WESTBROOK, Maine — Traditional sign painter Jay Peterson, 68, can read the writing on the wall.
That’s not surprising since Peterson printed the words “Bangor and Aroostook Railroad, Presque Isle” on a two-foot square wooden sign himself, using a brilliant layer of 23-karat gold.
But Peterson has no idea what to do with his creation.
The railroad line went belly up 20 years ago, the station is long-defunct and the train buff who ordered the replica died before he could pay for it. Now, Peterson is hoping to find someone who’ll buy the sign and display it in honor of the old depot, which stood 300 miles north of his Westbrook workshop.
“He was 85 and a real collector,” Peterson said, of the man who ordered the sign. “He had real, actually old, railroad signs from up north, too.”
Peterson declined to name the man, to protect his family’s privacy. Peterson also stressed that he’s not angry with the deceased collector’s widow, who isn’t interested in taking the sign or paying for the crafty, 10-hour job.
“She said even talking about it just made her sad,” Peterson said.
The collector had ordered other replica signs from Peterson in the past and asked the painter to create the Presque Isle station placard in July. He’d sent along a historic photo of the old station’s original sign for Peterson to copy.
But the man died that very month and never saw the finished work.
Peterson is a sign painter from the old school. He doesn’t use computers, and instead creates his work freehand. He doesn’t employ vinyl or printed graphics, either. Peterson’s only tools are paints, brushes and gold leaf.
“The gold is quite a process,” Peterson said.
He starts by outlining the letters in a high quality, sticky varnish.
“I letter it just as though I was using paint,” Peterson said. “When it’s tacky and almost dry, I lay the gold on.”
The gold comes in onion skin-thin sheets, stuck to a special kind of paper. After applying the paper to the sticky letters, gold side down, he burnishes the paper surface with velvet.
Then, when Peterson removes the paper, the gold adheres to the letters. Next, he gently wipes away the unstuck gold with a makeup brush.
The bright metal, unlike paint, will never fade and stays reflective and shiny long after the surrounding paint fades.
“They used to do the same on old-time fire trucks,” Peterson said, “and I’ve done a bunch of those too.”
The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad was originally incorporated in 1891. During its heyday, the line’s tracks snaked all over the northern half of the state, from Bangor to Searsport to Millinocket, through Presque Isle and up to Fort Kent.
About half the B&A’s business was hauling potatoes, but it also transported passengers until 1961 and brought coal to the former Loring Air Force Base in Limestone.
The railroad began to shrink after WWII. It was sold in 1995 and declared bankrupt in 2003, after which it was subsumed by a Canadian company.
But the B&A remains alive in railway museums in Oakfield and Fort Fairfield, as well as in the imaginations of collectors and train buffs like Peterson’s customer.
“The sign is in a kind of phantom zone,” Peterson said. “At first I thought I’d just hang onto it.”
But on Sunday, Paterson remembered his business taxes are due soon and put the sign up for sale on social media for $450 or best offer.
“I’d just like to see it go to someone interested in northern Maine stuff,” Peterson said.
You can contact Jay Peterson by email at jaypetersonsigns@gmail.com.
