Thomas
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Page 5 Insulators in service
There are seven styles of gray Thomas multiparts: M-2255, M-2331, M-2340, M-3158, M-3451, M-3460, and M-3471. No 4-part gray Thomas multis are known. That seems a bit odd considering all the Locke and O-B 4-part styles.
On the left is a particularly dark M-2255. Most M-2255's I have seen have a mottled light greenish-gray glaze. This one has a lot more greenish color to it and the mottling is heavy with the darker color covering most of the insulator. It is unusual and very attractive. All M-2255's are unmarked and have been found in Ontario. On the right is a rare Thomas M-2340. All have a deeply incuse THOMAS marking under the top skirt. I suspect these are the first gray multis that Thomas produced circa 1904.
This shows the inside of the bottom of the M-2255 pictured above. Note the two blue-jean seams, the fine pattern left by the denim fabric, and the deeply incuse triangle marking. Thomas used a number of odd markings. All of these can be found in the new book Multipart Porcelain Insulators-2nd Edition.
The M-3158 (9.5 - 6.5 - 5.5 x 8.5) on the left is in Mike Parker's collection. Mike said it was used in the Portland, OR area on a line built circa 1907-1910. The color is a pretty mottled green-gray and it has a blue jean seam inside the bottom skirt. It has a cast iron pin with square base cemented in the pinhole. The pin has an embossed diamond shape on lower corner. They were used on the Cazadero Dam line interurban in Oregon. This is the only known specimen. (Note: M-3158 was recently assigned to replace incorrect identification as M-3070.)
This M-3451 was found by Ben Kirsten. He has one more and a third was reported. Apparently they were used on a line in Oregon or Washington. They have a blue-jean seam inside the bottom skirt. The insulator shown above is almost green. The glaze is mottled with a darker greenish-gray glaze with lots of nice drips on the top skirt. In addition, the glaze is very thin in places which show as a pale tan color all over the top and underside of the top skirt.
The M-3471 on the left is in Jeff Kaminski's collection. It is the only known specimen. It has a unique glaze combination and blue-jean seam inside the bottom skirt. The top skirt is a greenish-gray and the two lower skirts are charcoal gray.