The Whistle Can’t Stop It

Collector continues amassing regional railway memorabilia 

By: Margaret Butler

Raymond “Bo” Brown’s day job is a funeral director, but what keeps him awake at night is his love of railroad memorabilia. Having had a father and grandfather in the railroad business, Brown counts playing among cabooses and passenger cars as his earliest memories. However, his life changed forever at age 12, when his grandfather gifted him some of the side gear of the profession: a lantern, an oil can, and a silver thermos.

Since that day 51 years ago, Brown has been continually on the search for his next train-themed treasure. Be it a massive steam-locomotive headlight, a whistle, or a button off of a conductor’s jacket, his railroad-memorabilia collection is at once meticulous and unlimited. 

To walk into Brown and his wife Brynda’s home in Travelers Rest, SC, is to be transported back in time. “We are keepers of the past,” he says. Their expansive collection includes everything from conductor hats to boarding stools, station signage to railway menus.

“If you collect, you collect anything and everything,” says Brown. Lanterns, head lamps, and route schedules are mounted on the walls; cases display whistles, keys, and other relics from life on the tracks. 

“There are 1,500 pieces of flatware alone,” Brown reveals. Other than that, he admits he has no idea how many items make up his total holdings. But he doesn’t intend to slow down. 

His collection recently grew by 350 pieces of dining-car china and silver when he acquired a portion of the personal collection of D. William Brosnan, president of Southern Railway (later Norfolk Southern) from 1962-1967. When the valuable collection became available at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Asheville last fall, Brown jumped at the opportunity.

“Much of that dining-car silver crossed through Saluda and into Asheville — I’m sure of it,” says Brown, who has extensive knowledge of regional train routes and car identification. To this day the steepest standard-gauge mainline railway in the U.S., the nonactive Saluda Grade is owned by Norfolk Southern and honored by the town’s Saluda Historic Depot and Museum, where items from Brown’s collection are on loan.

For Brown, there’s nothing better than a good find, especially if it’s from Southern Railway, the line that employed his father and grandfather. He recalls stumbling upon a lantern with a rare blue globe hanging alone in an antique shop in Landrum, just over the South Carolina state line. 

“It’s like the holy grail. You just don’t find ’em,” he says. He remembers thinking to himself, “Wouldn’t that be something if it was from Southern Railway?” Sure enough, the lantern in question was clearly marked with the railway’s logo. It was $82.22 and a done deal.

Given Brown’s enthusiasm, one would assume that the coveted blue-globed lantern is displayed in a place of prominence. Instead, it is nestled among the more than 300 other lanterns in the collector’s house. 

It’s all about the hunt for Brown. Once a new piece is acquired and arrayed, the search is back on. 

“As a young man, collecting kept me out of trouble. As an old man, it’s keeping me broke,” he laughs. Besides scouring antique shops, he and Brynda travel to Railroadiana shows throughout the country, where they are dealers — “[selling items] helps fund the addiction,” he jokes — as well as buyers. 

They also do their part to share their knowledge with fellow train aficionados and with the curious public. Brown has given numerous presentations about vintage train life at the Saluda Historic Depot, and at press time, he and Brynda had just finished preparing for an event at the Hub City Railroad Museum in Spartanburg, where some of the china from the Habitat for Humanity acquisition will be on display.

Asked what’s on his bucket list, Brown responds, “To do or to find?” The former is the journey offered by Trans-Canada Railroad, a six-day, famously beautiful trip across the vast country. The latter is a much smaller wish, although perhaps even more elusive: finding a rare type of 19th-century lantern, the Bell Bottom, that was used briefly by Southern Railway before they switched to less expensive wire-bottom lanterns.

Despite Brown’s hope for valuable discoveries, museum-level curation isn’t always the goal. For example, not all of his and Brynda’s plateware is tucked away in a glass cabinet. 

“If it’s served in this house, it’s served on railroad china,” says Brynda. Some of the general collection spills out into the yard, patio, and garage. In the backyard, local children are welcomed to blow an antique steam whistle. 

“We’ve got patient neighbors,” she notes.

Raymond “Bo” Brown, Travelers Rest, SC, rub1458@charter.net. Saluda Historic Depot and Museum (32 West Main St., Saluda, saludahistoricdepot.com, 828-769-9016) is open Thursdays through Saturdays, 12-5pm, and Sundays 1-4pm. The Hub City Railroad Museum (298 Magnolia St., Spartanburg, hubcityrrmuseum.org, 864-963-4739) is open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am-2pm.