Arthur Griffin B&H 1940 excursion photos

[Wayne Laepple]

Since neither of the cars pictures seem to have individual window curtains, I suppose it's possible there were drapes suspended from wooden rods that passed through these loops. I suppose one could throw the curtain up over the rod if he or she wished to look outside, or perhaps the curtain were in two pieces that could be slid back out of the way. Whatever their purpose, these road fixtures have been an interesting diversion from everything els going on around us.

[John McNamara]

In the picture cited in the second URL, there are window shades next to the two ladies on the right. The shades are attached to metal sliders in the window frame. Interestingly enough, looking for the metal sliders reveals that all of the shades at the far end of the car are in the up position.

[John McNamara]

Nice idea to check period passenger car fixtures.  This is out of the 1909 Car Builders Dictionary.   

Neither of the diagrams posted include signal cord holders, which we know existed. Therefore, I hoping that there are other passenger car fixture diagrams in the Car Builders Dictionary. Have you found any?
Thanks!

[Harold Downey]

Oh, yes, there are many pages of fixtures.  It's a gold mine.  Lots of things like window lifts and catches, window shades,  the metal racks that mount above the windows, lighting, bath fixtures.  There are the exact window lifts used on coach 3, for instance.   

Search google for car builders dictionary, and they have online scans of many years of them.

Harold

[Benjamin Richards]

A few pages over, we find the actual umbrella holder, which holds umbrellas in the expected vertical orientation.

[Wayne Laepple]

Just in case anyone is interest Adlake, the successor to Adams & Westlake is still in business and has a historical department which will manufacture at least some of the historical fixtures shown in these catalogs. Who knows, perhaps an inquiry to Adlake would reveal the purpose of these rings. Check it out here: http://adlake.com/historical-alliance.html

[Bob Springs]

Given that the hoops are centered on the windows, it makes sense that curtain panels could be pushed back or tied back to give a view out the window.

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

I was going to mention this elsewhere but...

The Sept 1961 Model Railroader (pg 10) has a picture of a Rail Bus with curtains
and a simulated rear observation deck. A door on the left rear. The letter read--

"Window Curtains And All"
"When the Maine Central steam service from Rangely Lakes to Kennebago Lake Maine,
ended in the early thirties, this hot railbus took over. Note window curtains and
simulated observation platform, and the cool little 'goods wagon' attached"
John Parker Wayne

Is this 2'Gauge or wide gauge?
The curtains support the Curtain Rod theory - even if this is a Railbus not a Passenger Car.

In the May '61 MR was 8 pages of passenger car interiors.
Lots of coat and hat hooks - no rings, A diner with curtains but more modern style rods
(and interior).

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

The rings aren't for curtains or curtain rods.
There are pull-down shades built into the window frames. It manes no sense for other provisions to have been made for additional curtains.
I can't believe I didn't notice the shades myself before now.

[Mike Fox]

I don't believe that they are for those Cosmo. The rings are even the whole car, and if on individual shades, one would be out alaignment with the other (shade not all the way up..).

[Keith Taylor]

I don't believe that they are for those Cosmo. The rings are even the whole car, and if on individual shades, one would be out alaignment with the other (shade not all the way up..).

Mike....Pete didn’t say they were part of the shades. He just said that he didn’t think you would need curtains when you have individual shades on each window.

Keith

[Mike Fox]

Ok. How are the shades controlled? I guess I've never seen that set up.

[Pete "Cosmo" Barrington]

Thanks Keith,
no, Mike, like Keith said, I don't think the rings have anything to do with the shades at all.
As to how they're controlled/operated, I don't think they were all that heavy. They look like single-layer of fabric with a stiffener/bar at the bottom. The bar could have been fitted with "catches" on the window frame, or simply slid smoothly up and down with the shade. I have no idea if the shade had a spring loaded "roll-up" device like more modern shades or not.
Someone would have to examine the car itself, assuming the original woodwork still exists on one or more window frames.

Back to the rings, has anyone looked for similar accoutrements in the RANGELEY?

[Mike Fox]

Interesting shades. This is what inside of the Rangeley looks like. Screen shot..

[Ed Lecuyer]

Carl Soderstrom (who prompted me to ask the original question) asked me to post the attached image of this Maine Central Railbus, in support of the curtain theory.

Carl writes:
The Sept 1961 Model Railroader (pg 10) has a picture of a Rail Bus with curtains
and a simulated rear observation deck. A door on the left rear. The letter read--

"Window Curtains And All"
"When the Maine Central steam service from Rangely Lakes to Kennebago Lake Maine,
ended in the early thirties, this hot railbus took over. Note window curtains and
simulated observation platform, and the cool little 'goods wagon' attached"
John Parker Wayne

Is this 2'Gauge or wide gauge?