• Riveted aluminum cases?

  • Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.
Discussion about the Union Pacific operations past and present. Official site can be found here: UPRR.COM.

Moderator: GOLDEN-ARM

  by NV290
 
I am hoping some engineers might know the answer to this. I have seen alot of engineers with these aluminum cases that are riveted together and are custom made in all sorts of sizes. They are usually bare aluminum (silver) in color. I have a friend who has one and i wanted to get him a new one as a gift but cant seem to find the manufacturer. I looked in his case and it has the name of who made it but when i called the number, they were no longer in buissness. It was an elderly woman who made it. Anyone know a company in buissness now who does?

  by GOLDEN-ARM
 
Those are/were called "Hammie-Grips", made by a retired PRR conductor, near Altoona. He died, and his wife, Louis J. Beers, took over. As she became too "aged" to carry on, she sold the company, to a person who claimed to want to carry on the tradition. He didn't. Switching to thinner gauges of aluminum, and cheap, imported hardware, his attempt to maximize profits, ended up ruining the project. Boxes fell apart, handles popped off, and they were easily dented, and crushed. His greed caught up to him, and he closed shop. Sorry. :( I sold mine to a NYSW engineer, and wish I still had it. Those grips were indestructable. Regards