Steam Locomotive Bells

Bell of Torch Lake 3 at Greenfield Village
Bell on SP 2355, Mesa AZ


The bell assembly included several parts:
  • The Bell: The bell itself is one solid piece.


I am often contacted by people who have acquired a locomotive bell and would like help in identifying it. Unfortunately, it was not standard practice to have marks that easily identified the locomotive (like a serial or engine number) engraved on a bell. Instead, bell manufacturers had their own identifying marks on the yoke and the cradle. Most of the casting numbers were only meaningful to the foundries that cast them and all the information for those casting numbers were lost when the foundries closed. Baldwin bell identification numbers do exist but are only known by a few people. Some steam locomotive bells that were made by a railroad (like CPR or PRR) were only used on their locomotives and were all very similar. For these reasons, it is difficult to determine what locomotive a bell comes from. However, Robin Stuber is an expert at identifying steam locomotive bells and, for a fee, can help you identify one. Contact him if you are interested.

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Wes Barris