Reed & Barton Royal 1899-"Iron Mountain Route"??

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Traintime
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Reed & Barton Royal 1899-"Iron Mountain Route"??

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While it is deceptively easy to read many other letters into this monogram, what appears to be true is an elongated superior "I" conjoined at its' center by an "M", thence super-Imposed above a double-wide "R" which is slightly shifted above that center point in order to set it out. Reed & Barton's "Royal" pattern is essentially a twin sister to the "Cecil" pattern, both recieving the patent granted date of February 7th 1899.
Interestingly, Cecil was employed both by Chicago & Alton railroad and Southern Pacific railroad with topmarked initials. Together with the "Iron Mountain Route" and a bridge line across the Texas & Pacific, these four roads formed what was once known as the "True Southern Route to California" from Chicago. (This was superceded by the "Golden State Route" across the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific R.R. by 1902-3.) Royal has turned up employed by the Palace Hotel which would have marked the end of the route in San Francisco (via transferred through Pullman sleepers leaving Los Angeles on other trains).
The Iron Mountain was controlled by Missouri Pacific, but held as a separate entity with an independent identity. A joint useage china pattern, Maddock's Pottery Lamberton Works in Trenton N.J., has the Missouri Pacific logo placed opposite an "Iron Mountain Route" box logo providing proof that this name was used in dining services rather than the railroad's official initials. A check of paper ephemera provides no exact match to this monogram, but does show the extended "I" was used.
Any additional information might help to determine if this is in fact a lost and undocumented silverware logo for this era.

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Traintime
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Re: Reed & Barton Royal 1899-"Iron Mountain Route"??

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Was finally able to locate some additional supporting evidence. A china pattern for "The Sunshine Special" was ordered from Onondaga Pottery/Syracuse China through Ford of St. Louis. An impressed date code ("56" in diamond) places it in 1916. Even though the topside artwork (underglaze decalcomania) lists the intials of the three handling railroads, the backstamp indicates it was ordered for the "Iron Mountain Route"...sufficient proof that the Missouri Pacific name was not always involved (International & Great Northern, St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern, and Texas & Pacific were the named partners here). This makes it possible that an IMR monogram was solely applied to silverplate for some services. [One possibility still being investigated is the "Pacific Coast Limited" of 1898-99, though no pieces bearing the final patent granted date could have been in the intial service originated in October/November 1898. Replacement wares after Feb. 7th 1899 could include the date mark.]
Traintime
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Re: Reed & Barton Royal 1899-"Iron Mountain Route"??

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Just some technical adjustment-The first china pattern mentioned was produced by John Maddock's firm in Burslem England, not cousin Thomas Maddock in Trenton N.J. (listed in Richard Luckin's Dining On Rails with manufacturer code MDK). No dating was given for the sample. The second china pattern continued in production with a Missouri Pacific backstamp, dated for 1928. The IMR had been long absorbed by that point.
Traintime
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Re: Reed & Barton Royal 1899-"Iron Mountain Route"??

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Explanation of "XX" as " Spot Plate" for R.&B. plate: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=35544&p=93044&hili ... ate#p93044
Traintime
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Re: Reed & Barton Royal 1899-"Iron Mountain Route"??

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Pacific Coast Limited was still in operation as of April 1899, but was being reduced to once-a-week sailings. [A Sacramento advert. labeled it as a Los Angeles-St. Louis-Chicago train with the annex sleeper run carried to San Francisco (drawn separately, on another train which was then changed to The Owl Limited in December 1898). It is often referred to as an Alton train, but representatives of all four roads were on hand for the trial run. The Alton would soon be absorbed into the Harriman Roads empire anyways.
A guided tour service was associated with the run, and extended all the way to Boston. By December 1899, the tour business was running from Chicago west using Pullman Tourist Sleepers (converted old cars) and covering the territory via Kansas City, Texas, and west. Iron Mountain was out of that picture but operating in the tourist service going toward Mexico.
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