Railroad Spikes

Falls Road Spike 

From New York Central Falls Road which ran from Rochester to Niagara Falls.

Falls Road came through Spencerport and ran until 1982.

Rail road spikes are large nails with an offset head that is used to secure rails and base plates to rail road ties in the track. Robert Livingston Stevens invented the spike in 1832 and it was used for over a hundred years in order to fasten the railways. In 1982 spikes were still being used to fasten rails in North America. While men worked on railroads these spikes were driven into the wooden sleepers on the railroad by hand using massive hammers. Later machines were used to drive the spikes into the ground.Spikes like the one above were used to build rail roads everywhere.The spike pictured above can be found in the Spencerport Depot and Canal Museum.

Guest post by Kelli Emler

Matheos Brothers Ice Cream

Some of my favorite local Spencerport history revolves around the Matheos Ice Cream Shop and Factory. The museum has some great artifacts related to Matheos and I always love sharing them with visitors.

In the early 1900's James Matheos immigrated from Turkey and bought Peter Mirras' confectionery business and opened a candy store on the corner of Amity Street and Union Street. It later expand to include the ice cream that they became famous for.  His brother Chris Matheos arrived in 1917 and joined the family business. In 1926 the business was doing so well that they tore down the building and built a new store that housed a manufacturing area in the back. The building still exists today in Spencerport as Splatters Pottery Studio. The shop had a soda fountain and sold confectioneries and ice cream.

Interior of Matheos Bronters Ice Cream Copyright Town of Ogden

In the 1950's the business expanded once again when it moved to 177 S. Union Street, which housed an ice cream factory. 

This is part of the ice cream manufacturing machinery used by the Matheos Brothers. 

Matheos was famous for its Velvet Ice Cream and their OO-La-Las (Chocolate covered ice cream bars on a stick)

This sign is in our collection and advertises Matheos Velevet Ice Cream, which was known throughout Western New York.

Menu from Matheos Brothers Chocolate Shop. Back when you could get a milk shake for 10 cents, an orange soda for 5 cents and a Dream sundae for 30 cents. 

Danger Ahead: Communicating by Lantern on the Railway

Working on the railroad required a lot of communication between workers, but the trains and equipment are rather loud, which makes talking or shouting an impractical form of communication. During the day flags would work, but at night kerosene lanterns were the best means of communication. In the 1800's each railway had their own set of signaling systems, but by the 20th century the railways standardized the communication system. In the Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum we have one of those lanterns that was used on the New York Central Railroad.

This lantern was manufactured by the R.E. Dietz company, which was founded in 1840 by Robert E. Dietz when he was 22 years old. The company was located in Brooklyn NY. It is a lighting products manufacturing company best known for their lantern production. 

The Dietz Vesta lantern was a popular brakeman's lantern known for its tubular ventilation system and light and portable design. Notice the notch in the handle, that made the lanterns easier to grip and hold onto when they were being held out of the moving train or when they were being swung around for signaling.

There are five different lantern colors, each has its own meaning. Workers also made signals with the lantern to communicate different commands. 

Here is what the different colors of signal lanterns mean:

White: A lantern with a “white” (clear or frosted glass) globe is a signal that all is well and it is safe for an oncoming train to proceed.

Red: A red globe is a signal to stop, because there is danger ahead. 

Yellow/ Amber: Is a warning A yellow globe means to proceed, but slowly, ready to stop if necessary. 

Blue: Used for worker protection, this color is always “true” blue, cobalt, and it means “STOP.” A blue lantern (or other blue signal) means that the engine or car it is placed on must not be moved for any reason, often because people are working on or around it. A blue signal may be placed down the track as a warning that a stationary car is stopped ahead; and that car may not be moved. The only people authorized to move blue signals are the worker(s) who placed them.

Green: Is a warning signaling a train to proceed slowly with caution. A green lantern may also be displayed on a wreck derrick to signal the engineer of a wreck train.

Meanings taken from: https://www.rubylane.com/blog/categories/vintage-collectibles/american-railroad-lantern-globe-colors-and-their-meanings/

There were also hand signals that communicated important information. Here are a few: 

Swinging the lantern low across the track side to side means STOP!

Holding the lantern out at an arms length when the train is moving means SLOW DOWN!

Holding the lantern an arms length above your head when the train is stopped means GO! RELEASE BRAKES!

Want to learn more signals? Check out some Here!

 It is amazing the amount of information that can be communicated using just lanterns.

I have a mule...

Yesterday one of our volunteers was kind enough to find this gem at a rummage sale and think of us. 

It is a copy of the original held at the Perinton Historical Society. We were thrilled to receive it an had it on the wall that day. It got me thinking about the role that mules and horses played on the Erie Canal. 

The path, that today is used by countless pedestrians and bikers and runs the length of the Erie Canal, is called the towpath and was used by mules pulling boats. Each boat would have stables on board and keep two sets of mules or horses. Each team would operate for 6 hours and then be traded with another team that would work 6 hours (6 hours on, 6 hours off). The mules were guided along the towpath by the hoggee, which is a Scottish name for a mule driver and was usually a young boy. 

Boats could only go as fast as the mules could pull them and on average it was about 2 miles per hour and they would travel about 15 miles per shift (hence the classic 'Low Bridge' song lyrics "15 miles on the Erie Canal")

Our new picture is of a mule being guided off the boat by its tale. The ramp is called a horse bridge and was used to load/unload animals from the boat.  His companion is already in the grass grazing. 

This is a boat in the same location on the return journey weighed down with goods and you can see how much easier it is for the mule to get back on board into the stables rather than down the steep ramp. 

Learn more about the role of mules here at Low Bridge Productions who did a short video about mules on the Erie Canal. 

Boats wouldn't have gotten very far on the Erie Canal without the help of mules and horses. 

A Little About Me

I have been working at the Spencerport Depot & Canal Museum since June 2014 and was hired on as Assistant Director to help get the museum's collection organized and documented (among other things).

I just wanted to share a little about myself before I start sharing what i have learned working at the Depot Museum. I grew up in Spencerport, NY and it has been an amazing experience learning all about the history of this little Erie Canal village that I grew up in. I went to SUNY Oneonta for my undergraduate work and studied History and Art. After that I went to the University of Toronto and got my Master of Museum Studies. I was fortunate enough during my time at Toronto to have the opportunity to do a short 9 week internship with the museum as well as the Village of Spencerport and the Ogden Historians Office and really start learning about the history of Spencerport and the Erie Canal and get a feel for working at the Spencerport Depot. (And they were nice enough to hire me on for the season)

In the few months I have been here this summer I have gone through the about 170 objects in the museum numbered them, photographed them, and put them in an online database. I am also managing social media so follow me there too! @SpptCanalMuseum or on Facebook.

So I'm obviously into history and museums, but I also like being outdoors, traveling, trying new beers, being crafty with scrap-booking, quilting, and making artist books.

I have learned so much working here and met so many wonderful people and I want to share some of my experiences.

-Nora

#MuseumSelfie