Large, pre-CW BRASS piece with Lettering

[BuckleBoy]

Hello All,

I found this mystery piece at an old site where everything found was 1820-1840 (except for one modern ignition key).

It is marked "SVILLE KY" which has to be "Louisville, KY." The other side is stamped "J. BRIDO" (the piece is broken there). The last letter on this side could be an "O," but also perhaps a "G" or "C."







The circular piece at the end looks like it had an iron pin through it. The top of the circular end is solid:



The bottom of the circular end has a slit through which a piece of iron went:




Any help is much appreciated.



Best Wishes,



Buckleboy

 

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[BuckleBoy]

I don't see a post on what it is made of.
As far as railroad item, the tracks could be long gone. I keep getting the feeling it is electrical related though.
Maybe from an electric railway. But I am reaching now.

If it is from a railroad, it would've had to have traveled pretty far geographically before it was dropped. I have maps of the area from the 1880s, and historical documents from way before that--and there is no railroad from what I can tell.


The object is made of solid brass.

 

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[NGE]

I tell ya, it's me boomerang!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

lnteresting piece that should be IDable.

2 questions:

Could the entire brass bar be bent and maybe that is why it broke?

Is the metal pin offset of center and is it as small as it appears?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Here is a possibility ..

.. looks sort of similar ..

That's a good guess, but to my knowledge melodions didn't have pedals. Either way, I think what's pictured above is a piano pedal--either spinet or upright grand. No iron piece attached to the circular end, though.

There is a "J. Bridge Piano" mentioned in this old newspaper. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/Lan...ano"&img=\\na0014\6831084\83755685_clean.html

 

[BuckleBoy]

lnteresting piece that should be IDable.

2 questions:

Could the entire brass bar be bent and maybe that is why it broke?

Is the metal pin offset of center and is it as small as it appears?

I agree that it should be IDable.

I think the bar is cast in the shape it's in. I don't think it is bent.

The metal pin IS off center, and it is very small. The iron piece coming out of the bottom was very thin, and wide.


-Buckles

 

[trikikiwi]

Interesting find Buckleboy
I am wondering though, why do you say it must be from Louisville?
A quick search threw up the following towns/places, all in Kentucky.
In no particular order;
Demosville
Painisville
Taylorsville
Shepherdsville
Lottisville
Collinsville
Campbellsville
Tompkinsville
Farmersville
Marysville
Perrysville
Hopkinsville
Burksville
Hodginsville
Brooksville
Campsville

Some have variations to their spelling and I'm sure the list isn't conclusive, as I say, it was a quick search.

Also, you say "the bottom of the circular end has a slit through which a piece of iron went". I don't follow that - could you please clarify for me.

Cheers, Mike

 

[dirt diva]

Found a company out of Louisville, J.Bridge Co. had something to do with railroad parts.

Still feel like this had railroad connection.Found several lawsuits against this company.Reaserching some of the parts now Could take awhile,Still guessing

 

[BuckleBoy]

Interesting find Buckleboy
I am wondering though, why do you say it must be from Louisville?
A quick search threw up the following towns/places, all in Kentucky.
In no particular order;
Demosville
Painisville
Taylorsville
Shepherdsville
Lottisville
Collinsville
Campbellsville
Tompkinsville
Farmersville
Marysville
Perrysville
Hopkinsville
Burksville
Hodginsville
Brooksville
Campsville

Some have variations to their spelling and I'm sure the list isn't conclusive, as I say, it was a quick search.

Also, you say "the bottom of the circular end has a slit through which a piece of iron went". I don't follow that - could you please clarify for me.

Cheers, Mike

Mike,

On down in my post I said it was a hunch because of where the piece was found. Louisville was the biggest city, pre-CW too. Not much manufacturing in those other towns...

But it is open to conjecture, most certainly.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Interesting find Buckleboy

Also, you say "the bottom of the circular end has a slit through which a piece of iron went". I don't follow that - could you please clarify for me.

Cheers, Mike

I dont follow that either and I dont see the slit in the pic.

 

[BuckleBoy]

Interesting find Buckleboy

Also, you say "the bottom of the circular end has a slit through which a piece of iron went". I don't follow that - could you please clarify for me.

Cheers, Mike

I dont follow that either and I dont see the slit in the pic.

OK. I modified the last photo from my original post and reposted it below. That should help a bit. Thank you all for your help in trying to figure this one out.

 

[trikikiwi]

I admire all your graphic skills Buckleboy
I'm inspired to say -
Could it be part of a pendulum from a time piece?
aka a clock

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

OK I see, the rounded end was attached to a piece of iron/steel and held in place by the steel pin/rivet/screw.



My original thought, when I first saw it, was an old transmission shift or winch lever of some kind. ...but why brass?

 

[NGE]

A thought just came to me . For years brass has been used because of its non-sparking abilities. Could it have been used around black powder? Or flammable liquids I have seen no replies as to this possibility. Just my other two cents worth.........NGE (T)

 

[BuckleBoy]

Three good guesses.

The clock idea--kiwi, I'm going to start looking for photos.


BigCy and NGE--the reason this piece is brass (if it is as old as I think it is) is because everything was brass then. I don't know if that answers your question or not, but it seems that except for any coins which come out of sites this old, the only other metals we find are Iron, Brass, and Lead.

So if a lever like that was usually iron, then you're right--it is a puzzler if that's what it is. I'm going to start looking though other makers for other towns that end with "-SVILLE" here in KY.

I might want to look at Southern Indiana too! I just thought of that! It is SO close to Louisville, KY. And I know of TWO right off--ClarkSVILLE and EvanSVILLE are both close geographically.

I think the biggest clue will be tracking the manufacturer down. I wish the whole name had been on that piece--but perhaps I can find the other half of it in a future hunt. If it is on the site, there is no way I'll miss something that big--regardless of how deep it's been plowed.


-Buckles

 

[Blacksheep]

Not to throw you off track but possibly a lever such as whats shown on the left?

I noted a flat area on your piece that **could** actuate a valve plunger up or down,
just a thought,

(maybe not this application but a similar application)

http://www.whistleman.com/html/types_of__whistles__part_2.html

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

You may be on track with the railroad whistle, Blacksheep.
Something to do with the railroad.

Found a company out of Louisville, J.Bridge Co. had something to do with railroad parts.

Still feel like this had railroad connection.Found several lawsuits against this company.Reaserching some of the parts now Could take awhile,Still guessing

I have found several mention of a "Louisville & J.Bridge Co." connected with the railroad.
http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache...+j.bridge+louisville&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

http://books.google.com/books?id=IJ...&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result


I believe they were somehow involved in a Supreme Court ruling possibly involving a railroad accident. http://www.claralaw.cpda.org/om_isa...jump=43 Cal.App.2d 270&softpage=Document_Case

[3] The Safety Appliance Act provides that any "train" must be provided with a certain percentage of power brakes operated by the engineer of the locomotive. The word "train" is not defined in the statute. Appellant contends that it was not operating a train at the time of the accident, but was merely engaged in a switching operation. The trial court found that the movement of the cars was a regular train movement, and not a switching operation. It is contended by appellant that the evidence is insufficient to sustain that finding. There are numerous decisions upon this question in the federal courts. As stated in Illinois Central R. R. Co. v. United States, 14 Fed.2d 747,--"the decisions turn upon the particular facts of each case." And in United States v. Chicago, B. & Q. R. R. Co., 237 U.S. 410 [35 S.Ct. 634, 59 L.Ed. 1023], it is said: "The controlling test of the statute's application lies in the general nature of the work done." The foregoing general rule should be borne in mind in disposing of this issue. We are also governed by the general rule that if there is any substantial evidence to support a finding of the trial court, we are not at liberty to set it aside, even though we may believe that there is more weight to the evidence adduced by the losing party.

Perhaps the most succinct definition of a train, within the purview of the F. S. A. A. is found in United States v. Northern Pacific R. Co., 254 U.S. 251 [41 S.Ct. 101, 65 L.Ed. 249]. There, two strings of forty and forty-eight cars respectively were moved over a connecting switch track, for a distance of approximately four miles. The movement for approximately two, out of the four, miles was over a single connecting track; and the remainder of the movement was over switch tracks. The speed of the movement was from three to eight miles per hour. No cars were taken out or {Page 43 Cal.App.2d 278} set out on the trip and the movement was not a main line movement. The company contended that this was a mere switching movement for the reason that no movement over a main line track was included. The movement was not made under time table or train orders, but was made under the yardmaster's orders and no block signals were used. In holding that the movement was a train movement, subject to the provisions of the act, the Supreme Court said:

"The company contended that the provision of the Safety Appliance Act did not control the operation because this terminal road was not part of a main line; that neither passenger nor freight trains, through or local, moved on it; ... It is admitted that this railroad is engaged in interstate commerce; and the cases cited show that transfer trains, like those here involved, are 'trains' within the meaning of the act. A moving locomotive with cars attached is without the provision of the act only when it is not a train; as where the operation is that of switching, classifying, and assembling cars within railroad yards for the purpose of making up trains."

We are of the opinion that the evidence shows that this action does not come within the exception mentioned. The operation was not that of "switching, classifying, and assembling cars within railroad yards for the purpose of making up a train." These acts had all been performed. Forty-five cars, with locomotive attached, were on their way to be delivered to the Southern Pacific yards at the south end of the Belt Line Railroad, over a single track connecting the two switching areas of said line. There is nothing in F. S. A. A. which limits its application to operations on main line tracks. (So held in case last cited.) In the case of Louisville & J. Bridge Co. v. United States, 249 U.S. 534 [39 S.Ct. 355, 63 L.Ed. 757], an engine and twenty-six cars moved from the terminal of the Chicago & Ohio to the Illinois Central Company under the control of the defendant company, a terminal railroad. The movement was made over a zigzag course for a distance of 3,700 feet and a portion of the movement was over the main line tracks of the railroad companies. In holding that the movement was a train movement and not a mere switching movement, the court said:

"The work done with the cars, as described, was not a sorting, or selecting, or classifying of them, involving coupling {Page 43 Cal.App.2d 279} and uncoupling, and the movement of one or a few at a time for short distances, but was a transfer of the twenty-six cars as a unit from one terminal into that of another company for delivery, without uncoupling or switching out a single car, and it cannot, therefore, with propriety, be called a switching movement."

 

[BuckleBoy]

Yes, it most certainly could've activated a valve plunger.


I went through the Business Record at the main library branch here in Louisville today--and I can't find any mention of a manufacturer with those letters in Louisville before 1880 except for "Louisville & J. Bridge"...


But I'm still going to check Evansville, IN and Clarksville, IN (Clarksville is right directly across the Ohio River).


But come to think of it, that piece IS stamped on both sides--so both sides are meant to be seen/read. And I was thinking that the "-sville" part indicated a place of manufacture, but in this case it would be part of the company name. I'm strongly leaning towards that being right--but I just want to check the other possibilities first...


-Buckles

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

What kinda railroad work did "Louisville & J. Bridge" do? ...or what exactly did they manufacture?

 

[BuckleBoy]

What kinda railroad work did "Louisville & J. Bridge" do? ...or what exactly did they manufacture?

You got me. The only thing I can find on them is an address.

 

[GoldrushAU]

It looks like the actuating lever of an overhead toilet system to me..you know, where the water reservoir is high above the toilet bowl..