Double-die clear Hemingray - 42!

halfdime · Jan 17, 2013

Recently I found a huge lot of CD 154 insulators along a spur line; the poles had been cut down and many still had insulators still on them. All but one are CD 154; I did find one Hemingray 40 (CD 152) which, unfortunately, I asked Miss halfdime to clean out. I didn't realize at the time that there was one that was different, and she chipped it. Good learning experience for both of us! The Hemingray's all had a dark coating of (soot?) on them, and I finally discovered something that would remove it: The Works toilet cleaner. I let them soak for a day, then use a Scotch pad and the dirt comes off pretty easily. Until today, every one of the Hemingray-42 that I've cleaned (20?) has been a dark aqua. I noticed one that had a "double-die" Hemingray on the front skirt, with a 0 below it, and decided it was next in the cleaning line. This morning, after I removed it from the acid and started scrubbing, it was quickly apparent that this one was clear (or nearly so; I can't decide if there is a slight aqua tint to it). I checked the Hemingray resource on the Internet and it shows a short mold variety "always clear or nearly clear." Unfortunately, or not, this one is no shorter than the many dark aquas I've found. I've discovered that there are many different varieties of lettering, and they all appear to be the 070 style. Has anyone seen a clear Hemingray-42 before (in other words, how common are they?) that isn't the short mold variety? I still have a few dozen Hemingray -42 to clean, so I may find another. I've also included a picture of a Lynchburg No. 44 (I've found two).