I am a long-time collector of old transportation artifacts. I am
the author of a critically acclaimed book on Georgia rail history
which contains photos of many different rail artifacts. I have also
written an extremely well-received book on how to clean and restore
RR lanterns. Both of these books are available on this website. For
many years, I have watched the growing proliferation of bogus rail
items. Some uninformed people call these items "reproductions". They
are wrong. If something was never used originally, it cannot be
reproduced. These items are FRAUDS and BOGUS junk.
There is no such thing as lost technology. Today, bogus items of
every type can be easily produced if the incentive is great enough.
Money is the sole incentive to make and sell bogus items.
I do not have a problem with people making anything they want to make as long as they clearly and permanently mark the item with date of production or give some other permanent marking to indicate it is new. There is a market for new RR items. People like items with familiar and nostalgic logos. However, when people make and sell items with the intention of misleading someone, this is FRAUD or in laymans terms, thievery. The purpose of this page is to detail those items that I have come in contact with and know to be bogus.
What makes me an expert? I am not. However, I have been a very active railroadiana collector for 25 years. I did not specialize in one or two areas. I collected everything. I traveled a large part of this country to shows and in search of railroadiana. I amassed a very substantial collection. Now that I have retired as a federal investigator, I intend to sell a part of it at auction. However, I hate crooks and I want to use this page to provide a warning to unsuspecting buyers.
When I have names of those making bogus items without permanent date markings, I will give them free advertising. Individuals like the despicable John Hickman of Gaithersburg, MD who in spite of being a very sophisticated collector of B&O items, commissioned the making of numerous china and glass rail products. All of his items are top-marked with logos and markings. None of these items bear permanent indications of when made. Because of his expertise, his creations are among the hardest to detect as frauds. The easiest way to detect his products is to know that he only used newly made china and glass for his fakes. His logos and colors are sharp and not quite the same as the originals. The pieces just look too good and too new. Of course, this is difficult to know if you have never seen the originals.
Recently, one of Hickman's creations appeared on ebay. It is a cobalt blue chocolate pot w/LV in wreath logo. The seller tried to be sneaky & only say that it had an LV in wreath. However, he crossed over the line when he said that it was from the LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD. This piece was made long after the LV RR was long gone. You can see the the seller's description as #368345406. I lifted his photo of pot & a close-up of the phoney logo. Buyer should have suspected something when the item only brought $38. A legit pot would bring more like $1,000-2,000.
Remember, no matter how tempting, a 50 or 60 year-old piece of china or glass looks and feels 50 or 60 years old, even if it sat on a shelf all that time. If it doesn't look and feel old, put it down and walk away. This is true for any supposedly old item. Its that simple.
For years, Hickman has traveled to shows and sold his bogus items while shopping for authentic items to add to his collection. Only if you ask him, will he tell you the items are new. In time, there is no telling where his products will end up.
I have just learned that sometime in early December,
1999, John Hickman died. During his life, I told him to his face that
he was despicable. Thus, nothing more needs to be said about him.
Some makers of bogus items opt to make their items appear old. One fraud that I constantly see on eBay Railroad Auction is the three-piece china set.The three-piece set consists of a handleless creamer, mustard pot, and butter-pat. Sometimes the set is split up. These pieces are easily identified by their base color which is always beige. The next tip-off is that the pieces were refired. This means that there is a "crazing" to the finish. The glaze has tiny cracks. This was done to replicate the crazing that takes place in old, light-weight china. The last tip-off is that each piece has a large logo of one of the major rail companies. I have seen MO PAC, PENNSY, SANTA FE, NYC, UNION PACIFIC, and MK&T. These pieces were produced in huge quantities in Taiwan about 7 years ago and brought into this country. They were sold in quantity for $4 a set. Don't go near them unless you want something to play with. Any dealer who claims that these are old is either stupid or a thief. Take a look for yourself.
About 10 years ago, three individual pieces of bogus RR china were imported from Taiwan in large quantities. They were: a handleless creamer with a green pinstripe and a blue SOUTHERN PACIFIC logo, a mustard pot with a green NEW YORK CENTRAL logo, and lastly a single eggcup with a black & red CHICAGO & NORTHWESTERN logo. None of these logos were ever used on authentic dining car china. They were sold for $24 a dozen to anyone in business. As recently as 10-17-99, the SP creamer was being offered on eBay as item #181260541 with a $49.99 minimum. I lifted the scan & here it is.
The most recent BOGUS china pattern is one that mimics the D&RG "Curecanti" pattern. However, this bogus pattern is in blue on white china. The authentic pattern has the "Curecanti" logo in black on a white china with orange & black pinstripes going around the edge of the item. This is an extremely rare pattern. Much of the bogus pattern is being offered on eBay and in malls throughout the country. I lifted a scan from a recent offering.
Before leaving the subject of railroad china, I want to warn folks about sellers who identify pieces as being from a particular railroad solely on the basis of the initials on the item. A good example of this is the "NP" pattern from the Netherland Plaza Hotel. For years, it was suspected that this pattern may have been from the railroad. However, in the last 10 years, it has been well established that it is from the hotel. It is shown as a warning in almost all of the railroad pattern books. Still, some sellers are slick & play dumb like they don't know what its from. If the seller states it is from the NORTHERN PACIFIC RR, he is wrong & any buyer is entitled to a refund. Here is the pattern.
Another bogus item that I am seeing more and more in the eBay Railroad auction is the small rectangular mirrors with railroad markings. These are currently available in any large flea-market in this country. There are about 8 different companies represented, C&O Chessie Cat, FRISCO locomotive, COTTON BELT black child eating watermelon, and another 5 or so. They sell for $6 to $9 each at any large flea-market. They are a take-off on the authentic advertising mirrors used by retailers years ago. To my knowledge, I have never seen an old one from a railroad company. Thus, it is easy to see why a crook would try to pass them off on an unsuspecting RR collector. Shame on the crooks. Undoubtedly, some of you who are reading this now have one or more of these bogus pieces in your collection. I am sorry. Hit icon to see one.
Another fake that is turning up more frequently on eBay is various small white (milk glass) pieces with railroad logos. This is probably one of the most blatant frauds ever perpetrated because the railroads rarely used glass items in their dining service. Glass broke too easily. The few authentic glass items that come to mind are drinking glasses, the MOPAC milk bottles and the NYC coffee carafe. NOTE, the MO PAC Sunnymeade Farm is the only authentic milk bottle that I have ever seen. These items are especially collectible because not many survived.
Now, however, some crooks are using model RR decals found in hobby shops
& sticking them on all types of glass products. Milk bottles are
special favorites because of the well-established MOPAC milk bottle.
These frauds can be detected by simply scrapping off a part with your
finger-nail. A real marking is heat-set and will not scrap off easily.
These same decals are being put on all types of new milk-glass.
Some of the "new" white milk glass items are absurd. One such piece
bears a prominent railroad logo on an eye-wash cup!!!
As far as I know, No RR company ever had a glass or china eye-wash.
Shame on the crooks for their dishonesty and their belief that
collectors are stupid. The fake decals can easily be scraped off
with a finger-nail whereas authentic markings can't. You can also
avoid being defrauded by always asking a seller to guarantee that
the item is old and authentic. An eBay crook will hem and haw, but
generally not give a guarantee.
About 15 years ago, a retired PENN CENTRAL employee in Indianapolis by the name of S. I. Schenk, he likes people to call him "Shanky," commissioned a glass mold-maker to make molds with RR letters in the 5 3/8" extended-base size. When this was done, he went to one of the glass making companies and had 100s of colored globes made for various railroads. For years, he has sold these raised-letter, green, blue, and red globes for $20 a piece. All of his globes have the lettering in a box, luckily for sophisticated collectors the box was not square like the originals. This is the only way to differentiate his globes from authentic globes. Also, his globes have no scratches or use marks. Remember, old items have use marks & scratches even if they sat on a shelf for 60 or 70 years. I follow the theory that "if it looks too good, its no good."
About 14 years ago, an enterprising collector/businessman sent an
Adlake Reliable frame to Taiwan and told the manufacturer to make
him some solid brass lantern frames that he thought would look
good with Shanky's globes. Luckily, the manufacturer
didn't know English. He created an exact replica of an ADLAKE
Reliable frame in solid brass, but left all of the lettering off
the frame. Occasionally, you will see one of these plain brass
frames offered for sale. Now, you know the rest of the story.
One of the most profitable schemes ever carried out in bogus RR
artifacts was and is still being perpetrated. It is the black,
wood-framed "Jim Crow" segregated restroom signs. Starting about
20 years ago, a crook in Nashville, TN had some paper signs printed
up with a variety of "COLORED MEN", "COLORED WOMEN", "WHITE ONLY",
etc., etc. These signs were about 16" x 5 1/2". Every one was in
a simple wood, painted black, frame. Each had a logo or name of
a southern rail company in the center or near the bottom of the sign.
Some of the favorite companies are; L&N, TENNESSEE CENTRAL,
COTTON BELT, TEXAS CENTRAL & MISSISSIPPI CENTRAL. The hook to make
the suckers, I mean customers buy it was a date in the lower
right-hand corner. Usually, the date is in the late 20s or
early 30s.
Hundreds if not thousands of these bogus signs were made and are still being sold in antique shops & flea markets around the country. As late as June 25, 1999, a seller listed one of these signs on eBay as item #120087656. The seller was cleaver & inventive. He called the sign nostalgic & "old looking." He cited the 1929 date, but made no mention as to being authentic or genuine. By his silence, he allows the reader to make their own assumption. I will not call this seller a crook because nothing in the blurb shows an overt intent to mislead. Like me, he is probably a lawyer & carefully crafted his blurb. Shame on him. I lifted his photo & placed it here. You can see it for yourself & pull up the blurb. I guarantee it is a fake.
Speaking of cleaver crooks, very recently I saw a blurb for a RR sign on eBay. The seller called the item an, "authentic replica." That seller is audacious & an expert in double-talk & BS. This seller also used one of those professional listing programs that utilizes, flashing lights, moving figures, & other cutesy crap. I am very suspicious of those sellers who use these programs. Like the sleight of hand, 3-card Monty sharks, they try to distract you from recognizing fraud. They are very long on BS & short on guarantees.
Going back to our earlier crook with the printed signs, he soon discovered
that he could produce a much more dramatic sign with only a slightly
higher labor cost because he would no longer need to spend so much
time framing. He simply sprayed black paint through a pre-cut
"Jim Crow" stencil onto a piece of clear glass. This is called
"silk-screening." When dry, he sprayed a coat of heavy white paint
over the black lettering. He didn't forget his hook. He used a
simple rubber stamp and put a 20s or 30s date on the back of the sign
in the lower right-hand corner. This sign was so impressive,
it allowed him to charge a much higher price.
Again, I am sorry, because some of you reading this have one or
more of those bogus signs. However, you are not alone. With
the popularity of preserving heritage, black collectibles have
become extremely popular. I would be willing to bet a MOPAC
diesel service plate that there is not a single large collection
of black memorabilia that doesn't have at least one or more of
these bogus signs including the substantial collection of Oprah
Winfrey. Yes, I know, they look "sooooo old and sooooo good."
Remember, the railroads did not invent segregation. It was a product
of Southern and Southwestern state and local law until the landmark
interstate & intrastate commerce desegregation cases of the early 1960s.
Segregation placed a huge burden and cost on the railroad companies.
The RR companies didn't dare mention a word of protest about it
because of the obstinacy and hostility regarding the subject by
local officials who were intent on continuing the practice of
"separation of the races." These same officials had the power to
raise taxes on RR property to the point of making the companies
insolvent. Those who ever worked for a railroad know how tight-fisted
they were about spending money. Thus, why would they bear the added
cost to put their name on a sign that was forced on them by local law.
Lastly, paper and glass were always considered a temporary or
short-term product for a rail company.
I am old enough to vividly remember the real Jim Crow signs.
Simply put, they were bought in the local hardware store. They were
either painted metal or porcelain. They were always white with black
or blue lettering. There was a hole on the right and one on the left.
They were always screwed into a wood restroom door or on a wall above
a water cooler. For restrooms they were bought in parts. There was
"white", "colored", "men", and "women". The pieces were paired for
what was needed. They were never hung like a proud picture of grandma
on a wall. No RR or commercial company of any kind ever put their
name on these signs because the whole subject was unseemly,
undignified and never discussed in polite company. It was certainly
never considered an advertising vehicle.