Transfer Table December 2003

THE TRANSFER TABLE
The Wilmington Chapter NRHS Official Newsletter
Internet Edition

VOLUME 25 NO. 9

DECEMBER 2003

OCTOBER 16, 2003 MEETING NOTES

The meeting was called to order and then some very unusual things happened. The minutes were read by Secretary Dan Frederick and the Treasurer's Report by Ralph Stevens. But, that night both were approved AS Corrected! There was no national Director's report so it wasn't corrected. Al Patterson reported on behalf of the Election Committee. A sign-up sheet was available for the Annual Holiday Dinner was set for Dec. 7.

Phil Snyder reported that an AMTRAK "hospital" train enroute from Edgemoore to Bear was hit by a truck while crossing Old Baltimore Pike. He also reported that the Wilmington & Western would be running to Brandywine Springs Park. Al Patterson reported that the W&W had used track jacks along with a back hoe to reposition tracks near the old mill at Greenbank. Richard Hall reported on Bellevue Station and told us about Hughes Bros. & Banks along the Quarryville Creek many years ago as the source of the name "Blue Rocks". He also reported on an excellent program on the B&O Museum which he saw at the PA RR Museum. Paul Fortin reported on the Colorado RR's #346 at Strasburg.

The evening's program by Phil Snyder was entitled, "Cross Country Part 3 = AZ to LA to Philadelphia." Starting in Williams, we went to Reno and Salt Lake seeing both cactus and mountains. There were shots of the BNSF, Utah RR, Rio Grande, and UP. We saw Grand Jct. and the Colorado River, Moffet Tunnel, Denver, Omaha, Iowa, the Mississippi River Toledo, and Pittsburgh. It was another great travelogue by Phil.

NOVEMBER 20, 2003 MEETING NOTES

President Phil Snyder called the meeting to order, the minutes were read by Secretary Dan Frederick and approved as corrected. The next report was approved as read by Treasurer Ralph Stevens. Tom Smith provided the National Director's report. Election Committee chair Al Patterson provided the same slate of officers as the current year with no additions or changes. Phil indicated that the fee for the Annual Holiday Dinner will be $12 per person.

Richard Hall reported that the B&O Museum was to get a half million dollars from the National Park Service. Frank Ferguson reported that the railroad from Kennett to Avondale was STILL closed from the September floods stranding some cars in Avondale. In fact the trees that came down in September are still right where they fell and there is rust on the rails. He also reported on his recent trip on the Cumbres & Toltec in October. Dan Frederick reported that he was able to shoot 120 stations on his November trip. Mike Burkhart reported on his trip to Sandpatch and Cumberland followed by Frank Ferguson's report of his Kansas trip.

After the break, Bill Folger treated us to some fantastic vintage slides including San Francisco in the 1980's and 90's, Pittsburgh in the 1970's, plus PCC cars, Darby and Malvern, PA. We saw McHough Bros. locomotives, MU'd trolleys with "buss bars", and trolleys decorated for the original 13 states for the Bicentennial. Added to al the trolley shots were some images of his garden railroad, the Paoli shops, and even an original Metroliner in Perryville. It was a great show enjoyed by all.

FROM THE EDITOR

This "mega issue" was intended as a holiday gift surprise (and an opportunity to publish a few things that had accumulated in the files!). There are still a bunch of items for next year and at least one member has promised to send me some more articles. In addition, I am waiting to get copyright permission to reprint a couple of items.

DRAW BRIDGES
Chapter Member Richard Hall is looking for prints or slides of ANY Wilmington area bridges THAT OPEN. Please contact: Richard E. Hall, 500 W. Summit Ave., Wilmington, DE 19804-1814. Phone: 302-994-3911

NEWS BITS
A museum devoted to the work of the late O. Winston Link, known for his dramatically lit black and white photographs of trains and railroad towns, will open in the newly renovated Norfolk & Western Railway passenger station in Roanoke January 2004. The 15,000-square-foot museum will house the largest collection of Link's work, including 190 signed prints, 85 estate prints and all 2,400 of Link's negatives. The collection also is expected to include recently recovered stolen prints, some of which never have been seen by the public. The prints were recovered after they recently appeared on an Internet auction site. Link photographed NW steam locomotives as they passed through towns in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland from 1955 until 1960. He requested before his death in 2001 that a museum bearing his name be located in the old NW passenger station in Roanoke, where he took some of his photographs. The station was built in 1905 and redesigned in 1947 by world-renowned industrial designer Raymond Loewy. It served as the hub of five main rail lines radiating to points in Ohio, North Carolina, Maryland and Tennessee. [from: http://www.nscorp.com]

MASSIVE FLOODING DEVASTATES WILMINGTON & WESTERN - September 17, 2003. The Wilmington & Western Railroad regrets to report that the recent flooding on Monday, September 15, 2003 has devastated the railroad. If first assessment reports prove true, the Wilmington & Western has suffered more extensively than the 2.5 million dollars worth of damage that we suffered from Hurricane Floyd. The two newly constructed steel bridges are still standing, with relatively minimal damage. Many, if not all, of the historic wooden trestles are either totally obliterated or severely damaged. A full inspection and evaluation will take some time. Meanwhile we are waiting for Hurricane Isabel to pass by. The ground in the Red Clay watershed is completely saturated and the heavy rains that may develop Thursday and Friday may cause even more damage to the remaining roadbed and track. The floodwaters rose rapidly and within an hour we were at flood stage at the Greenbank Station. All scheduled trains have been cancelled until further notice. This will give railroad management time to assess the damage and make decisions on the future of the Wilmington & Western Railroad. State and local legislators have been supportive in the past, we are hoping they will continue their support. [from: W&W website]

Fire at National Capital Trolley Museum Destroys Eight Historic Cars and Building in the early hours of Sunday, September 28, 2003, a fire of unknown origin destroyed four streetcars from the Washington Streetcar Collection, three Austrian trams from the International Collection and the Johnstown Traction Company car from the American Trolley Collection; and their carhouse at the National Capital Trolley Museum. The loss of Capital Transit Company 1053, the unique experimental streamlined car, and DC Transit 0509, the rare streetcar that once served Great Falls, Maryland has destroyed physical links to the technological development of streetcars in the Nation's Capital. CTCo 1053 was familiar to Washington residents living along Wisconsin Ave. in Georgetown and along Pennsylvania Avenue. Preserved by DC Transit in 1956, CTCo 1053 helped close out the trolley era in Washington, DC. Constructed in 1899 as an open air car, DC Transit 0509 survived several rebuildings and was last used during the construction of the Museum's demonstration railway. The loss of two Washington, DC snowsweepers ends the Museum's ability to interpret street railway snow removal. One of the sweepers, Washington, Alexandria and Mt. Vernon 51 was the sole surviving car from the trolley lines that served Northern Virginia from the 1890s until the 1930s. Capital Transit 07 originally swept the snow along the route to Laurel, MD. Operating examples of the other cars Graz 120 , and Vienna 6062 lost in the fire exist in Austria and elsewhere in the United States but were significant in the Museum's overall interpretation of the development of the electric street car. The cars are priceless artifacts. However, based on market conditions for heritage trolleys and the Museum's recent experience with the quarter-million dollar restoration of Johnstown Traction Company 352, Museum officials estimate the loss of the cars at $8 - $10 Million dollars. The Museum has not established a value of the loss of the carhouse at this time. The Trolley Museum has planned for the construction of a new display building that would have housed the destroyed streetcars. The design building features all-metal construction and a fire suppression system. Contributions to the building fund may be sent to the Trolley Museum at 1313 Bonifant Road, Silver Spring, MD 20905 The Museum plans to reopen and continue to serve the 20,000 annual visitors, including those on school trips, and will announce details at a later time. [ from National Capital Trolley Museum http://www.dctrolley.org/press.htm]

After the damage inflicted by flash floods on Sept. 15, some thought the Wilmington & Western Railroad trains might never run again. But volunteers are rebuilding the 131-year-old railroad. Four years after the railroad took a $2.5 million hit from Hurricane Floyd September's flash flood slammed the 10-mile railroad with an estimated $5 million in damage. The Historic Red Clay Valley Inc.'s board of directors voted unanimously to rebuild the nonprofit railroad it has operated since 1962. Six timber trestles were destroyed by the Red Clay Creek. Numerous washouts left track hanging in mid-air. Most sections of track are 39 feet long and weigh 1,716 pounds, but even with the added weight of 22 ties, the more than three tons per section couldn't keep the track in place. "There are places where the rail is so bent it's almost frightening to stand next to it because you know the tension that is built into that metal," Ludlow said. The two bridges - Ludlow bridge and bridge 6G - that were washed away by Hurricane Floyd and rebuilt with steel, anchor bolts and concrete footing both survived Sept. 15. The trestles destroyed this time are even more remote and so inaccessible, that it will be very difficult to get machinery in place to work on them. All of the timber trestles were on the National Register of Historic Places. The S-curve trestle near Yorklyn was one of only a few remaining in the United States. Weekend rides resumed over about 3 miles between the Marshallton workshop and Brandywine Springs. Riders can tour the shop where a steam locomotive is being rebuilt and ride a stretch of track west of Greenbank Station. Reservations are suggested for special holiday runs. The Santa Claus Express, featuring a steam engine, runs Dec. 13-14, and 20-21, with departures at 12:30, 2 and 3:30 p.m. each day. Tickets are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors 60 and over, $8 for children 2-12. The Holiday Nights Express runs Dec. 26-29, with departures at 5, 6, 7 and 8 p.m. All tickets are $5. All trains depart from Greenbank Station, 2201 Newport-Gap Pike, Wilmington. They suggest riders arrive 30 minutes before departure. For more information, check www.wwrr.com or call 998-1930. [Info taken from an article by Beth Miller in the News Journal @ http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2003/10/18historicrailway.html]

Canadian National Railway Company announced Oct. 20 that it has reached an agreement to buy Great Lakes Transportation Company -- including the Duluth-based Great Lakes Fleet. The purchase, which still must be approved by several regulatory agencies, includes the former U.S. Steel fleet including eight vessels; the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway; Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company; and The Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company. The combined companies essentially make up the taconite and limestone supply chain for U.S. Steel's mills and taconite mine. GLT Co. employs approximately 1,000 employees and get about 70 percent of its revenue from carrying taconite pellets, with U.S. Steel Corp. The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway Company (DM&IR) has 212-miles of track primarily to carry taconite pellets between U.S. Steel's Minntac mine in Mountain Iron, Minn., and DMIR's ore docks in Duluth and Two Harbors. The Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad Company (B&LE) carries coal, iron ore and limestone between the Lake Erie port of Conneaut, Ohio, and steel mills in the Pittsburgh area. The Pittsburgh & Conneaut Dock Company (P&C Dock) is a Class III switching railroad that performs ship-to-rail and rail-to-ship bulk transfer operations for the B&LE at three docks at Conneaut; Great Lakes Fleet, Incorporated's ships include the Edwin H. Gott, Edgar B. Speer, Presque Isle, Roger Blough, Arthur M. Anderson, Cason J. Callaway, Philip R. Clarke and John G. Munson. The fleet was organized in 1901 by United States Steel Corporation and has been based in either Duluth or Cleveland throughout its history. CN relies on a rail link through Minnesota to connect it to the major railroad center of Chicago and CN's former Illinois Central trackage to the Gulf of Mexico. [Reported by: Al Miller and Andy Greenlees and found on: http://www.boatnerd.com/news/]

The first of 18 rebuilt PCC Cars came back from Brookville Equipment Company for SEPTA's Route 15 trolley line. PCC car 2320 arrived at Elmwood Depot on September 9 with air conditioning, wheelchair lift, disc brakes, new AC traction motors, outside mirrors, inside and outside PA, stainless steel seating with cloth-upholstered, turn signals, original style "Art Deco lighting". Seating Capacity with out two wheelchairs 46 with two wheelchairs 40. Photos on the website are at Elmwood Depot, Length 46 ft., Width 8 ft. 5 in., Height 11 ft. 9 in.. [from Bill Monaghan's website: http://users.snip.net/~trolleydriver/girard.htm]

Note: This copyrighted article was written for the "Transfer Table", the newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society by Chapter Member Phil Toman © Phil Toman 2003

RELIVE THE GLORY DAYS OF PENN STATION By Phil Toman

In today's world railroad stations are just places where we get on and off the train. The proliferation of "Amshacks" around our nation is more than ample proof of that statement. It was not true, however, in times not so long gone by.

As our young nation moved into the last century, railroads were big, profitable businesses. They wanted to demonstrate their prowess and began building stations that were symbols of power, palaces if you will. The largest of all the railroads was The Pennsylvania Railroad, for a time the world's largest employer. It was called "The Standard Railroad of the World." It would need stations commensurate with the appellation. It got them and none move grand than Pennsylvania Station in New York City.

Why am I telling you all this a century later? It is because Hagley Museum and Library have recreated the glory days of Penn Station with an exhibit they call "Machine, Monument and Metropolis: New York's Pennsylvania Station." I can commend a visit to this exhibit to every one of my fellow members of the Wilmington Chapter, or to any member of NRHS.

The new exhibit is a lesson in history, commerce, art, architecture, dining, shopping, electronics, mechanical engineering and, oh yes, it is fun to visit. I traveled through Penn Station many times as a child, young man and working adult. The tsunami of memories that engulfed me as I entered the exhibit through a mock-up of a train gate were numberless.

The key components of this new Hagley exhibit are photography and research very well blended and presented for us to admire and enjoy. In the center of the second floor gallery of the Henry Clay Mill is a scale model of Penn Station and below are HO-gauge tracks filled with operating PRR trains. When you enter the exhibit the model is so well detailed you can easily imagine it was a temple or a palace from the past -- as indeed it was!

For me, the most telling comment from a high school age boy visiting was, "All this stuff just for a train station?" I had to bite my tongue to keep from going into a history lesson. I didn't stay until he finished his tour but with all effort (maybe some love) the Hagley professionals and volunteers put into this exhibit, I hope his exit comments were quite different.

But, to today's generation, it is true. We want easy access, quick service, fast food and drink and be gone. Life was different when this palace was erected by the royalty of the Pennsylvania Railroad. A visit to Hagley now and for the next year will vividly bring back a time that was.

It's all there, a microcosm of our nation from the beginning to the middle of the 20th century. This station was much more than the stations of today. It called upon us to see how great the railroad was and, for a brief time, share in the beauty of its grandeur. Hagley has captured that feeling, even though it is only in our mind's eye.

Details of its planning are there. The construction process is very well documented. The use of electric trains, pioneered by the Pennsylvania Railroad, is shown. The shops, the restaurants. the centers for libation and, of course, separate waiting rooms for men and women.

The saddest part of the new exhibit begins around 1960 when the powers that were in charge decided to bring down the palace and make it the basement of Madison Square Garden. While I wasn't around for its building, I was for its desecration. They simply broke up the graceful structure, put chunks on flat cars and dumped them in the Meadowlands of New Jersey, just east of the PRR tunnels into Manhattan. Not a fitting end for such a grand structure, but I am told "That's progress!"

No matter what your age, this exhibit deserves a visit. It is an event the whole family can enjoy and profit from. It is a vibrant lesson is American history. The exhibit is open daily 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except for Christmas. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children. Hagley is on the banks of the Historic Brandywine and is accessible from Delaware Route 141. For more information you may call 302-658-2400 or visit them on line at www.hagley.org.

The following photos are included in the paper version mailed to members:

PHOTO #1 - This is an outside view of Pennsylvania Station covering the block between 7th & 8th Avenues, 33rd & 34th Streets, Manhattan in its halcyon days.

PHOTO #2 - The main passenger concourse or "Great Crystal Palace" is seen here with a train gate and stairway in the right foreground.

PHOTO #3 - At track level a DD-1 pair stands ready to pull a train out of Penn Station with third rail power as far as Manhattan Transfer (Harrison, NJ) where one of the PRR's great fleet of steam engines would whisk the train to its destination.

Note: This copyrighted article was written for the "Transfer Table", the newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society by Chapter Member Richard E. Hall © Richard E. Hall 2003

THE PW&B'S PRINCIPIO PROBLEMS By Richard E. Hall

The Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad and it's immediate successors, the Philadelphia, Baltimore & Washington Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad, have had many problems at Principio. Some of those problems are well documented and recorded in the history of the railroads, others are not as well known.

The first bridge which needed to be replaced in the PW&B was the bridge built over the Principio Creek and the first line relocation of the PW&B was made at Principio. The stone arch bridge and line relocation cost $105,481.01 in 1857. It was actually the first of two line relocations made at Principio, both were made to reduce the curvature in the area. Another stone arch bridge was built in 1891 and also involved relocating the line and the bridge over Principio Creek. The bridge built for the relocated track was built with inadequate wing walls and they required some rebuilding in 1892.

The railroad had other plans involving Principio over the years which did not materialize. The unfinished plan for four tracks between Philadelphia and Washington called for a major rebuilding and realignment of the Principio interlocking plant for the junction with the Perryville Branch and related tracks. The plan was finally dropped following World War two. The old four track plan was replaced with one having three tracks from North East to Principio with a major rebuilding of the interlocking having two tracks connecting the Perryville Branch with any main line track permitting the movement of trains to and from the Perryville branch at the same time. The plan was not carried out.

Then in 1902, the relatively new 1891 stone bridge over Principio Creek was washed out during a two day period of severe rain storms. The loss of the bridge seriously disrupted railroad operations the PRR controlled PW&B main line. The PRR ordered the PW&B passenger trains to be run on the B&O, which was also PRR controlled at the time. Many of the freight trains were detoured over the C&PD to Octoraro Junction, over the P&BC through Rising Sun and Oxford to Wawa. Then over the P&BC's Chester Creek Branch from Lenni to the PW&B main line at Lamokin St., in Chester. It was reported some of the passenger trains on the line when the bridge failed were diverted via the P&BC route. The PRR ordered the PW&B passenger trains be moved over the B&O which was also controlled by the PRR at the time.

Many of the PW&B officials wanted to build the new bridge with a better alignment through the area, but the President thought the estimated $331,500.00 cost for the change of line and bridge was too much money. His letter to the Chief Engineer on December 8, 1902, advised him that he was directing the General Manager to have just the stone arch bridge built, which could be done for an estimated cost of $96,000.00. It was to be a cut stone arch ring, wide enough to carry four tracks, with rubble masonry used for the side walls.

In 1902, most of the PW&B was still only a two track line, but planning to build the new bridge to carry four tracks was not surprising. The PRR and its controlled lines, such as the PW&B, were noted for looking to the future. Planning for a four track bridge on the two track line was not too unusual, planning for three tracks would have been typical. Back when the PW&B had been built as a single track line, all of the stone bridges, such as the one still visible over Cow Run near Elkton, had been built wide enough to carry two tracks.

There had been the problem the new PW&B passenger station built at Principio in 1877. It had to be replaced before it was ever used. The roof was set on fire by a spark from a passing locomotive one night and the new station burned to the ground. It happened before the new station had been placed in service. The burned station was soon replaced with another new one, built at a cost of $3,397.97.

There was one other problem at Principio which was more difficult to deal with than the things mentioned above. The other problem annoyed and harassed the management of the PW&BRR for several years. It might be identified as "the Whitaker problem", meaning the two Whitaker brothers, George P. Whitaker and his brother John Whitaker, the operators of the G.P. Whitaker Iron Works at Principio Furnace. The Whitaker Iron Works was a source of revenue for the PW&B, but the Whitaker brothers were somewhat of an annoying "thorn in the side" of PW&B management for a period of time in the late 1800 era.

A brief background review of the iron works at Principio Furnace might be in order, but the history which is available to me is rather sketchy. It is limited to what is given in the reprint of Johnston's 1881 "History Of Cecil County, Maryland" and a couple of old newspaper stories. While George Whitaker was still living, the furnace did remain in blast most of the time producing a good grade of charcoal iron long after many of the other old furnaces were cold. I shall defer to someone more knowledgeable about Principio Furnace for an accurate and more detailed history of the iron works. After the death of Mr. Whitaker in 1890, ownership of the old Principio Furnace went to the Whitaker Iron Company of Wheeling, W.Va., which became the Whitaker-Glessener Company, later acquired by the U.S. Steel Company.

While researching other matters relating to the history of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad, I had found a letter in the Hagley Collection which related to what I was working on. It mentioned a bound volume of "PW&B Agreements, Leases & Mortgages". I had thought there was not much chance of finding a copy of the book, but you never know. A couple of years later, I was checking a box with a collection of PW&B Annual Reports in the Pennsylvania State Archives in Harrisburg. The box also had three thick books in it. The first two were bound volumes of PW&B annual reports, the third was the book of agreements and leases mentioned in the letter at Hagley.

It is a most fascinating collection of information and I had to follow up on the index listing for agreements pertaining to the Whittaker Brothers at Principio. I already had some PRR Real Estate Department documents in my collection relating to the Principio area and at least two of those, to the Whitakers.

Covered in the PW&B agreement book, pages 451 to 453;

Agreement
Joseph & George P. Whitaker
Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company
May 3, 1853
Relating to Stopping Trains, and to Freight Rates,
Principio, Maryland.

The text started with a letter from the Whitaker Brothers to Sam Felton, President of the PW&B, with reference to wavering the terms of a previous agreement dated 4 September, 1846, if new demands were met. The Whitakers waived the right to have passenger trains stopped at Principio for them to get on or off at their convince, also their claim for damages for the railroad not removing logs from under the railroad's Principio Creek Bridge, provided the railroad would agree to the following.

To furnish cars as fast as needed to move their iron ore from Magnolia Station to Havre de Grace and from Newark to Principio at a cost not exceeding sixty cents per ton of 2,240 pounds and seventy cents for moving iron ore from Newark to Havre de Grace. (Havre de Grace may have been an error in printing the book, other references indicate it was for moving iron ore from Newark to Principio.) They also wanted cheap rates on their freight to and from Principio, to build a station sufficient for the business at their passenger platform within six months, they would give the land for it, it would be a flag stop with at least one regular stop each way daily. The Whitaker Brothers also wanted the railroad to give them free tickets for life permitting them to ride to any point on the railroad at any time they wanted.

They did not consent to anything else that did not then exist or to any conditions preventing lighters from getting to their wharf on Principio Creek, at the furnace. Nothing has been found indicating rather the above mention station that burned had been built because of any agreement with the Whitaker Brothers.

The above should be enough to set the tone of the Whitaker Brothers dealings with the PW&B. There were other agreements, one from July, 1854, waived the claim for damages from logs in the creek if all of the terms of the May 1853 agreement were met. The brothers also wanted; the channel in Principio Creek cleared, a 32 foot wide channel (or canal) dug from their wharf through the peninsula to below the flats so sloops and schooners could reach their wharf, build a new bridge with minimum nine foot clearance and remove all old stone work within one year, build new wharf of substantial size and equal to old wharf for iron works, the Whitakers would take care of filling in behind it, and build a new track and trestle at the furnace.

Dated June 7, 1866, waiver for five years of the construction of the wharf and channel from the 1854 agreement, provided the following conditions were met;

The railroad to remove without delay and obstructions to the Principio Creek channel caused by the railroad. The railroad company to take freight from Whitaker's boats at Perryville and deliver it on the trestle-work at Principio at a rate of .55 cents a ton of 2,240 pounds for ore, coal and similar commodities, a proportionate rate for more bulky articles, and a rate of .30 cents for shells, if G.P. Whitaker load and unload the same at his own cost, to have option of rate, in the event he chooses to pay .25 cents a ton, Whitaker to have the reasonable use of railroad company wharves and premises at Perryville for loading and unloading, not for storage, not exceeding 48 hours for each barge load, Sundays not included, to have the right to erect a crane on the wharf for the purpose of loading and unloading.

The last demand may account for the jib crane seen in some of the old post card views of the wharf at Perryville. The crane was still on the railroad wharf long after the Whitaker furnace ceased to produce charcoal iron, but the wharf was still in use. There is a contract in the PRR records at Hagley for dredging alongside the wharf to maintain adequate depth for the boats to continue using it.

With one of the agreements, it made provision for any questions of damages to be settled by referees. With another, it stated "disputes to be arbitrated by appointed disinterested citizens of Cecil County". One may question how many truly and totally disinterested citizens of Cecil County might be found with no fixed opinion or personal complaint about either the Whitaker brothers, the iron works or the railroad.

A note dated 1883 and signed by General Superintendent Kenny of the PW&B states "these agreements have literally expired by limitation, but for various reasons are still, to a greater or lesser extent, in effect".

In 1890, the PW&B did some minor realigning of the tracks on the Principio Creek Bridge and some dirt fell over the bridge wing wall into the creek. A letter dated May 12, 1891, from General Superintendent Kenny to the Chief Engineer, Wm. H. Brown, advised him the G.P. Whitaker Company was complaining about the dirt in the creek. Some things just don't change.

M OF W EQUIPMENT ON THE P&BC By Richard E. Hall

According to some comments which have found their way back to me, the article in the January 2002 issue of the "Transfer Table" seems to have sparked a wee bit of interest in the work equipment of the P&BC. Two problems arise with such interest. First; the P&BC was a small operation and therefore there was not much in the way of work, or company service equipment. Second; with the passage of time and records being scattered or lost, we don't know of any such early P&BC equipment, if there had even been any prior to those assigned by the PW&B. One item which sometimes complicates matters is the once common railroad practice of a new car using the number from the car which it was replacing. The old car was not always being scrapped, sometimes it was done when a car was being replaced and the old car was being reassigned and renumbered. The old P&BC eventually became the Octoraro Branch of the great PRR and is of interest to several chapter members. I thought it might be worthwhile sharing the little information available for the MW equipment of the P&BC, with reference to some on the PW&B and PB&W spanning the time from the late P&BC into the early PRR era.

Many of our NRHS chapters exchange newsletters. You surely have noted how our editor passes on tidbits of information from other chapters. In referring to the derrick car mentioned in the January 2002 article, the editor of another chapter newsletter commented I had speculated about the ownership of the derrick without coming to a definite conclusion. Perhaps the general commentary regarding derricks of the era should have been worded differently. It was vague in regard to the P&BC car because the derrick car number was not identified in the newspaper article and is not otherwise positively documented. From the following sketchy bits of information regarding the P&BC work equipment you may agree there is little doubt the derrick car involved in the bridge incident was P&BC number 10652.

The earliest available P&BC numbers for MW cars date to about the time their equipment was renumbered under the PW&B, but still maintaining P&BC reporting marks. The PW&B had an interest in the P&BC prior to it becoming a subsidiary and supplied much of the rolling stock. There was one P&BC tool car #40, one derrick car #80 and seven stone and wood trucks #151 to 157. Stone and wood truck was a rather general term which covered flat cars, with or without side boards, and in some cases long gondolas. The MW numbers also included hand cars and push cars, then called hand trucks, but they are not covered here. The P&BC hand and push car numbers which did make it to the PRR number series of the PB&W era seem to have mostly been replacement cars for the original P&BC cars using the same car numbers. Ownership of all P&BC locomotives and revenue rolling stock was transferred to the PW&B in 1891, but the MofW cars were not transferred until 1893. When the other P&BC work equipment was renumbered to the PW&B in 1893, the hand cars and hand trucks continued to be marked and numbered P&BC.

The known P&BC numbers for MW cars were assigned by the PW&B, later changed to new numbers when the PW&B and P&BC came under PRR control. The P&BC equipment was renumbered to the PW&B numbers in 1893, then the surviving P&BC equipment was renumbered to the PRR assigned series for the new PB&W in 1905. We will review what is known regarding some of the individual cars as renumbered and cover some cars which were added. Keep in mind the available records are not always clear or complete so some may be misinterpreted, some were hand written so small a magnifier is needed to read them.

The next three cars introduce us to a quirk in PRR terminology or car descriptions. When someone familiar with the PRR sees "cabin" in the car description, they automatically think "cabin car", or what the average person would call a caboose. Be advised "it ain't necessarily so" when the reference is to a PRR System MW or company service car unless the car class happens to be "N" as in the P&BC's four class Na and two class Nb freight cabin cars. The through freight trains running as extra trains on the P&BC used PW&B cabin cars. There was an exception to the above MW cabin statement when the PB&W class Nc cabin car 488731, old PW&B 4914 blt. 6/17/1893, was converted to snow flanger and renumbered 497780 in 1911 at the Wilmington Shops. PRR records have been found where they used the term "MW cabin" from the late 1800's until World War II as somewhat of a "catch all" description. An "MW cabin" could be either a box car or some type of passenger service car and was generally converted for a camp car, but with exceptions such as riding cars and tool & block cars.

Here's another PRR quirk, the description "tool & block car" was not only applied to converted box and passenger type equipment, coaches, combines and baggage cars, but also included some flat cars. It has been found applied to several classes of flat cars in wreck train service listed in the ICC Valuation Reports. That includes the former PRR class F24 496990 now with the old PB&W class W120a Washington wreck train derrick 497015 in the B&O Museum in Baltimore. The PRR sold their Washington wreck train to the Washington Terminal Company in the 1930's and the derrick and idler car are now painted blue and lettered as WTCo, numbers 500 and 501. For variety, PRR Form 146 described the F24 class cars as "semi well hole flat car with rail for trucks". The PRR did not seem to have applied the much touted "the standard railroad of the world" to some of the terminology they used.

P&BC tool car #40 is not positively identified as to its origin, it may have been the old passenger service car which was reported as converted to "MW cabin" in 1884. It was renumbered to P&BC 10626, then when the other P&BC work cars were renumbered to PW&B in 1893 it became PW&B 10034 on 3/20/1893. With the formation of the PB&W, the car was renumbered to PB&W 496959 on 8/11/1905 in the new PRR assigned number series. This tool car was listed as being torn up by the PB&W at Avondale on 5/8/1907.

Now for the P&BC car listed as MW cabin #10601, class Ea built 3/24/1886, renumbered to PW&B 10012(2nd) in 3/1893. PW&B first 10012 is listed as old 3061 which was not otherwise identified but the number indicates a box car from the PW&B series 3001 to 3130. PW&B 10012(1st) had been renumbered to PW&B 10033 on 3/24/1892 and the number was replaced with P&BC 10601 becoming second PW&B 10012. The former P&BC 10601 as PW&B 10012(2nd) was again renumbered to PB&W 496911 on 3/20/1908. As P&BC tool car 10601 there is no clue to the origin of the car, Ea was a PRR class with some used on the PW&B. Had it been built to the PRR plans as a car in PW&B series 401 to 420 or had it come from PRR series Express 1 to 94? This was from an era when the PRR used a separate series of numbers beginning with "1 toÑ" on passenger [coach], baggage, postal, express and two types of freight cars.

As a former class Ea express car, the body and underframe were all wood and the trucks had 60000# capacity journals. Janney couplers and air brakes had been added and the car was brought to USSAS at Wilmington on 10/9/1916. Depending on its intended use, the old class Ea express cars as converted for use in company service generally had two or three windows placed between the centered side door and the ends of the car. Photos indicate the Ea windows were the same, or very similar in size and appearance to the windows used in the PRR class Ta tool cars, some of which were found on the PW&B. MW cabin car 496911 was listed as in service on the 6/30/1918 ICC valuation report of the PB&W.

P&BC #10602 had been an MW cabin converted from a class Ea express car built 9/22/1882 converted to MW cabin and riding car 10602. Being a class Ea, we have the same problem with the origin of the car as with the Ea 10601. P&BC 10602 had been renumbered to PW&B 10014(1st) on 3/22/1893 and was dropped from the PW&B roster on 1/6/1900. The PW&B replaced it with second 10014 renumbered from old PW&B car 1883 built 9/23/1882, a ventilated box car from PW&B series 1001 to 2700. It was renumbered to PW&B MW 10014(2nd) on 1/8/1900 and again renumbered to PB&W 496913(1st) on 10/6/1905. The initials and number were removed from the car at Concordville on 11/9/1912 but there is no explanation as to rather the car had been sold, scrapped or was set off its trucks to be used as a shed. On 5/11/1914 the number 496913 was reused on PW&B class Xc box car 1514 built on 9/23/1891.

We know from one source there had been a P&BC derrick car #80, but we do not know for sure if it had been a four, eight or ten wheel car or if it had been transferred from the PW&B. We learn the PW&B had two four wheel derrick cars, but are unable at this time to properly document if they were the two identified as #76 and 77. Two more PW&B derrick cars were added and numbered 78 and 79 and because they were ten wheel cars, we might conclude P&BC #80 was also a ten wheel car. The next unknown is rather P&BC derrick car #10651 was old #80 renumbered to conform to the new PW&B/PRR numbers or a new 10 wheel car assigned to the P&BC. It is thought the PW&B built the derrick car to be assigned to the P&BC in 1880. Most sources show the built data as unknown but one does list 3/10/1880 as the built date for P&BC 10651 and the class as Wa. We find 10651 listed as a 15 ton, ten wheel derrick car. The problem here is tracing #12950 and PRR Form 146 list the class Wa capacity as 5 tons or 10,000 lbs. and the journals as 31/2"x 7" compared to 4"x 8" for the 15 ton derrick cars. For those not familiar with a ten wheel derrick car, it had one four wheel truck and a six wheel truck was placed under the end of the car where the pillar derrick was mounted on a large steel plate.

The class Wa derrick car was adopted as a standard for the PRR and related railroads in 1880 as class "N" under the old classification system then in existence, with the capacity listed as 10,000 lbs. The body was 34' long, 8'51/2" wide frame, 8'9" overall, deck height 4'23/4", over all height 14'103/4" and weighed 41,700 lbs. The four wheel truck had a 5' wheelbase and the six wheel truck wheelbase was 8', all wheels were 26" ¯ and journals were 31/2"x 7". The standard class Wa had been preceded by a very similar PRR 5 ton derrick car designed with a 7' wheelbase six wheel truck. As with the two types of PRR four wheel, two ton derrick cars, no class designation is known for this design other than either "Wodd" or "odd 5 ton" derrick. P&BC derrick 10651 was renumbered to PW&B 10083 on 3/20/1893 and again renumbered to PB&W 497008(1st) on 12/27/1907, in the new PRR assigned PB&W MW number series. Other class Wodd and Wa have been found listed with 10 or 15 ton capacity so the discrepancy in the data is not a major problem. It is reasonable to conclude changes of the truck journals and in the reeving of the block and boom sheaves may have contributed to the different capacities.

The old derrick cars on the PRR were not necessarily scrapped when they became obsolete and were removed from wrecking service or from the roster. Some were converted to rail loading derricks, many had the derricks removed and were converted to MW flat cars, at least one became a truck car in a Delaware Division wreck train. Several four wheel PRR derricks were removed from the MofW roster but survived as M of E shop cranes. Old B&P 11052 as PB&W 497007 was de-trucked and the car body with the pillar crane became the freight house crane at Delaware City in 10/1910. The former P&BC 10651, PB&W 497008 was listed in the ledger as "torn up" at Wilmington on 5/28/1909 but the entry is rather misleading as it was not the end of the old derrick car. It only meant the removal of the derrick, the car body and trucks remained intact. It had been renumbered to 496966 after being converted to a pile driver when it emerged from the Wilmington Shop on 11/5/1909. The class was changed from Wa to "odd" although another derrick to pile driver conversion retained its Wb class designation. It is not clear at what point the car had been fitted with Janney couplers and air brakes, but the Wilmington Shop brought the car into USSAS compliance. It is not known how long it lasted on the PB&W, it was not listed on the 1918 ICC valuation report, but the PB&W class Wb pile driver conversion was.

P&BC derrick car 10652 was transferred from the PW&B to the P&BC in 1888, but there are several unanswered questions regarding this derrick. It was listed in PRR records as a class Wa which would make the same class as given for P&BC 10651. The built date for 10652 is unknown but studying the known built dates and numbers as given for the PW&B derrick cars leads me to suspect it may have been Wodd 10078(1st) replaced by Wa 10078(2nd) by 1888. The old PW&B Wodd was almost identical to the Wa except for the frame and six wheel truck wheelbase which may have lead to the car later being identified as Wa. Unexplained is a ledger notation showing the capacity of 10078 as 30.000lb. Considering some other ledger entries, it may have been for the journal capacity, not the derrick capacity. I must emphasize this is only stated as conjecture on looking at some known information but is totally lacking in any documentation. The PW&B had modified this derrick car with a steam powered hoisting engine and small vertical boiler prior to transferring it to the P&BC. The modification of the car and transfer from the PW&B to the subsidiary P&BC was more of a formality to have the car on the P&BC books for it to be used in rebuilding the bridges of the P&BC which was then the Central Division of the PW&B. It is not stated, but modifying the derrick car for bridge work may have involved installing a boom extension or a jib with the boom serving as a jib brace. It has not been found documented anywhere to date, but there is no doubt in my mind P&BC derrick 10652 was the derrick car which suffered the mast failure while working on the bridge replacement between Lincoln University and Oxford in 1889.

The derrick was obviously repaired because 10652 was renumbered back to PW&B as 10084 on 3/20/1893 when the other P&BC MW cars were transferred. As PW&B 10084, the derrick car was again renumbered, becoming PB&W 497009 on 12/27/1907. We do not know the dates for the car being fitted with Janney couplers and air brakes, but 11/7/1913 was the date the car was brought into USSAS compliance at the Wilmington Shops. A notation had been made in the ledger when the derrick was transferred from the P&BC back to the PW&B indicating the car's trucks were by then fitted with 41/2"x 8" journals. The standard journal on the 5' wheelbase class Wa truck was 31/2"x 7" and for the Wb truck was 4"x 8" and the wheel diameter was 33". It would be interesting to know how long the car lasted, it was listed on the PB&W 1918 ICC Valuation report as a steam powered derrick car and it was still in service.

We do know the last class Wb still listed as in service on the PRR was 490716 which was shown as being in service on 5/3/1934. Although not relevant to the P&BC, the PRR car may be interesting to some members. It had been built as PRR class Wb on 8/30/1887, it was originally in PRR derrick number series 82 to 125, but the original number is unknown. It was renumbered to 93014, renumbered 193014 in 1900 and again renumbered to 490716 on 7/8/1905. The derrick car is known to have been assigned to Columbia at one time, but it is not known if it was still assigned there in 5/1934 or how soon after that date it was scrapped.

Although it is basically of a somewhat later era than most of what we are reviewing here, it may not be too far out of line to make some brief mention of a steam wrecking derrick which was at one time assigned to the Media Division of the PB&W. Some of this applies more to the PW&B/PB&W than to the P&BC but is included because of local interest in those railroads. The PB&W Media Division included the former P&BC, WC&P and Chester Creek. It was basically only a new name for the old Central Division of the PW&B. The second modern steam powered wrecking derrick purchased by the PW&B in 1900 for the Wilmington wreck train was a 50 ton capacity machine, PRR class We.

The adoption of the 50 ton class We, later class W50, as a PRR standard had been preceded by the first steam powered wreck derricks, the 30 ton class Wd in 1896, the class was later changed to W30. The PRR also bought only a very few 40 ton W40 derricks in 1899 followed by the purchase of their first 50 ton class We derrick later the same year, with the class later changed to W50. The PW&B did not have a 40 ton derrick. The PRR changed at least one of their 40 ton derricks to 50 ton capacity and some of the 50 ton derricks purchased after 1900 were changed to 60 ton capacity. The same was done with the PW&B derrick which differed in a major feature from their original 50 ton steam derrick. The PB&W's 50 ton derrick was transferred from Wilmington when a 70 ton capacity class Wf was acquired in 1905.

By the 1917 era the 50 ton class We, by then class W50, wreck derrick had been assigned to Media. It had originally been PW&B #10085, Industrial Works builders number 655, built date listed as 4/14/1900, cost $11,740.00. It had been renumbered to PB&W 497011 on 9/15/1905. The car class had been changed to W50 and it was assigned to the Media Division. It served the West Chester Branch, Chester Creek Branch, the P&BC main line to Philadelphia (originally the WC&P main line) and south on most of the original P&BC. The Media Division wreck train was stationed on a siding at Media between the main track and the power house siding, about mid way between the car shop and the Media passenger station, on the opposite side of the main track from the car shop.

It was not identical to its 50 ton sister derrick PW&B class We 10087, acquired 5/25/1903 and renumbered to PB&W/PRR 497012 on 8/16/1905, and later changed to 60 ton capacity class W60. Number 497011 was built in March 1900, before the design was changed from only one hoist drum like the PW&B 30 ton derrick 10085. Both the 30 ton and early 50 ton steam derricks had only the main block with the maximum capacities rated at 20' radius. By 1901 an auxiliary hoist drum had been added with a slightly longer boom, the main block moved back to operate with the maximum capacity at 16' radius and the sheave for the auxiliary hoist line at the end of the boom.

The 70 ton class Wf derrick which had replaced the 50 ton derrick on the Wilmington wreck train was PB&W 497013 acquired in 1905, so there was no PW&B number. It had been bought two years after the class being adopted as a PRR system standard. It was listed as built by the Industrial Works on 10/27/1905, IW #1427, cost $14,425.23. The class was changed from Wf to W70 when the new system reflecting the capacity was established, the derrick capacity was later revised and raised to 100 tons with the class changed to W100a. PRR W100a #497013 was the last wreck derrick to be assigned to Perryville prior to the wreck train being withdrawn from there. Having been assigned to Perryville makes it appropriate to include 497013 here because at one time the track between Octoraro Junction and Perryville was considered part of the P&BC. While assigned to Perryville, 497013 not only covered a section of the PB&W/PRR main line but part of the C&PD and the lower end of the P&BC, assisting 497011 from Media when required farther up the line. An example was both 497013 and 497011 working on the derailment of passenger train #4601 in Hunt's Cut between Rising Sun and Sylmar in 1927. After leaving Perryville, 497013 is known to have been on the Cape Charles wreck train in 1935, was stored at Renovo in 1942 and was on the Elmira wreck train as late as 1963.

Previous mention was made in reference to the P&BC having seven cars described as "stone and wood trucks", or MW flat cars. They had not been built as MW cars, or even as flat cars, they were converted from gondolas in 1882. They were converted from seven of the gondolas on the P&BC freight car roster, but the old numbers are not known. They may have been cars replaced by the six new class Gb gondolas the P&BC received that year. The railroads had only a few MofW cars in that era and they were often reported simply as "miscellaneous" or included with the total number of freight cars. The P&BC also reported in 1882 they had added "two standard MW cars", but do not identify them as to the type. The P&BC received 10 new class "P" MW cars in 1884 to replace their "old style" cars. The old P&BC MW cars were then sold to the B&P. The old class "P" was later changed to class Fa.

The later stone and wood trucks have all been class Fa, an interesting class of cars designed and built specifically for MofW work and for new construction. The class had been preceded by a "New Maintenance of Way Car" which was virtually identical in all dimensions except for the deck height and the fact it was equipped with bullnose castings and no provision for adapting to the installation of a Janney coupler. There were also two "standard" MofW flat cars designed on PRR Lines West, one with removable side boards. The class Fa as adopted in 1881 had a capacity of either 30,000 or 40,000 lbs., 26" wheels and 31/2"x 7" journals. These MW flat cars were introduced as class "P" under the original PRR classification system.

The first class Fa cars were built at Altoona and placed in MW and construction service on the various divisions and subsidiary lines. For many "MofW" and "Constructions" were maintained as two separate departments under the Chief Engineer of the PRR division or subsidiary company. After the cars were introduced, Altoona began to receive complaints about the hinges on the drop sides not being strong enough and breaking and the side boards were too light to hold up. A letter dated 4/5/1884 was quite critical of the hinges. A thicker wood was then specified for the drop sides and a new and heavier hinge was designed. The new hinges were put on cars as the old ones broke or when a car was shopped for any reason. The cast hinge for the class F21 adopted in 1910 and 1950's Fm drop side conversions was basically the same type as was used on the class Fa adopted in 1881. The drop sides permitted a larger volume of fill dirt, gravel or stone to be carried on the car with the drop sides making it easy to use for plowing. Class Fa cars to be unloaded by plowing generally had a small square oak guide strip down the center of the car deck and a permanent or temporary apron on one end of the car.

The revision of the class Fa adopted in 1890 changed the journal size to 4"x 8" and raised the capacity to 50,000 or 60,000 lbs, the wheels remained 26" and other dimensions remained unchanged. Because they were merely "work cars", installing air brakes and Janney couplers was very low priority for the class Fa cars, many never were fitted with either. After air brakes were offered as an option on new class Fa cars, many division engineers acknowledged they might be desirable but did not want to spend the extra money for them. One engineer wanted his class Fa cars fitted with the old "bullnose" castings and insisted they have dead blocks. It was a difficult job to convince him the combination of low car deck height, bullnose and dead blocks would create an extremely hazardous situation for trainmen when coupling the cars. He changed his mind about the dead blocks when it was pointed out the low deck height would require the dead blocks extend well above the deck so the cars would be useless for plowing.

The class Fa cars received hard use and many were subject to a rather short life requiring frequent replacement. One case has been found where a large number of new Fa cars were ordered to replace existing MW cars which were to be transferred to construction. They were to be renumbered and marked "construction" and the new MW cars were to be given the numbers of the old cars. It was in an era when the MW prefix was being used on the PRR System work cars. There was a letter sent to the division engineers stating the cars were to be marked either MW or "CONSTRUCTION" depending on which service they were assigned. As might be expected things don't always get done according to instructions. For an example, there is a photo of a NCRy class Fa marked "MW", but not prefixing the car number on the side sill, and "CONSTRUCTION" on adjoining sections of the drop sides.

The Wilmington Shops turned out a number of class Fa cars to be used for building the Magruder Branch. It has not been determined what shop, or shops, had built any of the class Fa cars on the P&BC. It is possible the P&BC may have built them in their car shop at Lamokin. Of the seven numbers for P&BC class Fa cars, five numbers may be traced through the PW&B renumbering to the PB&W series numbered between 497092 and 497098. Because the class Fa cars were not a high priority class and the limited time available to copy the information, I do not have a full picture of the P&BC to PB&W history of those cars. From the available information, two of those five may have dated back to the old P&BC 151 to 157 number series, but the record for the cars is so difficult to read the statement may not be valid. Finding the ledger page blank where there should have been some information for the P&BC MofW cars did not help.

The built dates found for the other Fa cars indicate the old car had been replaced with a new car using the old number and we find three of these cars were torn up in Wilmington in 1908 and one in 1909. We find P&BC 154 renumbered to P&BC 10679 and 156 to 10681 but no further record for either car as if scrapped and not replaced. If P&BC 154 could have been traced to be renumbered into the PB&W series it would have been 497095 but that number was filled in 1908 by a class Fb revenue freight car number 438878 which had been built in 1890.

Back in the late 1800 era and into the early 1930's when both MW and revenue freight cars were painted the same color red there was a small problem. It was not uncommon for MW flat cars and gondolas to be mistakenly loaded with a revenue load and go off line. Apparently it happened to Fb MW 497095 because the PB&W MW car was destroyed in an accident on the Great Northern on 2/1/1911. Old P&BC 152, renumbered P&BC 10677(1st) had been replaced by class Fa 10677(2nd) 12/17/1889 and was renumbered to PW&B 10143 in 1893, then to PB&W 497093 on 8/4/1905 and was sold to the Washington Terminal Co. on 3/2/1909.

There have not been any snow plows found as owned by the P&BC, when needed one from the PW&B/PB&W would have been used. On one occasion there was $75.00 damage done to one on the West Chester line. The old PW&B/PB&W had four Russell #4 snow plows. Two "odd" snow plows remained in 1910 from three dating to the late 1880's, but there were no built dates in the ledger. There was also one old snow sweeper and several pilot plows. Two of the Russell plows cost the PB&W $2,302.93, one $2,304.13 and one cost $2,304.01. A published photo of 497757 being pushed through flood water and floating ice by an H9s in Port Deposit in 1936[?] shows these Russell snow plows did not have the typical operating cupola for the plow engineer. There was a much lower overall height of the plow and two windows placed in the slightly angled car end above the deck over the plow. The remainder of the body was typical of the wooden Russell plows without wings. The round side windows, enclosed rear platform and hand brake wheel above the left center of the cab roof. The Wilmington Shops installed flanger blades under the plows, one in December 1911 and three in January 1912. The two "odd" plows were torn up, one at West Philadelphia and the other at Wilmington Shop before the new Russell plows where placed in service in 1910. A fifth Russell #4 was added in 1917 at a cost of $2,743.00, but no other information regarding it is available. There is reference to the old single track Media Car Shop building later being used to store a snow plow.

At this point there is no clue as to which of the PW&B/PB&W snow plows may have been assigned to Media. We can account for only one locomotive pilot mounted snow plow on the P&BC. It is quite possible there may have been pilot mounted plows at Lamokin, Media, West Chester and also Perryville, but no record for them has been found. I do remember one of the new steel Russell plows purchased in the 1930's was assigned to Perryville. The MW equipment was still painted what the PRR called "red freight car color" in those days. The pilot snow plow information is very limited because what is available here came from the PRR Hollereth record cards for some of the plows which had been scrapped. I am sure the records for other pilot snow plows may still exist but locating the ledgers or later Hollereth cards for those existing after 1917 is a problem.

The Oxford engine house was assigned pilot snow plow #288, a wood and steel plow built at the Wilmington Shops in 2/1899 at an estimated cost of $376.20 listed on the record card. For those not familiar, the old engine house at Oxford had been a three stall roundhouse at South and Commerce Streets built in 1883. Some may remember the turntable which remained long after the roundhouse was removed. Pilot plow #228 was authorized to be scrapped on 11/17/1930 and was torn up 1/30/1931. It is not positive because only part of the numbers are visible on the copy of the record card, but it looks like the pilot plow at Oxford was to be used on class H6a locomotives 2318 and 4212. The locomotive numbers remain questionable unless someone is able to document those two H6a or H6sa locomotive numbers having been assigned to the Oxford roundhouse.

The P&BC did not have any side dump cars in their MW roster. The dump car involved in the earlier incident near Toughkennamon when a laborer was scalped was owned by a contractor, not the P&BC. The number of PW&B dump cars was reduced and the remaining cars were listed on the PW&B/PB&W MofW roster.

Not found listed among the available records for company service cars was any information on P&BC class Pd passenger car number 524 which was listed as a pay car when it was transferred to the PW&B in 1891. It is not known what modifications may have been made to 524 to use it for a pay car but the Pd coaches were valued in excess of $3,000 each while 524 was listed as being valued at only $2,500 when transferred to the PW&B.

Due to the large number of units involved in the hand (pump) car and hand truck (push car) listings and the limited amount of time available to hand copy the records, very little attention was given to them. As was mentioned above, the cars were not renumbered from P&BC to PW&B in 1893 with the other work equipment. Studying the limited information available, it appears only a very few of those cars had survived to be renumbered into the PRR assigned PB&W number series in 1905. It would have been desirable to have been able to include some data on those units here in order to help preserve the information, the reality of time and space limitations in this case is an unfortunate deterrent to preservation of the data.

Regardless of the term used, be it company service, MofW or the catch all term "work cars", they are an often neglected facet of railroad history. That is especially true for a relatively small railroad operation such as the Philadelphia & Baltimore Central, both before and after it became part of the Philadelphia Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is hoped this bit of information on the P&BC maintenance of way cars will be of interest to some and perhaps even spark new interest for others.

SCHEDULE NOTES

Notices, announcements, schedules, etc. are provided here as a service to the members. The Chapter has no affiliation with any commercial operation, museum, or tourist line.

Now 'til whenever - America on the Move at Smithsonian Nat. Museum of American History largest-ever exhibition, has a companion Web site with material from the exhibition, plus behind-the-scenes accounts of the making of the exhibition and more stories from curators about our objects and their place in American history-focused looks at topics ranging from maritime history to motorcycles, from racing to radiator emblems, and an examination of broader issues such as migration, gender, globalization, and technology. A powerful search tool will provide access to hundreds of objects in the transportation collections. http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove

December 13, 2003 to April 19, 2004 PAGEANT OF LOCOMOTIVES @ RR Museum of PA Photography From North American Railroad Fairs = The splendor of the great North American railroad fairs gave companies an opportunity to unveil their latest technologies and display celebrated equipment of the past. This exhibit documents the best known fairs of North America and the excitement generated by each, including the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, Philadelphia; the 1893 Columbian Exposition, Chicago; the 1904 World's Fair, St. Louis; the 1927 B&O Fair of the Iron Horse, Halethorpe, Maryland; the 1939-40 World's Fair, New York; and the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair.

December 27, 2003 Home for the Holidays @ Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania 9 - 5 Nostalgic glimpse at 100 years of holiday rail travel. Meet engineers, conductors, ticket agents and passengers and enjoy seasonal music and festive decorations among our world-class collection of trains. Regular admission.

December 27 & 28, 2003 Holiday Trains at Auburn Heights 1-4 PM, ride 1/8 scale Auburn Valley Live Steam RR, see Stanley Steamers & Antique Std. Gauge trains.

January 2004 O. Winston Link Museum to open in renovated Norfolk & Western Railway passenger station in Roanoke, VA.

January 24-25, 2004 Great Scale Model Train Show - Timonium 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. www.gsmts.com

April 3-4, 2004 Great Scale Model Train Show - Timonium 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. www.gsmts.com

May 2, 2004 Baltimore Transportation Memorabilia Show - Timonium 9-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. Railroad, Steamship, Bus, Airline

June 19-20, 2004 Great Scale Model Train Show - Timonium 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. www.gsmts.com

October 9-10, 2004 Great Scale Model Train Show - Timonium 9-4 Saturday, 10-4 Sunday, Maryland State Fairgrounds, Timonium, MD. www.gsmts.com

November 7, 2004 Railroad, Steamship, Transportation Artifacts Show 9 AM - 4 PM Montgomery County Fairgrounds, Gaithersburg, MD www.gserr.com

CHAPTER EVENTS

Thursday Jan. 15, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Al Patterson program entitled: Random Ramblings 2002-03

Thursday Feb. 19, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Dan Frederick

Thursday March 18, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Mike Burkhart

Thursday April 15, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Richard Hall

Thursday May 20, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting Annual Doug Weaver Memorial Photo Contest 2004 special category: not known at this time

Saturday May ?, 2004 ? AM Chapter Picnic ? details not known at this time

Saturday June ?, 2004 ? AM Chapter Outing ? details not known at this time

Thursday June 17, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by Bill Folger program entitled: The Red Arrow

Thursday July 15, 2004 7 PM Chapter Meeting program by ?

The Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) meets at 7:00 PM on the third Thursday of each month [except August & December] in the Darley Room at the Claymont Community Center on Green Street in Claymont, Delaware. Visitors are always welcome. Admission to regular meetings is free. Check out our Website, thanks to Russ Fox at: http://www.WilmingtonNRHS.com

The Transfer Table
The Transfer Table is published six to ten times per year as the newsletter of the Wilmington Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. Items in this publication do not represent the official position of either Officers or Members of the Wilmington Chapter or the Editor of this publication.

Permission to reprint articles and news items appearing herein is granted to NRHS Chapters and other newsletters provided appropriate credit is given. Contributions are always welcome and should be sent to the editor at SD40GMA@aol.com or send to: P.O. Box 1136, Hockessin, DE 19707-5136. Deadline for entries is the 25th of the month.

    Chapter Officers
    President:   Phil Snyder
    Vice President & Historian: Ron Cleaves
    Treasurer:   Ralph Stevens, Jr.
    Secretary:   Dan Frederick
    National Director:   Tom Posatko
    Editor: Greg Ajamian
    Education Fund:   Ed Thornton
    Public Relations:    Frank Ferguson, Jr.
    Trip Director & Event Photographer: Bruce Barry
    Web Master:   Russ Fox

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