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by **dcon6019** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:19 am

Early model gamewell fire call box with cole key gaurd. It still needs some cleaning up but I was able to get is operational and winding down without any snags. Both the main coils and the "non-interferring" coil set pull in with out issue. Met a old pro who answered all my questions and helped me get the box back in operation. This came out of Baltimore. Below is a gamewell register. It would sit back at the central station and relay signals from the call boxes. It would punch or slash a mark in the paper to designate the box in alarm. Not really street furniture but I thought you all might still like to see it.

by **dcon6019** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:26 am

Here is a Gamewell Police call box that I don't know much about. I was told it was from the baltimore area but I think DC is a better bet if it is from around here at all. I would appreciate any insights other collectors might have. This is a more modern 50's style aluminum box. Most of the ones I have seen that are from Baltimore are cast iron and are larger. Everything works. It didn't need to much help, just some light cleaning and a few loose wires. It is now ready for restoration and paint. Anyone familiar with the correct paint schemes and colors for this box and the gamewell box I posted above. Thanks in advance.

by **techtiques** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 1:13 am

The Fire Alarm Box has an inner mech box that contains Gamewell's 1916 model First Peerless mechanism. The keyguard is a Cole Key Guard -- patented by Frederic Cole --
http://www.google.com/patents?id=z-ddAA ... &q&f=false

The register in not the type that would normally be used at a fire station. Yours is a larger multiple circuit register, that was designed to be used at Fire Alarm Central Offices -- where alarms would ring in, and then be dispatched to the correct Fire Stations. They would then come in at the Fire Stations on a smaller single circuit register.

Regarding the Police Call Box, I believe it could have been used in any number of sytems in your area. The paint scheme looks correct. Highlighting the letters to match the Fire Alarm box would be an option.

Both boxes have 2 digit numbers, which would seem to make them more likely to have been used in smaller towns than Baltimore or DC. Every Baltimore Fire Alarm box I have ever seen had a 4 digit number plate on it. The Baltimore Fire Alarm boxes were red at one time, but they were retired out with a unique shade of paint locally known as Omaha Orange.

by **dcon6019** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 8:43 am

techtiques wrote: Both boxes have 2 digit numbers, which would seem to make them more likely to have been used in smaller towns than Baltimore or DC. Every Baltimore Fire Alarm box I have ever seen had a 4 digit number plate on it. The Baltimore Fire Alarm boxes were red at one time, but they were retired out with a unique shade of paint locally known as Omaha Orange.

All the Baltimore boxes I have seen had 4 digit plates as well. I was told It was a Baltimore box by the gentleman that sold it to me. That alone doesn't mean much with something so old. I talked with a local collector in my area that was pretty knowlegeable. He is the same guy that helped me bring the box back to operating condition. The box in the photos has the correct hole pattern on the bottom that most of the baltimore boxes shared. Many of the boxes were mounted to thier own pedestals here in baltimore and elsewhere. I am told Baltimore's pedestals were slightly different, hence the suggestion that this may have been a Baltimore call box. The key for this piece also matched the key that was used for baltimore call boxes in the area. The whole thing has been painted several times over but some of the layers underneath suggested baltimore as well. If it is a real Baltimore call box, I was given the original locations of service from a guy who had collected the original running cards for the area. If not, it is a nice piece of history that is a good representation of what was in Baltimore at one time. Thanks for the correction on the Key gaurd, I will fix the mistake.

by **techtiques** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:59 am

Even towns that mainly had 4 digit Fire Alarm boxes -- might have some 2 digit boxes in the system, usually for special, high value locations -- or sometimes as temporary boxes that would be used in a knock down situation, where a mech was damaged. In that situation box XX would equal box XXXX in a temporary timeframe. All Fire Alarm sytems -- no matter how big -- had 2 digit numbers at some time in their history.

Most Baltimore's pedestals were not slightly different, they were completely different from anything that that Gamewell made -- or were used anywhere else. If the bottom of your box has the Baltimore pedestal bolt pattern -- that's a very good indication that it's from Baltimore. I still have one of those pressed steel Baltimore pedestals back in my shed.

Baltimore boxes were red for a very long time before the Safety "Omaha" Orange paint job. That's just the color most boxes retired out in. A lot of local collectors didn't like it, and so a lot of orange boxes have been restored back to red.

by **BigTbird1974** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 10:32 am

Please don't let me interrupt 'the flow' but I just gotta say WOW!!

THANKS SO MUCH Dave (and Mike!) for all this wonderful information, not to mention the :cool:

pics!!

hope you guys have found this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=13216
I sorta think we need 'ya both to come along on that 'rescue/recovery operation'... :scratch:

by **dcon6019** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 10:58 am

techtiques wrote: I still have one of those pressed steel Baltimore pedestals back in my shed.

Some friends of mine have told me that the pressed steel pedestals used to be pretty easy to aquire. The city scrapped alot of them. Every once in a while one pops up on craigslist or at a city auction. I missed one a few years ago, but I am pretty confident I will eventually own one if I keep looking. Thanks for the information.

Dave

by **techtiques** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 11:23 am

They should be easy to find down there. I had 4 of the marked cast iron Baltimore Fire Alarm pedestals at the heyday of my collecting.

The only neat Baltimore item I never was able to acquire was one of the "First Instructional Door" Gamewell Fire Alarm boxes, that were again, unique to Baltimore.

by **dcon6019** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 11:36 am

techtiques wrote:The only neat Baltimore item I never was able to acquire was one of the "First Instructional Door" Gamewell Fire Alarm boxes, that were again, unique to Baltimore.

I have seen photos of these in online auction, ebay and the like. Is it the box and the wording that makes it specific to Baltimore? Is the key gaurd still considered a Cole key gaurd even though it is a slightly different shape? What was the timeline for boxes similar to this one? When were they manufactured? I know the internal movements were often updated and the originals abandoned for more current models. Did these carry the peerless movements as well?

by **dcon6019** on Sun Jul 28, 2013 11:49 am

techtiques wrote:The Fire Alarm Box has an inner mech box that contains Gamewell's 1916 model First Peerless mechanism.

It was my understanding that the difference between the first and second peerless movements was that the second peerless models would only signal the coding wheels 3 or 5 times (I can't remember) and then revert back to a non alarm status. My mechanism and other first generation peerless would simply signal until the spring wound down in the movement and then would have to be rewound. Was the second generation peerless designed to eliminate the need to wind the mechanism after every alarm, or were there other benefits. I am aware that the mechanism in my box is first peerless and that the second peerless came along a few years later. Is it safe to assume my call box was from that time period (1916-1919) or were the first peerless movements manufactured and used along with the second generation models through the 20's?

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