My friend in Uruguay sent me some insulators, including a CD 436.Unembossed Pilkington Experimental No Tie Insulator.

The idea was to have it here in time for the Merritt show, so everyone could see it, hold it, and get to know what all the excitement is all about. Through Track and Trace, we were able to follow the insulator from Uruguay to Canada Customs in Montreal. It arrived about Aug 27. It was not opened nor inspected, simply delayed, and arrived at the Canada Post Office on Monday, Sept 12. Good friends Brenda and Aidan Morgan were here to witness the official opening of the long awaited parcel.

The Pilkington CD 436 is an interesting insulator, dating back as best I can figure to 1880 to 1910. It was an experimental No Tie type insulator, little used in England where it was manufactured. Most examples have been found in Uruguay. Bernie Warren and Jim Bergman found some back in '94 and '95 when they made 3 hunting trips to Uruguay..

I believe these insulators were made exclusively for use in Uruguay, and my reasoning is as follows. In the 1800's, Great Britain was the world leader in building railroads. Starting in India, then in all the British Empire colonies throughout Africa. From then on, foreign countries contracted with British builders to build and operate their railways. This was certainly the case in Argentina and Uruguay.

One result of the British building and operating the railways was that all supplies were purchased and shipped from England, which would explain the presence of the CD 436 Pilkington's in Uruguay, and the Silvertown.