I recently inherited a brass bell with the Frisco logo on it. It stands in a yoke and is approximately 24 inches tall. It is my understanding that it came out of Cincinnati, Ohio and was given to my wife's uncle by a prominate businessman from Cincinnati. Besides the logo, all I can find on the bell is casting numbers. Is there anyway to trace the bell or to tell the what type of locomotive it came off of? I am trying to find out all that I can about it, but I am not having much luck. I am inclosing a couple of pictures of the bell. Thanks, Heydaykid
Frisco engraved the logo after removal from the locomotive and prior to presentation. These were usually given to a church, civic group or some other similar type organization when engraved as such. Bells given to individuals/employees were normally not engraved with the logo. Generally, there are no unique numbers to trace what locomotive the bell was removed from. I have a bell that came off Consolidation 1295. It is rather crudely shop marked on one side of the cradle. Yours is defenitely a boiler mount as opposed to a smoke box mount. The brass knob on top would indicate the bell probably came from a passenger locomotive although sometimes this would be added after removal simply because it would dress the bell up. Of the 5 or 6 Frisco steam locomotive bells I have seen, this is the only one I have seen marked with a locomotive number. Nice bell. Jeff Cooney
Take the nut and washer off, (don't let the ringer fall on your foot) and send me the classification code stamped into the end of the stem around the bolt hole. I can tell you exactly what engine it was originally on, when built. It will be a two digit number, maybe a fraction, a letter, and more numbers.
