The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

I thought forum members might get a kick out of this story.

I'm pretty new to phonograph collecting, but for years a different hobby has drawn me to Union. I volunteer at the Illinois Railway Museum (http://www.irm.org), just up the road from where the show is, mostly doing restoration work in the electric car department. I help with keeping the museum's Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railway interurban cars, wood cars built between 1903 and 1914, running smoothly for museum visitors.

So a month or so ago I was looking for a portable phonograph on eBay (I had a Panatrope portable in mind - I have a Brunswick upright I really like) and came across a Parisian for sale in Florida. It was a bit more than I was hoping to pay and I probably wouldn't have given it much thought except for a note written on the back of the original instruction card: "I bought this in 1930 when I was conductor on the [Chicago] Aurora and Elgin R.R. Used to take it to work with me and play records on the trains. -Dad Nickerson."

Well I couldn't pass up on that! I bought it and have been fiddling with it for the past month. The governor is still finicky, so it sounds warbly when playing records, but it works. It came with the original paper horn but it's kind of ragged so I rigged up a temporary one from a manila envelope and brought the Parisian out to the museum with me this past weekend, when I was volunteering as motorman on the CA&E cars. The photos below show the "reunion" between Conductor Nickerson's original phonograph and the CA&E interurban cars he worked on some 85 years ago. Who knows, maybe this machine has been in this exact railway car before. I'd like to think Mr. Nickerson would be pleased!

Frank Hicks

That's a great story!
It sure was meant to be.

James.

FrankH wrote:I'd like to think Mr. Nickerson would be pleased!

You can bet that he would be!

Perhaps he wouldn't be just as happy with his offspring, who got rid of this gramophone that was so important to him. But all's well that ends well: the gramophone is now in the hands of someone who likes it and appreciates its history!

Nice story, and what a nice job you guys do with keeping those trains running!

Thanks for sharing this great reunion story.


Gene

Thanks for sharing that wonderful reunion story. We would like to visit the museum on Thursday afternoon if time permits.

An incredible reunion, for sure.

Thank you for giving us a seat for the journey.

Fran

Great story and machine. We are in the Union area a day early and I've never seen the railroad museum. We'll be there tomorrow morning. Frank, I'll look for you. Jerry Blais

I hope you guys enjoy the railway museum! It's the largest one in North America and probably the largest in the world, with something like 400 different pieces of railway equipment. Unfortunately I won't be there until Saturday (it's phonograph show in the morning, railway museum afternoon/evening for me). But there are trains running every day and the exhibit barns are all open.

WOW! Great story - thanks for sharing! Cliff

Nice "FATE" coming through---meant to be. Thanks for posting it, realize and enjoy your gift.