Greetings all. I have an old coal shovel with NYCS stamped in the metal stem section. Anyone know if it's a true collectable? It has been in the family since I can remember and if I took a guess, I would guess that it either came from my Grandfather or my Uncle. Both worked at the Railway Express terminal in Cleveland from the 40's to the 60's.
There are railroadiana accumulators of every type out there. Amongst them are those who collect tools. It's certainly worth some money. But how much I could not guess. I suppose that would be the amount someone is willing to pay to take it home. I have a sand scoop from my favorite RR. I know it's exact heritage, as it was given to me by an active employee of that company. It hangs proudly in my garage. BoxcabE50
HzG, two questions: 1) Do you have a picture of it? I can remember having them around the cellar in our house in Little Falls, NY where we kids got our "fireman" training with the coal furnace. 2) Have you looked at ebay for $ results with similar items?
I do have a digital camera now so I can and will make a picture of it. When I think back to all the times I chipped ice off the sidewalk with it and even worse, stripped the shingles off a roof with it. Even so it still is in pretty good shape still.
HzG look it over well, it is probably made by Ames and will have a number on it somewhere. Ames was the finest shovels made, and have been around since before the Civil War. If it is a coal scoop shovel, it may have a #6, 8, or 9 size on it. Because it is forged steel, is the reason the lip (front cutting edge), may have a few chips or dings, but is still generally about the same as the day it was made. They were contracted to railroads all over. They generally do not rust, unless contaminated by saltwater, but do not polish it up. It is the old old patina that makes them have the value to a collector. I haven't seen any on Ebay lately (haven't looked), so all I know is one sold for a bit over $100.00 but had been polished and the handle varnished. What a pity, he ruined it. [ 03. September 2002, 06:31: Message edited by: watash ]
I also have an old NYC shovel from my great grandfather, used on the Ottawa Division. It is stamped NYCS, under that are two numbers 8 and 46...then beside all that is a number 2. I was asked if I would part with it for near $1,000 and as much as I would love to have that cash, this is a family relic and one of the very few remaining items of the NYC's Ottawa Division, so here it stays.
StaMaster, I'm guessing, but I think that shovel is marked for New York Central System, size #8 made date would be 1846 forge pattern shape #2 and you might even find the word "AMES" stamped in 3/16" letters somewhere around the handle socket. Ames was the first shovel to be made with the socket "bent" to provide better control when "scooping" from a flat surface as opposed to "digging" as in making a hole or ditch. (If it is an Ames Company shovel, the socket is part of the same forging as the pan, and is not split like present day shovels made from common sheetmetal. Also, the rivet holding the handle staff into the socket is put in horizontally, while present day shovels have the rivets (2) put in at ninety degrees to the flat of the pan.) If it was your great grandfather's I think it reasonable to be about a 150-160 years old. The #2 might also be a handle length, since they were available for long and short arm lengths. It had to be comfortable to use almost continuously, and they were often assigned to each firemen. Some of the very early ones had a solid staff and handle made of white ash wood, and the hand grip was all wood carved out of the same piece including the yoke. A long iron rivet ran through two flat steel washers and through the hand grip for strength and to prevent splitting. Later handles had a metal yoke riveted to an ash staff, and a round ash hand grip held in place in the yoke with one long rivet running through it.
I don't think mine is quite that old. I have it here now and on the scoop stem it says: 3808 6 NYCS On the handle, it says: SturdEsteeL Patented Then these numbers: No. 1,808 No. 1,523 No. 1,785 Then it has these numbers also: 21,320,560 21,757,693 The scoop stem socket is split but still part of the scoop. It has 2 rivets through it that run horizontal with the scoop. The handle stem socket also has 2 rivets through it also horizontally. The wood part of the handle has an off-center rivet that runs through it and 2 punches on each end to further keep the handle from spinning. The wood is light in color so it may very well also be white ash. The wooden stem(?) is not straight, it is curved downwards to fit the curved scoop stem socket. All the metal parts are brown but not really rusty. I will try to take pics of it soon. [ 05. September 2002, 15:02: Message edited by: HERMANzGERMAN ]
Since you know the inventor and or the patent numbers, write these people to find out when it was made/patented etc. director@mall-usa.com
