern cars use cryogenic cooling. Comfort at the remove... When young, 50 years or more ago, I worked unloading freight cars, usually 20 pound bags of charcoal, in 80-90 degree summertime heat, the only respite was the occasional reefer. Whether vegetables or fish, we loved the frigid interiors, and lingered as long as possible on those jobs. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Hollywood Dad: 1953
... Groucho's in the early sixties. I recognize the gauge of pipe, the horizontal bracing, the teeter-totter, and the chain links for the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/02/2017 - 7:54pm -

November 1953. Beverly Hills, California. "Comedian Groucho Marx sitting on a swingset with daughter Melinda." Ektachrome transparency from photos for the Look magazine assignment "Hollywood Fathers." View full size. The swingsetMy family acquired a swingset very much like Groucho's in the early sixties. I recognize the gauge of pipe, the horizontal bracing, the teeter-totter, and the chain links for the rings and swing. We could also attach a swinging ladder instead of one of the two swings we usually had in place. In contrast to this set, ours was red, and I guess we had the deluxe version because ours had a slide. I remember how swinging too high could make one of the legs of the swingset lift off the ground and thump back down. Improper assemblyNotice the cross braces - they are installed upside down, leaving a sharp corner waiting to snag the next kid who doesn't notice the protrusion. You bet your life he drives oneI'll bet there's a sparkling new DeSoto in the driveway! (LOOK, Los Angeles, Movies, Public Figures, TV)
Snowy Joliet: 1943
... each blade appears to be manually operated by means of a pipe that extends down each side of the mast to just above the ground and ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/24/2014 - 10:50am -

March 1943. "Joliet, Illinois. Leaving the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railyard." Photo by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Can't quite make it outKeep the door closed when ??????????? cars. [Illegible in the original. -tterrace] Sign, sign, everywhere a signMy take: KEEP THIS DOOR CLOSED WHEN NOT WEIGHING CARS Mixed Signals?That looks like a train order signal. Not motorized, each blade appears to be manually operated by means of a pipe that extends down each side of the mast to just above the ground and then... nowhere. No trackside racks for delivering orders/messages on the fly, no telegraph office visible... are there any Santa Fe experts out there who know what this signal might have been for? WestboundMr. Delano was looking back from the caboose of a westbound train; the view is actually NNE. Des Plaines River/Sanitary and Ship Canal to the left, EJ&E bridge and Joliet Coke Plant in the background. The Scale HouseAn important ancillary building once found in nearly every yard, but now less common, was the scale house. Most cars containing bulk commodities such as grain, coal, and such were weighed - both to determine the weight for transportation charges by the railroad, and often for the charges the shipper would bill their customer for the merchandise. Every car had (has) the empty weight of the car stenciled on the side of the car, and the switching crew and a clerk would weigh each car, and subtract the Lt Wt (Light Weight, as stenciled) to determine the weight of the contents, and attach the scale ticket to the Bill of Lading. Note that there are four rails past the scale house. The Live Rails were for weighing the cars, the Dead Rails (or Bypass Rails) were so that engines could pass the scale without using the Live Rails, since their weight often exceeded the capacity of the scale. (The Gallery, Jack Delano, Railroads)
The Handover: 1935
... and Prince Albert Ha! Methinks Mr. Harrison is a pipe smoker. Transverse Injun That front bumper. Chief Pontiac. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 10/07/2017 - 8:26pm -

September 3, 1935. "Pontiac at H.O. Harrison Co., 1625 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco. Harrison (right) and Howard." Today's excerpt from the Shorpy Annals of Annulled Autos. 8x10 inch Eastman Kodak nitrate negative, late of the Wyland Stanley and Marilyn Blaisdell collections. View full size. Reflections of yesterday.The building across the street is still there: Pontiacs and Prince AlbertHa! Methinks Mr. Harrison is a pipe smoker. Transverse InjunThat front bumper. Chief Pontiac. Spectacular. Run that plate8J 47 04 -- When I see these cars bearing old license plates I wonder if the California motor vehicle department records go back far enough to tell you who the registered owner was in 1935? (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, San Francisco, W. Stanley)
The Winona: 1899
... View full size. Look out below! I just love the pipe foot rails and handrails leading to the rungs built into the wall for ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/06/2017 - 2:36pm -

Winona, Minnesota, circa 1899. "Winona Hotel." Spelled out in Edison bulbs. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Look out below!I just love the pipe foot rails and handrails leading to the rungs built into the wall for escape. Would be hard pressed to make a decision to burn or fall. +/- 118Still stands today as "senior" apartments. Nice wagons!Wow, those fancy people movers by the front entrance are more exciting than the usual cars people like to name. Would love to see more of them. The courthouseIn May 2017, I spent seven days trying a case in the building off to the right of the former hotel, set back from the street - the Winona County Courthouse, built in 1889. I walked by this place many times without appreciating its heritage. (The Gallery, DPC, Horses, Kids)
Modern Family: 1941
... that today. Looks like there is a plumbing, heating pipe, or wiring run back in the left corner of the room. (The Gallery, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/31/2019 - 10:40am -

October 1941. "Mrs. Melvin Rivers, some of her children and her father-in-law in their new relocation corporation farm to which they have moved just recently, near Orwell, New York." Medium format negative by Jack Delano. View full size. Where's the Mini-Bar?If they installed one at the Rivers abode, liquor would have been hard to come by. The Women's Christian Temperance Union was founded in 1874, but by then Orwell itself had been officially "dry" for 31 years. It remains so to this day, one of only ten such towns with no alcohol for sale of any kind in the Empire State. The closest vote to repeal was held in 1971. It failed by one vote. So buttermilk it had to be for Mrs. Rivers and her farming brood. Unless they fancied a bit of travelling. No (fashion) victimsI'm always impressed about the self-consciousness kids of that era show in these photos. Imagine a modern kid posing barefoot, in an empty room and with torn bibs? Distinctly unfashionable bibs, and unfashionably torn? How embarrassing! Bare!Room, Feet, Walls, but not the lonely flowerpot and cup. Minus OneIt looks like Grandpa is missing the middle finger on his right hand. Maybe Baby got hungry and gummed it down a bit. Grandpa does look like he's lived a very hard-working life, teething babies aside. Modern TimesWhere rural electrification came by cooperatives in the 20s, 30s, and 40s, many times the only electric fixture in the room was the overhead light. You had a socket you could screw into the bulb socket that allowed you to have either light, and electric plug, or sometimes both. For a long time, baseboard sockets were a rarity in the country. because people were used to doing without electric items but they needed light at night. It was also difficult to rewire an existing house. In this case I think I see a baseboard socket behind the boy at right. That could be the only one in the whole room. Many old farmhouses are still like that today. Looks like there is a plumbing, heating pipe, or wiring run back in the left corner of the room. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Jack Delano, Kids)
Bare Beach: 1939
... features included the rear fenders, the gas fuel filler pipe integrated into the left rear fender, and the metal sign panels which were ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/18/2014 - 2:44pm -

January 1939. "Packing cabbages in truck to go to market, from small truck farm of man from North Carolina. Near Belle Glade, Florida." Bare Beach was an agricultural outpost on the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration. View full size. WatermarkedLove the placing of the Shorpy logo here. Only the best!Shorpy cabbages Depression isn't over yetLook at the spare tire for the truck on the left, attached to its rear stake panel, resting at the left side of the truck. The cords are showing. And it's an artillery wheel. Someone's living on a shoestring. FordThe Joe Jones truck shown is a 1938 Ford 1/2 ton Commercial Car Platform-Stake body. This style of stake truck was introduced in 1937 on the same drop-center chassis as Ford cars. Notice how they had to build up the height of the stake bed in order to be at the same height as most loading docks. Standard features included the rear fenders, the gas fuel filler pipe integrated into the left rear fender, and the metal sign panels which were incorporated into the stake sides. The hinged sides of the stake bed were 29.5 inches high while the bed itself was 80 inches long and 62 inches wide. There were also steel skid strips on the wooden bed floor. When equipped with the 60 horsepower V-8 engine, the truck weighed 2,655 lbs and cost $615. If the truck came with the 85 hp V-8 it weighed 2,842 lbs and cost $625. With just a platform bed each model cost $15 less and weighed about 150 lbs less. (The Gallery, Agriculture, Florida, M.P. Wolcott)
Chapel Hill (Colorized): 1939
The same Granger Pipe Tobacco poster on the wall is for sale on a Chicago based web site - Granger Pipe Tobacco Advertising Piece with Johnny Mize, St. Louis Cardinals. ... 
 
Posted by DonW - 07/18/2011 - 10:33pm -

The same Granger Pipe Tobacco poster on the wall is for sale on a Chicago based web site - Granger Pipe Tobacco Advertising Piece with Johnny Mize, St. Louis Cardinals. Autographed. Circa 1940's. $2000. View full size. Was this originally black and white?What a wonderful image and colorization! What did it look like before you colorized it? Very envious of your talent shown here. I am at the beginning stages of efforts to colorize the digital images I have taken of glass plate negatives. Wonder if one can accomplish nearly the same quality of colorization with a digitized glass negative image as one could with a digitized positive print? Great work! [The monochrome version of Dorothea Lange's photo is here. - Dave] (Colorized Photos)
Mom, Mac, Me
... a few plastic toys) 50 years later. Also note the gas pipe stubbed out for the eventual built-in BBQ, right next to what appears to ... 
 
Posted by Mvsman - 09/13/2011 - 9:11pm -

Hi, and thanks everyone for all the nice comments. I have never posted pictures on any website prior to Shorpy. What a place! Anyway, here I am again with Mom. Presenting our big Persian cat Mac on the back patio. Sadly, Mac caught a skin disease called ringworm from being outside a lot. I am quite sure that there would be some lotion or simple treatment for it nowadays. Then there was no cure and he had to be put down. He was my buddy (so says my Mom). My memories of him are not as clear as I would like. Thanks all. View full size. It's still no picnic even nowadaysWe rescued a handsome, rather raffish, free-ranging former tomcat a few years ago. Got him shots, and found out he'd already been neutered, but left him as an outside cat. Even though my husband was mildly allergic, Jock became "his" cat, and was really almost dog-like in his devotion. A couple of years later, he too got ringworm. It is now curable, but the treatment entails an extended round of medication that can kill the animal, so weekly blood count tests are also required, and many cats don't make it. Jock was cured, but of course had to become an indoors cat, and now my husband is the one on meds! Thanks for the lovely pics. You look like my darling little brother at that age. Nice photo!I've always liked a stucco house. What a nice photo of you, your lovely mother and Mac. Pictures of HomeIt's funny how kids don't always remember things the same way that grown-ups do. So the old kitty, the snuggie bear, or the Grandpa help to remind us of what it was like watching a small person learn to love. And if you want stucco houses, we've got your stucco houses here in the West. This could be any one of hundreds of backyards I've visited, most looking quite the same (plus a few plastic toys) 50 years later. Also note the gas pipe stubbed out for the eventual built-in BBQ, right next to what appears to be the ground wire for the old-school power connection. (ShorpyBlog, Member Gallery, Cats, Kids)
Mississippi Gin: 1890
... clothes dryer. I had my torch running to cut the existing pipe when it moved slightly and came in contact with some of the lint covering ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/25/2016 - 5:26pm -

October 1890. "Mississippi cotton gin at Dahomey." Which way to the break room? 8x10 inch dry plate glass transparency by William Henry Jackson. View full size. Is It Christmas?Now I know where all those Santa Beards come from. ScaryIn my youth, I was working a construction job at a commercial laundry. We had to install some new steam piping to an existing very large clothes dryer. I had my torch running to cut the existing pipe when it moved slightly and came in contact with some of the lint covering the inside of the dryer. I can't even begin to describe how quickly and intensely it roared into eight foot plus flames. Although the fire was over nearly as rapidly as it began when the lint was fully burned, I fully appreciated the seriousness of what just happened. I look at this scene, with everything covered in fine lint and with the building constructed of wood, and can visualize how quickly it would become a raging inferno with just a small spark/flame. Scary! (The Gallery, DPC, W.H. Jackson)
Cherry Street Bridge: 1909
... tiles, piano, lumber, marine gas engines); the lengths of pipe in different sizes piled up at both ends of the bridge; the gentle traffic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/18/2016 - 4:13pm -

Circa 1909. "Water front -- Toledo, O." The Cherry Street Bridge over the Maumee River. 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size. The vessel on the left is the Warrington, built 1868 at Detroit by J. H. Jones for the Prindiville interests of Chicago and named for a Chicago investor allied with Prindiville. It served the lumber trade until sold to the United States Lighthouse Service in 1870 and renamed simply Warrington. Its duty then was to carry building materials and other supplies to lighthouse installations on the lakes. It is undoubtedly shown loading such goods at Peoples Building Supplies. Sold to Chicago's Hines Lumber Company in early 1911 it would not last long. It sprung a leak in heavy weather August 21, 1911, and stranded a total loss near Charlevoix, Michigan, with no loss of life. The vessel ahead of it is the O. E. Parks, built 1891 at Saugatuck, Michigan, by James Elliott for Captain R. C. Brittain and others and named for Captain Oscar Parks who would be its first master as well as one of its owners. It also ran in the Lake Michigan lumber trade. Its steeple compound steam engine and boiler removed in 1928, its life as a powered vessel was resurrected the next year when Samuel Shields of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, dropped a 4-cylinder Kahlenberg Diesel into it and the vessel resumed the freight trade, but not for long. While off Thunder Bay Island, Lake Huron, on May 3, 1929, on its first trip as a motor ship the Parks encountered a storm that, reportedly, shifted the new engine's bed, opening the vessel's seams. It sank rapidly, its crew rescued by the local Coast Guard. The new Kahlenberg engine was salvaged and placed into the tug Betty D. in 1930. Holy ToledoWow, so much to see here: the stacked-up lumber across the river at the Western Mfg Co.; the moodiness of the outlines of trees and buildings disappearing into the smoke/haze; the grand church; the numerous trades and products exhibited on the signs (saddler, hardware, foundry, seeds, blacksmithing, doors, stone, tiles, piano, lumber, marine gas engines); the lengths of pipe in different sizes piled up at both ends of the bridge; the gentle traffic on the bridge itself; the group of men with the horse cart attending to something going on with that shallow boat by the shore at the bottom of the photograph; and so much more to be revealed upon further scrutiny. (The Gallery, Boats & Bridges, DPC, Toledo)
Iced Up: 1904
... would lean Christmas trees against a pole that had a water pipe and spray head (as far as I remember). The pole, pipe and spray head are all still there, but they haven't created an ice ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 03/18/2014 - 11:48am -

Detroit circa 1904. "Washington Boulevard fountain of ice." 8x10 inch dry plate glass negative, Detroit Publishing Company. View full size. Wish we still did this. When I was much younger, my father used to take us out to Belle Isle to Ice Skate and to see the Ice fountain. They would lean Christmas trees against a pole that had a water pipe and spray head (as far as I remember). The pole, pipe and spray head are all still there, but they haven't created an ice fountain in who knows how many years. You would think this year they would have done it again given the harsh winter we had. Stunning!I've been staring at the picture for five minutes straight. If I'd been there, that day, I could have stared at it for hours! I've seen fountains frozen up like that, in Europe. Especially if the sun comes out, there really isn't anything more beautiful! (The Gallery, Detroit Photos, DPC)
Coal, Water, Sand: 1942
... some years ago and we often switched out a couple of pipe yards that were at the bottom of a hill. If it was early morning with ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/30/2013 - 12:29pm -

November 1942. "Chicago. Locomotives loading up with coal, water and sand at an Illinois Central Railroad yard before going out on the road." Medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information. View full size. Yes, sand!The coal fuels the fire that makes steam from the water, and the sand, when dropped on the rail, gives the engine more traction. Most useful when the rail is wet, covered with snow/ice/leaves. Sand actually is essential to get over the railroad. Legend has it an old B&ORR helper engineer dreamed up the idea circa 1840s, and rigged a box up on his locomotive with pipes to the rail. It worked so well the RR's quickly adopted it. He shoulda patented his invention. The newest computerized locos today still have sand boxes with pipes to the rails. SandI was a brakeman on the Penn Central some years ago and we often switched out a couple of pipe yards that were at the bottom of a hill. If it was early morning with dewy tracks, we would sand going down so we could make it back to the top of the hill. (The Gallery, Chicago, Jack Delano, Railroads)
Fire on F Street: 1913
... worked its way back and burned the gas meter from the feed pipe. The flow of gas from the open pipe combined with the gases generated from the smouldering coal bunkers made ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 12/06/2012 - 2:46pm -

May 18, 1913. Washington, D.C. "U.S. Geological Survey fire, F Street N.W." The blaze was largely confined to the basement. National Photo Co. View full size. Stubborn Blaze Other photos of horse-drawn DCFD apparatus at: Where's the Fire: 1914. (galloping horses!) The Smoking Bed: 1915. Spontaneous Combustion: 1916. Washington Post, May 19, 1913. 25 Firemen Overcome Fighting Hard Blaze In Geological Survey Fifteen firemen, including Chief Wagner, were taken to the Emergency Hospital, some suffering from convulsions; many of their comrades were felled by noxious fumes and carried into the open, where they were revived by fellow firefighters; the office of the American Express Company was completely wrecked, and the stock in adjacent stores damaged to an extent of thousands of dollars, in the most stubborn fire with which the Washington fire department has had to deal in the past twenty years, which was discovered in the basement of the building occupied by the geological survey, in F street, between Thirteenth and Fourteenth streets northwest, at 3:30 o'clock yesterday afternoon. … “It was the nastiest fire to fight that I have ever seen,” said the chief. “If it had ever got up the stairway to the elevator shaft it is likely that we couldn't have saved the building. We had to keep it in the cellar, smoke or no smoke. We had to get in close to it, too, and the smoke made it very difficult to do that. That is why it was such a hard fire to cope with.” … The fire started in the cellar with the spontaneous combustion of a stack of documents or a quantity of chemicals in a small laboratory adjoining the storeroom. It had made considerable headway when John Watson, the watchman, discovered it and turned in an alarm. … The first firemen rescued from their dangerous post, and who were able to talk, told of breathing illuminating gas as soon as they had gone down the ladders. A quick investigation showed that the illuminating gas had not been shut off from the building by the employee of the gas company assigned to that duty. The fire worked its way back and burned the gas meter from the feed pipe. The flow of gas from the open pipe combined with the gases generated from the smouldering coal bunkers made conditions deadly to any fireman who entered the basement, and also accounts for the stubbornness with which the fire from the time of its discovery at 3:45 o'clock until 7 o'clock, resisted their efforts to conquer it. … (The Gallery, Cars, Trucks, Buses, D.C., Fires, Floods etc., Natl Photo)
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