CD 140 Jumbo in Purple with milky swirl

By Tracey Beckham; posted August 2, 2004

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This incredible insulator was acquired by Joe Maurath, Jr. in 1973 from the side of an old abandoned building in Lynn, Massachusetts. He was able to convince a utility crew working nearby to liberate this jewel and two others of this style (one was deep yellow-olive and the other an aqua "Oakman"). So, a couple of donated six-packs of beer later, Joe joyfully started his way home accompanied by three of these big brutes which were laden with so much paint that he could not tell what colors they were. When he arrived home Joe wasted no time cleaning these insulators. He nearly stood on his head in unequalled amazement when he discovered that one was purple and the other in deep yellow-olive! (A photo of the aforementioned will be included here in the near future). There are three or four other purple Jumbo's known and Joe's is the only one with such an outstanding milky swirl. The others (along with most of the CD 140 insulators known) were liberated from active 600 volt DC cables during 1975 by so-called collectors within the Boston subway system. Most of this cache were Oakman products. The remainder (believed to have been made by Brookfield...including the purple examples) are unmarked. These were found in unbelievable colors including clear, lime green, rich blue, etc.

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