What was your best Phono Road Trip?

[gemering]

I once drove from New Jersey to Ohio with Mike Devecka to purchase an Edison Standard Model F with wood Cygnet horn.
I loved the machine, but loved the conversation about collecting and phonographs equally as much.
We laughed all the way to Ohio and back.
I could use another road trip like that soon!
Life is too short not to do it.
-Gene

[JohnM]

My best phono road trip was short, but sweet. In 2002 I was working diligently to promote the 75th anniversary celebration of the 1927 Bristol Sessions for the Birthplace of Country Music Alliance. The celebration was a series of ten concerts held in nine different cities in the region over a ten-day period. Two of the concerts were huge events at the Bristol Motor Speedway featuring Loretta Lynn and Earl Scruggs and others. I was the operations manager for the series which was a logistical nightmare and to say I had a lot on my plate would.be an understatement. A couple of days before the series was to start, I was at a meeting in Blountville, Tennessee and after that, headed to my office in Bristol. My route took me right past an antiques store owned by a fellow who was a radio guy, but also dabbled in phonographs. I was so busy that I had no time to stop, but at the last second, I pulled in. I walked in and what to my surprise do I find but a beautiful mahogany Amberola III ! The price was very right, so I bought it and left it there to pick up later. I went to my office, and then ran several errands, the last of which took me to a friend's house whom I had never visited at home. He lived in the house that belonged to his grandparents. He had previously told me about a phonograph that had been in his family that was now stored in the old Model T-sized garage out back. After we took care of business, he asked me if I'd like to see the phonograph. He opened up the shed and there under paint and gasoline cans, etc. was a lyre-grill Amberola 1-A in mahogany, but in rough shape. A brass bell horn sat atop the lid along with the cans. We brought the machine out into the light and it turned out to be Amberola I-A serial number 2. So, my best phono road trip was probably not over 15 or 20 miles, but it netted me two traversing mandrel Edisons -- both found in the wild -- on one busy day when I wasn't really intending to look!

[edisonrestorer64]

Our Best trip was when My wonderful girlfriend and myself went to Oxford connictut to pick up a Victor Victrola table model model VV V111 wich I thought by the machine was a v 3 but insted it was a Victor Victrola V8 so it seems in ok cond. not the orignal repoducer but i had one needs restoration and well I ended up buying a Columbia q from the same family it was purchased new from the same family as the victrola.

[52089]

My best was - this past weekend at Wayne. Picked up 2 new "kids" - An Amberola 1A and a Pathé' tabletop, my first of each. I also picked up a bunch of good Blue Amberols including some OBL 20's dance bands that look like they're "new old stock". And I found a "preliminary match" diamond disc in a $2 pile.

To me, that's a pretty good day!

[OrthoSean]

My best was - this past weekend at Wayne. Picked up 2 new "kids" - An Amberola 1A and a Pathé' tabletop

To me, that's a pretty good day!

Ah, so you bought the 1A! I drooled over it every time I walked by, but, well...I'm saving up for a phono-room addition in the next few years, so no heavy spending! I did get some nice things though!

Congrats!

Sean

[52089]

My best was - this past weekend at Wayne. Picked up 2 new "kids" - An Amberola 1A and a Pathé' tabletop

To me, that's a pretty good day!

Ah, so you bought the 1A! I drooled over it every time I walked by, but, well...I'm saving up for a phono-room addition in the next few years, so no heavy spending! I did get some nice things though!

Congrats!

Sean

You mean the 1A that was on display at the show next to the III? No, I didn't buy that one. Another board member had one for sale and was kind enough to deliver it to Wayne and help me get it into my car. Now I just need to figure out how to get it into the house!

[Edisone]

WORST was trying to get home from NJ to Buffalo, when something weird went wrong with the battery on Route 81 and I was left stranded overnight in my crappy Ford Van. NOBODY heeded my "CALL 911 " sign. When daybreak came, I started walking along the dangerous roadside, which got the attention of the otherwise useless NYS Troopers. A call to AAA, a tow to KMart, and a quick charge/repair to my battery fixed things. Nothing fixed my tragic leaning onto a Pathé 14" disc in the middle of the night, though. Darn.

[Jerry B.]

In the spring of 2008, gas prices were climbing almost daily and I was planning to drive my one ton Chevy pickup and pull a 16' covered cargo trailer from Oregon to Union and back. I was commiserating with a friend from work who was trying to have a 1928 Chevrolet sedan delivered from Iowa to Oregon. The car had been purchased by his grandfather and was passed down to him. He had contracted with two private haulers but as fuel prices rose, his contract was ignored and the car remained in Iowa. As I was making my final plans, he asked if I could pick up the car. I replied that if he could secure a covered car hauler, I could pick up the car. His solution was to purchase a new 24' covered car hauler. A few days later I left for Union with Bob Carver, Stan Stanford, and Dan Melvin and a new car hauler. All of our phono items took just a fraction of the cargo area. Our first major stop was in Denver to see Darold Edwards and pick some items he was storing for me. In his garage were my two Corvettes and a Jaguar. He said he like to brag to his friends about the Corvettes and Jaguar in the garage but they were actually Schwinn Corvettes and a Schwinn Jaguar. There was tons of room for the bikes. The four of us enjoyed antiquing our was across the midwest. About twenty four hours before we were to reach the location of the '28 Chev, I called to confirm our arrival. The fellow at the other end of the phone was very anxious and told me that they were in the midst of a spring flood and the flood waters were about a block from his house and the location of the car. Needless to say, we stopped our leisurely antiquing and put the hammer down for Iowa. Luckily, when we arrived the flood waters were not a problem and there was a break in the rain. We unloaded all the bikes and phono items and used a come-a-long to drag the old car into the trailer. Once in the trailer, I secured the car with blocks ahead and behind all the tires and used ratchet binders so guarantee the car would not move. While I was securing the car, the rest of the group reloaded bikes, Victrolas, and tubs of phono items. At Union we had a great time and all of us purchased memorable treasures. On Sunday we even loaded some furniture my next door neighbor asked me to bring back from Chicago. By late Sunday at Union, the trailer was getting full. We had the car, furniture, phonographs, and five bicycles. Several bikes were carefully wrapped and loaded on the running boards on each side of the car. We even had phonographs inside the car. I thought we were loaded by Sunday morning but Bob Carver went wild and bought a bunch of project Homes, Gems, and Standards. They ended up being loaded under the car. That phono road trip consumed 646 gallons of gas ($2612) at 8 mpg while driving 5148 miles.
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My big purchase was a gold #10 Victor reproducer. It went in the glove box!
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The transmission blew up pulling a trailer to the CAPS show two months later.
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Thanks to Terry Baer for picking up a Schwinn Apple Krate Sing-Ray in St Louis and delivering it to Union. It's still the coolest muscle bike in my collection. I rode it to work one day and went past a group of kids that were waiting for the bus. I heard one kid say "look at that guy" and before I was out of range, the kids cheered me.
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Jerry Blais

[phonogfp]

It certainly wasn't my best phono trip, but a memorable one was in 1985 when I attended a show in January with two other collectors. For some reason, we didn't take my van, but a 1983 Mustang hatchback that belonged to one of the other guys. Lunacy. All I bought at the show was a horn crane, but the other guys bought a record cabinet, several external horn machines, and - - just as we were packing up - - a large framed picture of Edison! There was no possible way all 3 of us could have a seat, so we took turns lying in the back storage area with the rear window about 6 inches above our noses. Thanks goodness none of us were claustrophobic! being January in new York state, the roads iced up on the way home during a blizzard. The back end of that Mustang was sliding all over the road - much to the consternation of the rear passenger. Somehow we made it home, and never again attended a show without a larger vehicle!

George P.

[Scott]

Now that's dedication and passion..