This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published July 08, 2011 and can be found here.
Recently I received an email from a local woman asking for help identifying an old bell with some strange letters. She states quite simply, "I have an old bell with these letters RC&BRR. Can you give me any information on this?" Right away I recognized those letters...
Nearly 100 years before Judy Garland sang her memorable trolley bell tune
, the Rochester City & Brighton Railroad Company (RC&BRR) was operating horse-drawn trolleys - or technically, horse-drawn streetcars - in Rochester across 9 miles of track. These beautiful work-horses clip-clopped up and down our cobblestone streets from the 1860's until Rochester Railway Co. took over the operation in 1890 and replaced the horsecars with new electric cars.
SO cool!
I had to see this bell; and so I asked her to send me a photo of it (see above). Yup. Looks like the real deal to me. It's missing the little leather strap but other than that it appears to be of the very same variety as the one attached to the horse's neck in this old photo...
![A horse-drawn streetcar rounds a corner near Main Street. It is car number 55 of the Rochester City & Brighton Railroad Company. The car was later added to the collection at the Transportation Museum in Henrietta. In this photograph many people are gathered around to examine the streetcar. This may have been a parade to celebrate the Rochester Centennial in 1934. [PHOTO: Albert R. Stone Collection]](https://www.rochestersubway.com/images/photos/rcbrr-horse-trolley.jpg?ref=senseofplace.dev)
Horsecar, or trolley bells were attached to the bridle of the horse to both announce the arrival of the vehicle and to warn pedestrians to steer clear. The bells are all brass or bronze and many were unmarked.
Unfortunately she has no idea how her family acquired this amazing little artifact. She just knows it has been in her father's family for as long as she can remember. And, sadly, her father and all of his siblings have passed on.
What I'd like to know is how many more of these there are out there. The streetcar shown in the photo above was later added to the collection of the Transportation Museum
in Henrietta. I wonder if they have the bell?
I found on eBay from NYC's 3rd Ave. R.R. CO. It sold for $170.
And no... she has no intention of selling hers. Though, if you happen to have any additional information on these bells, please leave a comment below. Your tip just might help our bell owner trace its history.
