we had an old WRRS signal that i have restored and it llooks beautiful, now tafter watching this video, we need a matching bell to ring while the light are on.
It probably helps that Im with a railroad too. I only got my first one by showing the guy my railroad ID. He thought at first I wanted it to scrap, lol
He got them when the siginals are replaced with newer ones with elctronic bells. He works for a railroad and usually they just throw them away but, he saves a few
Very well explained video. I would love to have that teardrop lol. I love that bell as well. Been trying to get my hands on one but considering the fact it weighs 63 ibs, whoooooo, thats a paperweight lol
yeah, that would help for sure. i'm trying to get my hands on a abandoned teardrop out in northern ontario right now. lots of M bells on that line and I have no clue whom I could talk to about them+
if you can find one that is selling, let us know. the easiest way to clean that up is to take out all of the inner workings and sand blast it, and give it a good coat of silver paint.
DO OVER! Face the backs toward the light SO WE CAN SEE! Or zoom in which will keep the ambient light out of view and make the darker areas brighter. Fun to try different voltages, but also suppy the proper voltage and amperage so they sound as they should.
I'm not re filming this. You can clearly see everything inside the bells so not to sure what's the issues you have with that is? And I did supply correct voltage
metraF40PH163 Issues are that contrast makes exposure darker so nothing inside is clearly seen. You need sufficient amperage to go along with the voltage.
dude this is great! I have been searching to get one for months, but everytime I have the money, something comes up. I'm looking for either a WCH (My favorite) or Safetran, as those are more common than the others. To find one I can try eBay, or ask a signal maintainer?
in reality all the bells are stolen, a signal maintainer isn't authorized to give things, even though it'll go to scrap. luckily some are nice enough to take a chance. if you like WCH, try to get a WRRS. same mechanism but better
hi there sweet vid do you know were to get parts for the bells if they don't work?? and were did you get them ?? thanks any info be great........ what did you use as far as power I have one that is like you 1st 2
I know a lot of people with railroads. These would just have been thrown away if I did not get them. Idk I'd be carefull and find out who owns it first
May I ask a big favor from you? I'm restoring a WRRS 1206 mechanical bell like what you have. I was wanting to ask you if you can take a photo (or digitally scan) of the manual paper on the door of your bells or witch ever one is in better condition. Because the one I'm restoring does not have the paper in the door. If you can help me out with that and email me the photo or digital scan of the manual I would appreciate it.
Do you know how to rotate the gong in the teardrop bells? I recently got a bell that came off the Wabash but the gong is worn and doesn't strike the bell as well as I would want it to. I want to rotate it to counter the wear and so the gong gets better contact with the bell.
Due to the fact this bell has a pin for the bell gong to sit at the same position I would guess you may have to drill another hole across from the other one, this way the hammer can hit the gong, mine is worn too but, not as bad as yours. After many many years of service that's what repeated striking with the hammer will do.
Fahrenheit4051 It’s essentially the same as a vibrating alarm-type bell, except with larger coils and a heavier hammer with a longer throw, hence the slower strike rate.
You should be careful turning your power supply, aka the train transformer all the way up. They are rated for only putting out up to 12 volts of variable DC but I have found that at 100% power that they exceed 14V DC. Since your bells are only rated for that much power, that could slowly fry the electromagnets in your bells if ran for extended periods of time. I keep my power supplies (since I use an identical setup) at about 75% power and that doesn't exceed 12.5 volts.
In 1932, a company called "the Railroad Supply Co" renamed themselves Western RR Supply Co. In 1953, WRRS became a subsidiary of Western Industries, which was again purchased by Federal Signal in 1968. By 1970, Federal Signal purchased a company called "Hayes Track Appliance Co." It wasn't until 1977 that all the companies came together to form Western Cullen Hayes. So to answer the question, WRRS as an entity produced bells between 1932 and 1968.
Burlington Northern Modeler Even 150 bucks is way too expensive for a bell like this. I bought my teardrop for 80 and my WCH 0333 I got for free when a crossing was being abandoned. None the less a 0333 is not worth anywhere close to 150 bucks. Ebay is way overpriced on most aspects of railroads.
Many of them are subsidiaries of each other as well. Griswold was bought out by RACO, and RACO was bought out by Safetran. Western Railroad Supply was bought out by Federal Signal, and Federal signal was bought out by WCH. WABCO was bought out by US&S, which was bought out by Ansaldo STS. Modern Industries was bought out by Harmon, which merged under GE in the 90's. General signals, Associated Signal Company, and Railroad Signal International all make E-bells, though RSI is now out of business. General signals bells are still relatively common, while ASC bells are rare. Those are all the ones I can name off the top of my head.
One of my brothers just gave me his old crossing bell. Now I'm going to have to open it up and see what the inside looks like!
I could not agree more. The new electronic bells cannot even compare to the amazing sound of these. Thanks
we had an old WRRS signal that i have restored and it llooks beautiful, now tafter watching this video, we need a matching bell to ring while the light are on.
Thank you so much for the video! My son is 5 and he LOVES railroad crossing bells. Great work!
Glad he likes it!
Thanks. Never really looked at signals in this manner. Excellent.
I love the sound of the 2nd bell
Pretty good beat for the us&s teardrop bell! And for the 2nd WRRS bell the loudest wrrs bell I've heard! Very good collection.
I love how easy they are to restore and how easy it is to set the contacts. i'm still trying to get the teardrop working right it took a good beating
I really like them too. The produce a nice "clean" sound that just sends the message "train is coming!" lol
I love the teardrop bell
Wow, those are sweet! Very cool Teardrop bell. Glad it was saved in the hands of someone who cares.
these are very nice teardrop bells and sound great!
It probably helps that Im with a railroad too. I only got my first one by showing the guy my railroad ID. He thought at first I wanted it to scrap, lol
Me too, it sounds amazing and it's really loud
Awesome! I like the silver WRRS in the middle
makes for a good burglar alarm, Someone breaks window, DING DING DING DING DING DING DING DING!
I never thought of that 😂😂
Raymond Leggs LOL TRUE!
Raymond Leggs I'd say
Also a good fire alarm.
Exactly XD/XD
Great collection!
i am getting a bell like the one in the middle from an old crossing thats being taken down, nice bells
Middle and right ones are same type of bell just different condition
Very cool, I wish I was as lucky as you to get those for free. I really want a train horn though, you should get one.
Thanks Austin
Wow Evan! Great!
sweet evan!
He got them when the siginals are replaced with newer ones with elctronic bells. He works for a railroad and usually they just throw them away but, he saves a few
i always called that Teardrop bell the Arrowhead bell, i saw on of those on a old woodin crossing gate a long time ago
Thank you
Thanks Brennen
Very well explained video. I would love to have that teardrop lol. I love that bell as well. Been trying to get my hands on one but considering the fact it weighs 63 ibs, whoooooo, thats a paperweight lol
yeah, that would help for sure. i'm trying to get my hands on a abandoned teardrop out in northern ontario right now. lots of M bells on that line and I have no clue whom I could talk to about them+
if you can find one that is selling, let us know. the easiest way to clean that up is to take out all of the inner workings and sand blast it, and give it a good coat of silver paint.
The less rusty WRRS bell sounds a lot like a WC Hayes bell. Either way, nice collection!
Thanks
My town had a crossing with mechanical bells but the signals were replaced with newer signals with gates
Yeah, I can't wait to get my rust WRRS bell looking better
I have the same transformer but with 2 dials. This one puts out 12.5VDC. The teardrop is probably underpowered
Oh yes, they are very heavy! LOL thanks
I have an update, I was able to acquire a Safetran bell, how do you wire it up with a DC power pack so it works?
Nice collection :)
Cool!
How do you get these, I saw a teardrop in an abandond gondola in the woods, would it be stealing if the railway was abandond for around 20 years.
DO OVER!
Face the backs toward the light SO WE CAN SEE!
Or zoom in which will keep the ambient light out of view and make the darker areas brighter.
Fun to try different voltages, but also suppy the proper voltage and amperage so they sound as they should.
I'm not re filming this. You can clearly see everything inside the bells so not to sure what's the issues you have with that is? And I did supply correct voltage
metraF40PH163 Issues are that contrast makes exposure darker so nothing inside is clearly seen.
You need sufficient amperage to go along with the voltage.
robertgift I can see it fine, I'll be doing more in the future with these so, I'll have better lighting, it was almost dark when this was filmed
robertgift You don't need more amps than this they run off a very low draw
No kidding, please don't swear I have a lot of kids who watch my videos
You can always nid them on Ebay. Im not sure about maintainers you could ask
Ok Do you know how to hook up a mini WRRS bell?
WRRS 49.5 pounds, teardrop was 67 pounds. I own both types and the WRRS are my personal favorite
The Bryant Zinc mechanical bell was the very first bell ever made
When did you get the teardrop?
Where you get the bell?.
Do your friend take it during when the new crossbusks are installed?.
Nice
Doesn't tlew have a tear drop bell on one of the crossing?
It's just a small gate light, it looks just like a "towing light" that tow truck driver put on towed cars as brake lights. Nothing fancy
Just think, The three crossings the bells were on, are three crossings that prob have E bells now
south shore had one of them teardrop bells around Lydick, but no idea where it is now :(
i almost forgot to ask where would you get these teardrop bells from
That US&S Teardrop Bell almost sounds like a CNW Gong Bell.
most railroads won't give anything away but won't care if they disappear as far a legal goes I got all mine legally too
The big one could be as early as the late 1920's ut, it's more likly the 40s or 50s. The other 2 are sometime in the 60's
dude this is great! I have been searching to get one for months, but everytime I have the money, something comes up. I'm looking for either a WCH (My favorite) or Safetran, as those are more common than the others. To find one I can try eBay, or ask a signal maintainer?
That’s a later WRRS model, the earlier ones have black coils.
he needs to clean the contacts, mine ran the same as his but is now loud and clear at around 8 volts
Cool. how old are these bells?
Just hook the 2 wires to the DC outputs. Do not use much voltage they run very low
They have a different sound than the other bells it was at a full power
Yes we have on in Grand Rapids, Ohio
You can't say they are all stolen. They usually don't scrap them just throw them away. So, the railroads get no money for them. I got mine all legaly
How much does a teardrop go for?
I want a bell so bad, but whenever there's a crossing replacment I'm never there and they're a tad pricey on ebay.
in reality all the bells are stolen, a signal maintainer isn't authorized to give things, even though it'll go to scrap. luckily some are nice enough to take a chance. if you like WCH, try to get a WRRS. same mechanism but better
hi there sweet vid do you know were to get parts for the bells if they don't work?? and were did you get them ?? thanks any info be great........ what did you use as far as power I have one that is like you 1st 2
I know a lot of people with railroads. These would just have been thrown away if I did not get them. Idk I'd be carefull and find out who owns it first
It's an old bell with a lower pitch than newer bells
But I really like the one in the middle.
A friend who works for a railroad
Where did you acquire these?
Hey again...
I found a US&S teardrop bell with all the guts inside it up here in Canada at an antique shop for $125 USD.
Was that a good deal ??
Absolutely..... most go on Ebay for about $300-$2500
Get it
That sounds like a still to me. 😂
May I ask a big favor from you? I'm restoring a WRRS 1206 mechanical bell like what you have. I was wanting to ask you if you can take a photo (or digitally scan) of the manual paper on the door of your bells or witch ever one is in better condition. Because the one I'm restoring does not have the paper in the door. If you can help me out with that and email me the photo or digital scan of the manual I would appreciate it.
Sure, send me your email. I really don't youtube much anymore so sorry for the late response
twigybnsf@gmail.com
If you can scan the one thats in better condition if your ok doing that that would be great. Thanks. =o)
@@TWIGYBNSF can you send me a copy of the paper smokey4111@cox.net
I heard that. Rusted WRRS crossing bell from a game
Do you know how to rotate the gong in the teardrop bells? I recently got a bell that came off the Wabash but the gong is worn and doesn't strike the bell as well as I would want it to. I want to rotate it to counter the wear and so the gong gets better contact with the bell.
Due to the fact this bell has a pin for the bell gong to sit at the same position I would guess you may have to drill another hole across from the other one, this way the hammer can hit the gong, mine is worn too but, not as bad as yours. After many many years of service that's what repeated striking with the hammer will do.
Where do you get the bells from
the 2nd bell I has but I needs the base & rain guard & is a WCH
What do you mean?
Yup
Ebay has bells sometimes
So, these bells are halfway between single-stroke (dings once when powered on) and vibrating (rapid ringing)?
Fahrenheit4051 It’s essentially the same as a vibrating alarm-type bell, except with larger coils and a heavier hammer with a longer throw, hence the slower strike rate.
Lucky and rich to afford them
Definitely far from rich haha. It’s all about having friends and being patient in finding stuff like this over the years
You should be careful turning your power supply, aka the train transformer all the way up. They are rated for only putting out up to 12 volts of variable DC but I have found that at 100% power that they exceed 14V DC. Since your bells are only rated for that much power, that could slowly fry the electromagnets in your bells if ran for extended periods of time. I keep my power supplies (since I use an identical setup) at about 75% power and that doesn't exceed 12.5 volts.
+PereMarquette1223 I run them at that for short burst. I usually keep them at 12
I've let my bells run for long amounts of time. I let my teardrop run for a half hour once and it never broke stride.
@@BurlingtonNorthernModeler nice video
3:14 R.I.P HEADPHONE USERS
True, it's too bad
Need a little more power going to the teardrop crossing bell.
Where did you get these?
i already cheched. it would be a good present, but no finds.
In what time period did they produce the WRRS bells?
About around the mid 30's to when they were renamed WC Hayes
In 1932, a company called "the Railroad Supply Co" renamed themselves Western RR Supply Co. In 1953, WRRS became a subsidiary of Western Industries, which was again purchased by Federal Signal in 1968. By 1970, Federal Signal purchased a company called "Hayes Track Appliance Co." It wasn't until 1977 that all the companies came together to form Western Cullen Hayes. So to answer the question, WRRS as an entity produced bells between 1932 and 1968.
Where can you purchase these at?
ebay "railroad crossing bell" not too cheap however you will probably pay more than $150 for a decent one
Burlington Northern Modeler Even 150 bucks is way too expensive for a bell like this. I bought my teardrop for 80 and my WCH 0333 I got for free when a crossing was being abandoned. None the less a 0333 is not worth anywhere close to 150 bucks. Ebay is way overpriced on most aspects of railroads.
+PereMarquette1223 it's not ebay its the owners. I saw a non working WCH 0777 on ebay yesterday for $20 but was taken down 12 hrs later
would a nine volt battery work
Mikeal Monseau It might, not sure
Yes it does
Hey there...
How many different companies made crossing bells in North America ?
Griswold...
US&S...
Western...
Any others ?
Thanks !!
Belleville197 RACO, Bryant Zinc Co, Federal Signal, Safetran, WCH, Wabco, General Signals
Belleville197 Oh and Modern Industries...
Many of them are subsidiaries of each other as well.
Griswold was bought out by RACO, and RACO was bought out by Safetran.
Western Railroad Supply was bought out by Federal Signal, and Federal signal was bought out by WCH.
WABCO was bought out by US&S, which was bought out by Ansaldo STS.
Modern Industries was bought out by Harmon, which merged under GE in the 90's.
General signals, Associated Signal Company, and Railroad Signal International all make E-bells, though RSI is now out of business. General signals bells are still relatively common, while ASC bells are rare.
Those are all the ones I can name off the top of my head.
I have no clue
the model 0666 wc hayes bell operates at 120v ac, does anybody have the model 0666?? everyone seems to have only the 0333 model of that series.
Yeah, not as much to them as people think
I know a few guys with some railroads
The same way with these bells
And I just found magspack gmod railroad crossing sound