ON THE WAY TO BLACK ROCK - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

Transcription

Milepost
Vol. 25, No. 4, November 2007
A publication of the Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
ON THE WAY TO
BLACK ROCK
Bert Pennypacker recalls the fate of
engine No. 178 some 59 years later.
In This Issue...
Above: Westbound I10sa passes U tower at
Phoenxville, Pennsylvania. This is the point
where four tracks dwindled to two for the run
through Black Rock tunnel, the scene of the
accident in Bert Pennypacker’s article in this issue
of Milepost. (Bruce Saylor Collection Photo,
courtesy of Bert Pennypacker)
Left: An unidentified motorman poses in front of
Birney trolley car No. 236 at the Rocky Springs
amusement park in May 1939. No. 236 is the
subject of the Curator’s Corner’s article To
Lancaster, By Trolley. (Photo courtesy of the
Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
2
10
14
23
24
Curator’s Corner
To Lancaster By Trolley:
Conestoga Traction Company
“Birney” Trolley Car No. 236
News & Views
Rambles Redux: Erie Rails &
Foaming in the Piedmont
Kids Page
A Tunnel Accident
Milepost
Curator’s Corner
Vol. 25, No. 4, November 2007
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is administered by the
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission with the
active support of the Friends of the Railroad Museum.
PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL &
MUSEUM COMMISSION
Governor: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The Honorable
Edward G. Rendell
Chairman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Wayne Spilove
Executive Director . . . . . . . . .Ms. Barbara Franco
Railroad Museum Director . . .Mr. David W. Dunn
Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ms. Rhonda Cohen,
Rep. Lawrence Curry, Sen. Jim Ferlo, Ms. Laura S. Fisher,
Dr. Gordon Haaland, Mrs. Janet Klein, Ms. Cheryl
McClenney-Brooker, Dr. Brian Mitchell, Ms. Kathleen
Pavelko, Rep. Scott Petri, Sen. Joseph Scarnati,
Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, Ms. Mary Clare Zales
The Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (FRM)
is a non-profit volunteer museum support organization
chartered by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum
Commission. Mailing Address:
FRM, P. O. Box 125, Strasburg, PA 17579
FRIENDS OF THE RAILROAD MUSEUM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Robert J. Lawrence
Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Paul Wilcox
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Joseph Savoca
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Robert Donecker
Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Craig Haberle
Mrs. M. Loretta Harrison
Mr. Joel Long
Mr. John V. Luppino
Mr. Thomas E. Schoelkopf
Mr. John Schwartzenberg Jr Mr. David Wood
Ex Officio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. David W. Dunn
RAILROAD MUSEUM ADVISORY COUNCIL
President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Ronald Bailey
Vice President . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mr. Kent Haberle
Members
Mrs. Margaret J. Concannon Miller
Mrs. Lucinda Hampton
Mr. William V. Hecker
Mr. Edward S. Hoover
Mrs. Donna Kreiser
Mr. Christopher Kull
Mr. Bennett Levin
Mr. Jeffrey Majersky
Mr. Paul Quinn
Mr. James Rose
Mr. Bill Schafer
Mr. Jere W. Schuler
Mr. Philip J. Sullivan II
Honorary
Mrs. Caroline Steinman Nunan Dr. Jeremy F. Plant
Mr. Douglas Watts
Mr. William Withuhn
Supporting
Mr. James Alexander Jr
Mr. Edward B. Betz
Dr. John H. Bowman
Mr. Robert R. Donecker
Mr. David W. Dunn
Mr. Robert J. Lawrence
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ms. Deborah Reddig
Ex Officio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mrs. Donna Williams
Milepost Managing Editor ......Deborah Reddig
Contributing Editors ..............David W. Dunn,
William R. Rowland, James Alexander Jr
Design/Layout
Heather Shaubach, Cooper Printing, Inc.;
Deborah Reddig
Printed by Cooper Printing, Inc., Lancaster, PA
Milepost is published by and for the Friends of the Railroad
Museum five times a year at Strasburg, PA 17579.
Subscription to the Milepost is included as part of annual
membership in the FRM.
Mailed at Second-Class Postage rates at Strasburg, PA.
Postmaster: Please send change of address to
P. O. Box 125, Strasburg, PA 17579
Phone: (717)687-8628 • Fax: (717)687-0876
Email: [email protected]
Web site: www.rrmuseumpa.org
2 Milepost, November 2007
TO LANCASTER, BY TROLLEY:
Conestoga Traction Company
Birney Trolley Car No. 236
by Kurt R. Bell
MOST VISITORS TO THE RAILROAD MUSEUM OF PENNSYLVANIA ARE SURPRISED TO LEARN
that the institution is the proud owner of an electric streetcar, the last vestige of an
extensive system of electric railways that once crisscrossed Lancaster County. The
Conestoga Traction Company (CTC) provided horse car, trolley and bus service to
generations of commuters who moved around Lancaster to visit family and friends
and to conduct their daily business. The last trolley car extant from the CTC system is
a diminutive Birney1 safety car No. 236 (RR87.14.1), built by J. G. Brill in 1926,
currently in restored and operable condition. But visitors will not find this unique form
of transportation displayed among the PRR engines and cars in Rolling Stock Hall. In
fact, the unit is not even found anywhere in the Strasburg vicinity but resides
elsewhere in Lancaster County.
Currently placed on loan, No. 236 is lovingly maintained and carefully operated
by volunteer members of the nearby Manheim Historical Society in Manheim,
Pennsylvania, roughly 18 miles from Strasburg. How No. 236 came to become part of
the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania collection is an odd tale of institutional politics
and preservation, especially considering that the history of trolleys and traction
companies is not a fundamental part of the Railroad Museum’s stated mission.
Birney car No. 236 typified a safety movement early in the 20th century, with the
intended consequence of improving the economies of operating trolleys while keeping
In this 1930s view, No. 236 navigates traffic in midtown Lancaster in a workaday scene typical
of its commuter past. (Walter Knapp Photo, courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
An unrestored No. 236 reposes quietly alongside the wagon shed at the
Landis Valley Farm Museum on March 5, 1957. (John J. Bowman Jr Photo,
courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
passengers, motormen and conductors safe from death and certain
injury. Between 1915 and 1930, over 6,000 trolleys of this design
were built. One of an order of six cars (Nos. 236-241 inclusive),
No. 236 was built for the CTC by the J. G. Brill Company of
Philadelphia in December 1926 and cost $7,164 new (Brill Order
#22478).2 In fact, this series of cars was the last series among
multiple orders of Birneys purchased by the CTC, and was among
40 city cars numbering 201-240 that were built for the company
from 1920 to 1926.3 The car’s weight as built is 17,210 pounds,
and it rides on a Brill 79-E-1 truck, which is gauged to run on 5’
2-1/2" track.4 The entire fleet boasted double stream doors at each
corner to speed loading during peak periods. The first four cars
entered service on the 7th Ward City Belt Line in July 1920.
Nicknamed Conestoga Birneys because of their unique features,
the cars were equipped with double entrance doors and deadman
pedals, to prevent accidents, and were three feet greater in length
than other cars in the Birney fleet.5
The concept of the Birney safety car had its roots in the 1920s
and earlier. Until that time, each car had a motorman and a
conductor. Industry observers felt there was no need for two
crewmen to operate the trolley. The conductor’s duties of
announcing stops and collecting fares could be performed by the
motorman. While eliminating the conductor’s position reduced
operating costs, it was a case of either reducing manpower or
having to declare bankruptcy, since the key to a transit company’s
survival was a steady source of earned income. But some traction
historians contend that safety controls were developed to protect
passengers and the general public when conductors were fired due
to inflexible franchise restrictions and wholesale price inflation
during the World War I era.6 With earnings being reduced by
inflation and operating costs ever increasing, transit companies
were eager to increase the number of people that they could move
per vehicle mile, per vehicle hour and per man hour, which
required reducing the number of trainmen and increasing the sizes
of streetcars.7 Around World War I, many companies began to
install fare boxes on trolleys and, in turn, fired the conductors.
Companies with a strong union presence often were forced to pay
operators on one-man cars a premium ranging from 10% to 20%
for both running cars and lifting fares. Interestingly, this practice
was still found to be cheaper for the company than paying two men
to do the job.8
It should be noted that Conestoga Traction did not replace all of
the conductors at once. Initially, the Birney safety cars were
operated with one man. In 1920, there were only four cars on the
system with one man but, by 1926, all of the Lancaster city routes,
except for South Queen Street and Laurel & Filbert, ran with one
man. None of the suburban lines had yet been converted, and this
finally took place once the company installed and activated line
side signals. Once the signals were installed, CTC removed the
conductors within a few days. But it was too little, too late—the
company began losing money every year beginning in 1923, owing
to relentless competition from the automobile. Early in the Great
Depression, the trolley lines were abandoned or torn up in great
numbers.9
Various safety watchdogs voiced concern that a single person
could not safely operate a trolley car. Based on the findings of the
American Electric Railway
Association, a special Birney
“safety” car design was
developed to address these
sundry concerns.10 It was
designed in 1916 by Charles
Oliver Birney (1867-1939), an
engineer with Stone & Webster
Corporation — using off-theshelf hardware — whose
employer controlled many
electric railways across the
nation. He designed a
lightweight, one-man car to
attract riders and reduce
operating costs.
The first car to burn at Rocky Springs
was this Birney on September 26, 1947.
(Photo courtesy of the Fred D.
Schneider III Collection)
Milepost, November 2007 3
Car No. 236 on its way to the Landis Valley Farm Museum, north of
Lancaster—owned by the Landis Brothers—on September 30, 1947. (Photo
courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
The primary safety features were pneumatic folding doors and
folding steps, and the “Deadman Control.” Henceforth, each of
these cars was provided with an emergency safety device which
applied the brakes, shut off the electricity and applied sand to the
track. Since the pneumatic folding doors were under pressure when
they were closed, it also released the pressure and all of the doors
could easily be opened. The emergency safety device was released
by the motorman by taking his hand off the control handle which
operated the trolley, or by taking his foot off the deadman’s air
valve, located on the floor. If a motorman was suddenly taken ill
and his hand or foot would come off the controls, the trolley would
suddenly come to a halt, averting a collision or a runaway. This
sudden action interrupted power and applied the brakes and
balanced the door engines to atmosphere. This innovation made it
possible to eliminate the conductor’s job and run a car in presumed
relative safety even if the motorman should suffer a heart attack
or fall asleep at the controls.11
All of the air brake safety features on the Birney cars previously
had been patented by the Safety Car Devices Company or
the Westinghouse Traction Brake Company, a subsidiary of
Westinghouse Air Brake Company of Wilmerding, Pennsylvania.12
J. M. Bosenberry of Illinois Traction appears to have used the
apparatus on cars for Illinois Traction, or its subsidiary Illinois
Power & Light Company, prior to 1916.13 The cars were also
equipped with a fence-like device on the front of the car to prevent
debris from becoming lodged under the car.14
Various American urban transit companies, including Boston,
Brooklyn, Baltimore and Detroit, soon ordered the cars in either
the single truck or double truck variety. They were found to be
CTC No. 236 displayed at the Landis Valley Farm Museum on March 5, 1957.
(John J. Bowman Jr Photo, courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
unfeasible in large cities and, in turn, were sold to smaller systems
throughout the eastern United States. Single truck Birneys ran on
many area traction lines, including the Reading Street Railway,
Altoona & Logan Valley, the Philadelphia Traction Company,
Hershey Transit, Susquehanna Traction, Citizens Traction (Oil
City), Mauch Chunk Transit, Schuylkill Valley Traction
(Norristown), Erie Railways, Penn-Ohio Lines (Butler) and
Allentown & Reading Traction lines. In addition to Brill, the cars
were produced by other builders such as the American Car
Company (who built the first Birney in 1916 for a Stone &
Webster Utilities-owned property in suburban Seattle,
Washington), Osgood Bradley and the Cincinnati Car Company.
Some cars were built for use in such far off places as the
Netherlands, Mexico, Argentina, New Zealand and Peru. The last
Birney car to operate in original service in the United States was
a Fort Collins, Colorado Birney on June 30, 1951.
But Birney safety cars were not without their critics. Many city
interurban operations were on the decline by the early 1920s and
the long-term operation of safety cars could not prove a profitable
venture. A total of 5,587 new cars were produced for North
CTC No. 236 rolls down College and James Streets just out of the shop on June
24, 1936. In that year, the CTC began to rebuild the best cars in the fleet with
9" wide body corner posts to strengthen them, though not all of the cars were
altered. (Photo courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
American traction companies; re-sales of cars inflated that number
to over 6,000.15 Originally, it was envisioned that as many as
18,000 to 20,000 cars would be built. However, sales of Birney
cars dropped off precipitously after 1920 and less than 500 cars
were produced over the next few years. The double truck Birneys
were criticized for their poor riding qualities, susceptibility to
derailment and their underpowered shortcomings, which proved to
be a severe limitation even in light service. By the mid 1920s, the
economical use of buses kept the Birneys’ days numbered.16
The Birneys were purchased by the Conestoga Traction
Company, a 165-mile network of street railways in the Lancaster
city and surrounding county region that operated over rural
extensions, on private right-of-way and along the side of the
highways. Its origins extend back to the Pennsylvania Traction
Company which ran all of the street railways in Lancaster County.
The oldest line on the traction company’s system was a local horse
car line dubbed the Lancaster & Millersville Passenger Railway,
which opened in 1874 to replace the Lancaster to Millersville
stage, with later electrified route extensions to Millersville,
Marietta, Lititz, Ephrata, Manheim, Strasburg, Adamstown, Rocky
Springs, Terre Hill, Quarryville, Elizabethtown and Coatesville.
The property of the bankrupt Pennsylvania Traction Company
was acquired in November 1899 by the Conestoga Traction
Company. In 1925, the CTC operated 154 cars and had 615
employees, 280 of whom were dispatchers, motormen and
conductors.17 In an effort to avoid bankruptcy and to merge its
eleven street railway companies, the CTC later reorganized in 1931
as the Conestoga Transportation Company. It started phasing out
many of its cost-losing operations and converting to buses in the
1930s. Conversion to bus service was completed in 1947.18
The car’s regular route assignments were principally within
Lancaster city proper. The car mostly operated between Penn
Square and the Pennsylvania Railroad station on the Duke Street
Line. The CTC maintained as many as 17 other Birneys on holiday
standby for service to the Rocky Springs amusement park. The car
was also pressed into service on the 6th Ward Line, where it
delivered workers to the Armstrong Cork Company’s closure plant,
and the Laurel & Filbert Line, the East Belt Line and other
neighboring routes.19 The four-wheel cars also ran on the
No. 236 inches across the Conestoga Creek Bridge, post abandonment, on its
very last run on September 22, 1947. The trip was run for the benefit of Robert
Campbell, who was documenting the sad occasion for the Conestoga Traction
Company’s employee magazine, The Wheel. (Robert Campbell Photo, courtesy
of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
Rossmere, 7th Ward, 6th Ward, College Avenue, East Belt and West
Belt routes.20 After the West Belt and College Avenue lines were
abandoned in 1939 and Rossmere quit in 1940, Birney cars—
including No. 236—began to appear on the line to Rocky Springs
Amusement Park, on the southeast edge of the city limits.21
Another Birney was used in Columbia, Pennsylvania on the loop
on Walnut, 9th, Locust and 2nd Streets. Yet another such car served
as the “half-hour” car to Mellinger’s Church along the Lincoln
Highway on the Coatesville line until about August 1933.22 One
Birney even ran in owl service all night long on the East Belt Line
after 1920, primarily because the CTC needed a way to transport
its own motormen and conductors home after work and back to
work for early morning shifts. 23 Conversion of trolley lines to bus
service was halted by World War II as gasoline rationing and
rubber shortages took effect. In 1943, the Office of Defense
Transportation ordered the company to restore trolley service to
three of the CTC’s lines. Implementation of bus service resumed
following the end of World War II. CTC No. 236 was officially
CTC No. 236 is pictured here, post abandonment on its final run, on
September 22, 1947. (Robert Campbell Photo, courtesy of the Fred D.
retired following its final assignment in Rocky Springs service on
Saturday evening, September 20, 1947, which marked the closing
of the amusement park for the winter season.24
No. 236 quietly made one last trip, after its official retirement,
two days later for Robert Campbell, assistant editor of the
Conestoga Transportation Company’s employee magazine The
Wheel, who rode the car to Rocky Springs to photograph it en route
for a story he was writing. On September 26, the CTC took their
remaining fleet of streetcars to Rocky Springs one by one, where
they were turned over on their sides and systematically burned,
ending the legacy of almost 60 years of electric streetcars in Lancaster.25
Fortunately, fate intervened for car No. 236. Within days
following its retirement, car No. 236 was sold to the Miller Junk &
Waste Company in Lancaster. That same week, it was purchased
from the junk dealer for $250 by William Moedinger Jr, J. Huber
Leath and Nelson Bowers of the Lancaster Chapter of the National
Railway Historical Society, who raised the money to preserve the
car for future posterity. Their intent was to donate the car to the
Landis brothers’ Farm Museum, a rural agricultural museum
located north of Lancaster. Transfer of the car to the Landis
brothers was arranged before the museum was formally taken over
by the Commonwealth, and the car became the property of the
Commonwealth when the facility passed to state ownership.26
No. 236 arrived at the Landis Valley Farm Museum on September
30, 1947 and was used for a time as a meeting place by the
Lancaster Chapter NRHS.27 While other trolley car bodies were
converted to sheds and summer homes, only No. 236 and a 1917
Cincinnati-built car body—No. 322—survived from the CTC days.
No. 236 at the Landis Valley Farm Museum, circa 1950s. (Photo courtesy of the
Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
As seen in this official builder’s view photographed at their Philadelphia plant, No. 236 was built new for Conestoga Transportation Company
by the J. G. Brill Company in December 1926 and originally cost $7,164. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania Photo, courtesy of the Fred D.
After years of outdoor static display alongside the wagon
shed at the Landis Valley Farm Museum, No. 236 was slowly
deteriorating. Desiring better preservation of the car, the Lancaster
Chapter NRHS members, in 1956, negotiated with the Reading
Society of Model Engineers for sheltered storage of the car in
Reading, Pennsylvania. When the details of this arrangement were
misunderstood, the state did not acquiesce to loaning the car to the
Reading group. On July 24, 1958, No. 236 was trucked to the
now-defunct Trolley Valhalla Museum in Tansboro, New Jersey,
which was a stillborn museum established by Al Roth and Everett
White—both ardent trolley enthusiasts—and situated on a tomato
farm. After a couple of years of inactivity, the trolley was trucked
to the Llanerch car barn, near Philadelphia, and leased to the
Metropolitan Philadelphia Railway Association, where it joined
several of their other historic trolleys. While there, No. 236
continued to languish outdoors for several years until a
disagreement with the Red Arrow Lines resulted in eviction of
the car.
While reposing outdoors at the Landis Valley Farm Museum, No. 236 took a
beating from the weather and souvenir hunters, as seen in this 1956 view.
(Photo courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
After much disassembly, officials from Pennsylvania became
aware that the trolley no longer resided within the state and was in
violation of the loan agreement. In 1962, the Pennsylvania
Historical & Museum Commission demanded its return. On
September 13, 1965, No. 236 was unloaded at Louis G. Buehler’s
Furniture Factory on Front Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Buehler’s intent was to operate the car at the Railways to Yesterday
trolley museum operation in Orbisonia, adjacent to the East Broad
Top Railroad. After a disagreement over who should have
possession of the car, it returned to the Landis Valley Farm
Museum in 1967 and was placed inside a shed. Despite plans as
late as 1978 to operate the trolley “on the museum grounds
connecting various areas of the museum property,” plans never
materialized and it continued to gather dust over the next decade.28
Over the next several years, various trolley museums, among them
the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Arden and the Connecticut
Electric Railway Association in Warehouse Point, Connecticut,
expressed an interest in acquiring the car, but the state was not
anxious to deaccession it, much less place it on loan.29
Around early 1983, interest once again grew in using car No.
236 as an operating unit when it was proposed to build a new broad
gauge trolley loop linking the Toy Train Museum, Red Caboose
Motel, Strasburg Rail Road, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
and the Choo Choo Barn. With support from several local
stakeholders, including the Lancaster Chapter NRHS, the Friends
of the Railroad Museum and the PHMC, the proposed heritage
trolley line was conceived as a unique transportation link among
various Lancaster County tourist attractions and as an impetus to
increase Railroad Museum visitation.30 Even a mechanical
inspection of the trolley was made by the Strasburg Rail Road at
Landis Valley on January 7 of that year to ascertain the feasibility
of its mechanical condition for the planned operation. When it was
proposed that the route would incorporate the use of a short length
of the Strasburg Rail Road’s right-of-way with trolley wire strung
overhead, Rail Road officials distanced themselves from the idea.
The project died a quiet death.
In 1985, there was again renewed interest in cosmetically
restoring the trolley and displaying it in the Railroad Museum of
Pennsylvania’s Rolling Stock Hall. The Lancaster Chapter NRHS
donated $5,000 toward the effort.31 In an internal PHMC memo, it
was stated that the trolley would be “moved to a restoration shop
and [we would] begin restoration work during 1985…Our goal will
be the cosmetic restoration of the trolley for display at the
Railroad Museum.”32 In August 1985, Benjamin S. Peters Jr, a
PHMC employee, and Tolbert V. Prowell, a Railways to Yesterday
volunteer from the Rockhill Trolley Museum, were engaged by
Robert Emerson, Railroad Museum director, to inspect the car for
a possible restoration. They completed a thorough 27-page
condition report on the car’s mechanical status. At the time, the
unrestored car’s interior was littered with mahogany wood and
unbolted seats and was missing several key mechanical
components, presumably from earlier aborted restoration attempts.
Although the report was completed, no further action was taken
on the matter.
For various administrative reasons, in 1987 the ownership of
the trolley car was transferred from the Landis Valley Museum to
the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Even though trolleys and
traction history fall outside the mission of the Museum, PHMC
officials felt that, since it had a proven record of maintaining and
caring for historic rail vehicles, the Railroad Museum would be
the logical custodian of the car.
After years of aborted efforts of various parties, it wasn’t until
December 29, 1989 when the PHMC approached the Manheim
Historical Society of nearby Manheim, Pennsylvania to arrange a
25-year loan of the car.33 On May 7, 1990, No. 236 was moved
from the Landis Valley Museum to Manheim, where it was
completely restored in a car barn erected for the effort.
Spearheaded by the late Ben Hershey and a cadre of volunteers,
the effort took over two years to complete and thousands of man
hours employed in the effort. The car was run for the first time on
a motor generator set on August 28, 1990. Old track in front of the
ex-Reading Company Manheim depot—which serves as the
Manheim Historical Society’s headquarters—was torn up, track
for the trolley was laid and trolley poles and wire erected. On April
4, 1996, for the first time since 1937 when the CTC ended trolley
service on the Manheim line, a trolley operated in Manheim,
An interior view from the 1990s of the restored No. 236 reveals rattan seats,
vintage advertising and safety controls that made Birney cars unique. (Fred D.
Schneider III Photo)
running approximately 150 feet from the barn to Charlotte Street.
After a lapse of 49 years, No. 236 came back to life as a functional
car, resplendent in her attractive traction yellow livery, which the
car originally sported on the CTC.
Volunteer members of the Manheim Historical Society continue
to provide operating demonstrations of No. 236 on selected dates
throughout the year. Although the ride is very short, it offers
visitors a taste of what trolley service in Lancaster County was like
during its heyday. Although Ben Hershey passed away in 2000, a
dedicated group of volunteers, led by Fred Schneider III, carries on
Hershey’s dream of keeping No. 236 in operating condition. The
organization has bought commercial electricity to power the
trolley and converts it to direct current with an old PRR E44
locomotive rectifier.34
As the only operating single truck Birney in the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, No. 236 represents a once thriving aspect of
Lancaster County’s transportation
history.35 The Railroad Museum of
Pennsylvania is fortunate and pleased to
have this fine specimen of Pennsylvania’s
transportation past as part of its
collection and deeply appreciates the
efforts of the Manheim Historical
Society to restore and keep it operable for
generations to come. j
Kurt R. Bell is archivist at the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Restored to operating condition by the
Manheim Historical Society, car No. 236
provides short demonstrational rides to
the public throughout the year. (Fred D.
Schneider III Photo)
other Brill-built vehicle is a self-propelled Mack-Brill rail bus constructed
in 1921 for the Lewisburg, Milton & Watsontown Passenger Railway
(RR2002.2). The LM&WP railbus was originally purchased by the
Strasburg Rail Road for the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in 1969,
but the Rail Road later took possession of the vehicle when it never
received monetary reimbursement from the state. It was donated to the
Railroad Museum in December 2001. For more on J. G. Brill, see Debra
Brill, History of the J. G. Brill Company (Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana
University Press, 2001).
3Interpretive brochure, Manheim Historical Society, “Trolley Car #236,”
April 1998. From VIF File No. RR87.14, RRMPA, RG-13; I have drawn
extensively on MHS’s brochure in outlining the history of this car. Even a
roster of 41 Birneys never proved enough for the demands of the
Lancaster city system.
4
The misnomer “Pennsylvania Broad Gauge” is not exclusive of
5’-2-1/2" or 62-1/2" gauge because there were many varieties. Some
companies used 56’-1/4", 62" and 63." However, the fewer companies
operating broad gauge were the larger companies and therefore there were
more miles of track laid to broad gauge and more cars to run on broad
gauge track. Companies built to the same 62-1/2" gauge as the CTC
included the West Chester Street Railway, Reading Traction & Light
Company, Hershey Transit, Harrisburg Railways, Valley Railways,
Pittsburgh Railways, West Penn Railways and others. My thanks to Fred
Schneider III for this explanation.
5
Independent brake, controller, seat and fare box detail inside No. 236 at
Manheim. Under the leadership of the late Ben Hershey, in the early 1990s the
Manheim Historical Society restored the streetcar to its 1920s ambiance. (Fred
D. Schneider III Photo)
MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Motors: General Electric, 2 ea. #264A
Gear Ratio: 74:13
Controllers: 2 General Electric #K-63G
Compressor: GE CP-27
Length: 30’-1-1/2" over all (26’-3" over corner posts)
Brake Valve: 2 ea. M-28D
Seats: 30 persons
Weight: 9 tons
The author wishes to thank Fred Schneider III and Joel Lubenau
of the Manheim Historical Society for their helpful suggestions,
loan and use of historic photographs and assistance in the
preparation of this article. Also, thanks to Marge Bardeen,
librarian of the Lancaster County Historical Society, and Bruce
Bomberger, curator of the Landis Valley Museum, for their aid in
the author’s requests for information. The trolley operates on
Sunday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. on an April
through September schedule, weather and operating/mechanical
conditions permitting. The author suggests that you call the
Manheim Historical Society at 717/664-3486 in advance to
confirm if it will be running.
In a letter from Edward G. Blossom, Dushore Car Company, to James
P. Shuman, dated May 4, 1983, Blossom, a renowned trolley car
restorationist, purports that “236 is a rare car and an important car
historically because it has an interior that was “deluxe” for a Birney—
with paneled ceiling, globed lamps, rattan seating, and so forth.” From
VIF File No. RR87.14, RRMPA, RG-13.
6 Email correspondence, Fred Schneider III, trolley historian, to the author,
August 23, 2007.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid. A general order of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission in
1937 or 1938 required that all cars subsequent to a certain date, believed
to be 1938, were to be operated only by a single man. This rule only
applied to those companies under the jurisdiction of the PUC, such as rural
street railways. Public authorities, such as urban transit agencies like
SEPTA and PAT are not subject to PUC jurisdiction. My thanks to Fred
Schneider III for bringing this to the author’s attention.
9 Email correspondence, Fred Schneider III, trolley historian, to the author,
August 24, 2007.
10 “The Safety Car,” pamphlet produced by General Electric in August
1920, reprinted in Bulletin 36 of the Electric Railway Historical Society,
pg. 4. From VIF File No. RR87.14, RRMPA, RG-13.
11Email
correspondence, Fred Schneider III, trolley historian, to the
author, August 23, 2007.
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Interpretive brochure, Manheim Historical Society, April 1998. This
device was called a “life guard” which was built by either the Keystone
Services Supply Company of Philadelphia or possibly by J. G. Brill
themselves. It consisted of a basket and a trip bar. If a person was knocked
down by the car, the trip bar released the basket which, in turn, scooped
up the hapless individual. Email correspondence, Fred Schneider III,
trolley historian, to the author, August 24, 2007.
1 The use of Birney to describe this design of streetcar is a retroactive term
coined by trolley enthusiasts in the mid 20th century. During the
heyday of the trolley era, they were commonly referred to as “safety cars.”
The definitive work on the subject is Harold Eugene Cox, The Birney Car
(Forty Fort, Pa.: The Author, 1966).
15 Ibid., August 28, 2007. The total sales breakdown was 5,433 safety cars
for U. S.lines, 148 for Canada and 6 for Mexico.
2 No. 236, ordered by CTC on September 29, 1926, is one of two vehicles
16 George W. Hilton and John F. Due, The Electric Interurban Railways in
built by the J. G. Brill Company of Philadelphia that currently reside in the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania collection. Brill was a premier builder
of electric trolleys, horse cars, cable cars, self-propelled railcars and
railroad passenger coaches in the United States from 1868 until 1956. The
17
America, Stanford, Cal.: Stanford University Press, 1960, 86-87.
Richard D. Shindle, “The Conestoga Traction Company, 1899-1931,”
Lancaster County Historical Society Bulletin 80:1 (1976), 48.
18
Ibid 296. Also see Luther P. Cummings and Benson W. Rohrbeck,
Garden Spot Trolleys: An Illustrated History of the Electric Street
Railway in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (West Chester, Pa.: Ben
Rohrbeck Traction Publications, 1977).
19
Paul Kutta, “236[:]The Last of Pennsylvania’s Single-Truck Birney
Cars,” NRHS Bulletin 62:1 (1997), 17. Interestingly, Kutta’s article
mentions that car No. 236 was photographed in full color for National
Geographic magazine in its July 1941 issue.
20 Email correspondence, Fred Schneider III, trolley historian, to the
author, August 23, 2007.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
24
Benson W. Rohrbeck, Pennsylvania’s Street Railways (West Chester:
The Author, 1982 ), 122.
25 From “Conestoga Transportation” notebook, in the collection of Fred
Schneider III.
26 Memorandum, Chick L. Siebert Jr, for the Lancaster Chapter NRHS, to
Dr. S. K. Stevens, executive director, PHMC, January 30, 1958. From
RG-13, VIF File No. RR87.14.
27 The Cincinnati car was built into the side of a barn in Marietta and,
having been in poor condition, it was destroyed in the early 1990s. A
privately-owned Conestoga trolley express body (minus trucks) is also
known to exist, albeit in poor condition, on a flood plain at Stoverdale,
Pennsylvania, along the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad in
Dauphin County.
28 Correspondence, Peter C. Welsh, director, PHMC Bureau of Museums,
to Edward G. Blossom, Topton, Pennsylvania, May 8, 1978. From VIF
File No. RR87.14, RRMPA, RG-13.
29
The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum inquired as to a loan of the car in
1977 and 1982. The Connecticut group inquired about the car earlier in
1956. SEPTA also requested loan of the car for a four-month period in
October 1994, but the request was denied due to the loan agreement
between the PHMC and the Manheim Historical Society. The PHMC was
reluctant to loan the trolley to another operating museum due to the need
to re-gauge it—an irreversible process that would permanently alter its
historical configuration—previous aborted restoration attempts by
enthusiast groups outside the state and the desire to keep it as close to its
original running location in Lancaster as possible.
30 Correspondence, Charles F. Gilbo, FRM president, to Dr. Larry E. Tise,
PHMC executive director, January 20, 1983. From VIF File No. RR87.14,
RRMPA, RG-13. As conceived by Gilbo, in his own words, the proposed
trolley line would have started “from a station in front of the Railroad
At the Rocky Springs loading platform, No. 236 takes a turn on the loop for the
last time on September 22, 1947. (Fred D. Schneider III Photo)
Above: Car No. 236 was moved to Trolley Valhalla in Tansboro, New Jersey on
Thursday, July 24, 1958, its last day at the Landis Valley Farm Museum.
(Lancaster New Era Photo, courtesy of the Fred D. Schneider III Collection)
Museum (under the Broad Street Station clock), with track along the yard
fence and on to the Strasburg RR right-of-way to another station at the
Choo Choo Barn where the trolley pole and control would be reversed. The
car could then operate back to the present rail/highway crossing and from
there along SRR’s parking lot. At the east end of their parking lot the car
would start its return trip…the trackage could be extended along the
railroad’s right-of-way to the Red Caboose Motel and the Toy Train
Museum. This trolley system would tie together all of the rail-oriented
enterprises of the area.” A handwritten notation at the end of the letter
indicated that Donald Denlinger, then owner of the Red Caboose Motel,
offered “all the land we need to reach the motel and the Toy Train
Museum.” Representing the stakeholders in the joint committee project
were George Hart, Bill Withuhn, Charles Gilbo, Ellis Bachman, Walt
Minnich and James Shuman. Various potential restorationists were
canvassed to restore the car, including Edward G. Blossom of Topton,
Pennsylvania., and the Strasburg Rail Road.
31 The NRHS funding was later earmarked for use in the car’s 1990s
restoration by the Manheim Historical Society.
32 Memorandum, Robert L. Emerson, Railroad Museum director, to
Robert N. Sieber, PHMC Central Regional Division, February 13, 1985.
The same memo indicated the possible trade of the trolley for a unknown
PRR class ND cabin car which never transpired. From VIF File
No. RR87.14, RRMPA, RG-13.
33 The
loan agreement calls for the duration of a
loan lasting 25 years, with a renewal option in
10-year intervals with the consent of both parties.
The car was catalogued by the Railroad Museum
of Pennsylvania curatorial staff at Manheim,
Pennsylvania on July 24, 2000.
34
Kutta 17.
35 At least 30-plus other Birneys are preserved in
trolley museums throughout North America. Of
the extant Birney safety cars, many of them have
been restored for heritage service, a blend of
museum and public transportation, throughout
the country. No. 236 may have been the first
Birney restored to full operating condition in the
preservation era.
News &Views
Summer & Fall Attendance
Museum attendance finally turned the corner this summer and
fall, and in a big way, rebounding with an average 28% increase in
overall visitation and a similar figure for revenue increases from
admissions during the July through October 2007 season,
compared to the same months in 2006. Not surprisingly, Museum
store sales also saw an increase, with an average increase of around
30% in gross sales over the same period.
Why the turnaround? Certainly the new front entrance is doing
its job, attracting people through the new portal from across the
street at the Strasburg Rail Road. And the location of the new store
not only increases sales, but their positive experience in the store
actually convinces some visitors to pay the admission and
experience the rest of the Museum.
Other factors in the increase may be some of the excellent
publicity that the Museum generated with its grant awards, new
programs and restoration projects. Or, people are getting used to
the $3.00 per gallon gas prices and traveling again. Or, the help the
Museum received from the PHMC marketing department with the
state office of tourism. Or, the uptick in the stock market and
economy over the summer giving people a little more discretionary
income. Just as with the sudden downturn in attendance after 9/11,
there are probably a number of factors involved in the increase. In
any case, we do not intend to rest on our laurels, and hope to keep
the momentum going in the right direction.
Besides the many great photographs of Museum equipment, the
calendar lists the dates for the Museum’s 2008 programs, carries a
brief history of the FRM and also features photos of volunteers
and special giving opportunities.
While not specifically designed as a fundraiser, the calendar
has done quite well and we are down to our last half-box and will
probably sell out. If members would like to grab a few more
before they are gone, better hurry. The calendar order form can be
downloaded from the Museum’s web site or can be obtained by
calling the Museum. Better yet, make a visit to the Museum store
to catch up on all your gift needs for that special railroader!
The cover of the 2008 Railroad Museum calendar, commemorating the
25th anniversary of the FRM, is a view from the observation bridge
looking east in Rolling Stock Hall. (Matthew Willard Photo, Railroad
Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC)
Accreditation Process Proceeds
Things are moving along towards completion of the 100-plus
page AAM museum accreditation self study questionnaire, with
nine of the ten sections submitted to Harrisburg for review as of
this writing. The next step will be to complete the final section,
and to incorporate the comments by the Harrisburg reviewers into
all the sections. The really big job that remains will be assembling
all of the more than 60 attachments that are required to be
submitted along with the completed questionnaire, which is due in
Washington, DC on March 7, 2008.
Night Photography Session
Visitors await the opening of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania during the
inaugural Model Railroading Days program in October. (Walt Kuhl Photo,
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC)
Museum Calendar Well Received
The FRM board of directors voted to develop a calendar to
commemorate the FRM’s 25th anniversary in 2008 at its
June meeting. A special committee, working with Museum
advancement director Deborah Reddig, chose the format and
selected the photographs for the calendar, which was delivered to
the Museum on September 25.
During the evening of November 4, the Railroad Museum
participated in a night photo session organized by Peter Lerro III.
The session consisted of an outdoor component which featured
PRR locomotives K4s No. 3750, M1b No. 6755 and E6s No. 460.
Lerro and several associates worked on painting the front of these
locomotives and fabricated jacketing for the steam chests (removed
for asbestos abatement) and provided “actors” in period clothing to
populate the photos. After two dress rehearsals, much was learned
about what needed to be done in order to make the steam engines
look like they were in service.
More than 30 individuals signed up for the project, which also
included an indoor component featuring PRR GG-1 No. 4935,
E-44 No 4465, D16sb No. 1223 and E7s No. 7002. Ken Briers
brought his 1940s Ford PRR pickup truck for use in the indoor
shots, which also featured several re-enactors who returned to the
Museum after the conclusion of the Trains & Troops program from
earlier that day.
In addition to fees collected by the Museum for this event that
will help with funding Museum programs, the activity also
provided access to the collection to a distinct audience of the
Railroad Museum from whom we received nothing but thanks and
compliments.
Photos from the night session can be found posted on the web
at http://www.railpictures.net.
HVAC Upgrade
As reported in the July issue of Milepost, the design and
contingency funding component of the $5 million capital project to
upgrade HVAC at the Museum was released. The firm of Benatec,
Inc., Mechanicsburg, was selected as the design firm that will work
with the Railroad Museum, the state’s Division of Architecture &
Preservation and the Department of General Services on designing
the system that best works for the Museum.
Early on, the Museum was considering using natural gas as one
of the alternatives for the HVAC, especially since UGI is planning
to bring a main gas line into Strasburg in 2008 to service the new
construction planned for around the Historic Strasburg Inn. Recent
developments in the technology of geothermal systems, however,
have swung the pendulum away from the gas option and towards
geothermal technology. A 300-foot test well was drilled in
September to monitor the rate of heat exchange in the local water
table, and the test results were quite favorable. The next step will
be to determine the number of wells needed to support the system
and where to locate them. Alternatives discussed so far include the
grassy perimeter around the building and in grid fashion beneath
the large visitor parking lot. A large control room will also need
to be built somewhere, since we do not think the existing
mechanical room is large enough to handle all the pumps and
computerized controls.
In addition, the exterior envelope of the new addition will need
to be redesigned with new skylights, ceiling and wall insulation
applied and thermal glass added. The final chore will be to install
the ductwork and air handling units to move the conditioned air
around the 100,000 square foot hall, as well as the old
administration building, collection areas and offices.
Workers at the Reading Shops in 1918 pieced together No. 1251 using parts
from a previously existing I-8 2-8-0 Consolidation engine. All told, the
Reading Company produced over 830 steam locomotives. Only No. 1251 has
survived. She is featured in the Railroad Museum’s 2008 calendar in the month
of July. (Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC)
Built between 1889 and 1894 for the Coudersport & Port Allegany Railroad, this
is believed to be the oldest Russell snow plow still in existence. Railroad Museum
of Pennsylvania staff and volunteers completed a substantial and
remarkable restoration of the snow plow to preserve this unique aspect of
railroad history. The snow plow is featured in the Railroad Museum’s 2008
calendar in the month of December. (Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC)
The rough plan for the design is due by the end of December,
after which the plan will be reviewed, refined and finalized by the
end of June 2008. The Railroad Museum hopes to have the system
up and operating by the winter of 2009.
Fire Suppression Status
The design is done, the agreements are signed and we are ready
to go…except for some legislation that is required to dedicate the
water line that will be installed for the sprinkler system. The
line will be constructed using Commonwealth funds on
Commonwealth property, but the maintenance and ownership of
the line will be turned over to the Strasburg Water Authority upon
completion of the project. Because it involves rights-of-way and
property easements of Commonwealth property, legislation is
required to be passed by the Pennsylvania House and Senate to
formalize the dedication. Pennsylvania Representative Bryan
Cutler drafted the legislation and it was introduced in the House.
The PA Department of General Services has held up bidding on
the project until the legislation is passed. With a bit of luck, we
hope to be digging this spring and complete the water line
component of the project by the middle of summer.
When this first phase of the project is finished, the archives,
archives annex, framed storage and basement collection storage
areas will be covered with a “Sapphire” inert gas suppression
system rather than a water sprinkler system, given the sensitive
nature of the paper, negatives and photographs stored in those
areas.
The new water line will be connected to a fire pump that will be
located off of the staff parking lot. The pump will provide the
necessary pressure to charge the dry pipe sprinkler system when
the double activation alarm system is activated. Stewart Junction,
the 1915 street scene and the new front entrance piping, already
installed, will be hooked up to the sprinkler system and become
operable. The rest of the administration building, Rolling Stock
Hall and the restoration shop will come on line as funds are
allocated over the next several years to add the various remaining
zones to the basic dry pipe sprinkler system. Again, the winter of
2009 is the target for completion for the first phase of the project.
the restoration plan is completed, the restoration crew will begin to
reassemble the car back to its original configuration.
Assisting in the work on the car is Dana King, a carpentry
student from Stevens College of Technology who came to the
Museum over the summer as a PHMC preservation trades
apprentice through a grant from the Fairmount Park Association.
The FRM board of directors approved funding to keep Dana on a
part-time basis over the fall, winter and spring semesters to work
on the cabin car project on days when he is not attending classes.
The big news, and the next big project in the restoration shop,
will be the cosmetic restoration of the “Lindbergh Engine,” PRR
E6s steam locomotive No. 460. The old Atlantic engine is the
focus of the FRM’s All Aboard 2007 annual campaign, which is
generating start-up funding for the project. An article on the
restoration process and detailed scope of work for the famous
locomotive will follow in an upcoming edition of Milepost.
Restoration progress. Here, the ceiling and the side walls have been painted
and light fixtures have been installed in the Museum’s Reading Company MU
car No. 800. (Allan Martin Photo, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC)
Restoration Projects
The restoration crew continues to work on Reading MU
passenger car No. 800, which has seen its share of delays, mostly
caused by outside contractors who are behind on all their jobs
because they overcommitted their resources. New window sills
have been manufactured and installed, the original luggage racks
have been stripped and reinstalled and the interior, including the
new ceiling panels, is now painted. The exterior lettering has also
been completed. The work to reinstall the seat frames and
refurbished seat cushions is rapidly proceeding. The car should be
ready for exhibition by mid winter.
Work on the Museum’s PRR ND cabin car is also proceeding,
with the dismantling of the car pretty much complete, pending the
completion of an historic paint analysis. The car has seen its share
of modifications over its service life, and serves as yet another
lesson in frugal railroad repairs that kept pieces in service well
beyond their designed life span. Curator of locomotives and
railcars Allan Martin is using original PRR drawings from the
Railroad Museum’s archives to ascertain which components are
original and which were modifications over the last 75 years. After
Even more restoration progress. The siding and the roof deck have been
removed from the Pennsylvania Railroad ND cabin car, depicted here in the
Museum’s restoration shop. (Allan Martin Photo, Railroad Museum of
Pennsylvania, PHMC)
Sanitary Sewer Update
Again, the design is done, the bid packages are ready to send out
to vendors, but the same water line legislation is holding up this
project, too. The Strasburg Rail Road has completed their main
sewer line up to the end of the Strasburg Borough line on Main
Street, which is now operating, and they are waiting for us to hook
up to that line.
The Railroad Museum has not been able to add any new toilets
to its repertoire since the original building was constructed, as the
30-year-old leach bed has become so inefficient and the only way
we can keep it operating under DEP guidelines is to pump out the
holding tanks completely at least twice every year. With the new
system, the folks working on the master site plan can consider new
toilets in almost any location on the site. If all goes well, we are
looking at the fall of 2008 for completion of the sanitary sewer
project.
Site Master Plan
One of the items listed in the Railroad Museum’s new five-year
strategic plan is to develop a new master plan for the Museum site
which defines a complete site build-out over the next 30 years.
The architectural firm of Perfido/Weiskopf has been engaged by
the PHMC to work with the Bureau and Museum staff to outline
what needs to be built and where it might be located on the site
plan. One of the objectives will be to look at the five-year plan
and identify what needs to be built to accomplish goals listed in the
plan. The consultant will work with local planning agencies and
the PHMC Division of Architecture & Conservation to see what
zoning restrictions will come into play when considering those
construction projects.
Collections Documentation & Automation Project
Chief curator Bradley Smith and the entire curatorial crew at
the Railroad Museum continue to make significant progress with
the cataloguing backlog and automating the Museum’s collections
records. Brad says that nearly half of the crew’s time is spent
solving problems that occurred because there was no curator at the
Museum for the first 20 years of its collecting life. Another large
portion of the crew’s time has been spent discovering pieces that
were stashed, hidden or otherwise missed during the last several
collections inventories. Still another large portion of time has been
taken completing research on each individual object and then
entering the data onto the collections management software.
The PHMC uses Keystone Preservation Funds to maintain all
26 of its historic sites and museums. This funding is shared
revenue from the real estate transfer tax that is collected by
the Commonwealth when a house is sold within the state of
Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the downturn in housing sales, added
to the budget crisis this past summer, have negatively affected the
income to the Preservation Fund. As a result, some of the projects
planned for the Railroad Museum have been put on hold, or
reduced in scope. As readers may recall, the Preservation Fund
was the subject of a legislative raid in June and July, when a
Senate bill was passed taking a large chunk of the funding for
brownfields and mine drainage remediation. Fortunately, after an
intense letter writing campaign by PHMC associate groups, a
bipartisan committee was formed in the House to block the bill
and most of the funding was restored.
The plan to replace all the light fixtures in Rolling Stock Hall
has been placed on an indefinite hold, and funding for the
improvements scheduled for the parking lot and outdoor lighting
has been reduced by one-third. The remainder of the
improvements scheduled to be completed in 2007/2008 will be
dependent upon the condition of the Fund and the project’s
priority.
Container Project
The Railroad Museum’s curatorial staff accomplished a yeoman’s task in
locating artifacts that had been stashed, hidden or otherwise missing for many
years. They also evaluated and documented condition of the pieces and
conducted exhuastive research on items recommended for deaccessioning.
(Bradley K. Smith Photo, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, PHMC)
As a result of the close scrutiny by the Museum staff, a
large group of more than 1,500 objects were deemed to be
unrelated to the mission of the Museum and were recommended
for deaccessioning. Many of the pieces recommended for
deaccession are in poor condition, are duplicates of items already
in the collection, have absolutely no documentation or are simply
not related in any way to Pennsylvania’s railroading history.
Exhaustive research is conducted on each of the pieces
recommended for deaccessioning to ensure we are not disposing of
anything that has any reason to be kept in the collection.
Miscellaneous Projects
The Railroad Museum will be completing several projects
during the winter which will improve the looks and functions of the
old section of the lobby. Now that the front of the lobby looks
brand new with the 2007 construction completed, the old section
looks a bit dated. The 1974 ceiling is a cave-like brown color and
the old, inefficient track light fixtures also date from the stone age.
The plan is to replace the brown ceiling tiles with the exact same
tiles used in the new construction and replace the old track and
recessed light fixtures with newer, more efficient fixtures.
In addition to the ceiling work, the two sets of doors on the first
and second floor that lead into Rolling Stock Hall will be replaced
with new ADA automatic doors. This project is currently out to bid
and should be completed sometime this winter.
The curatorial crew has also been working on the IMLS
conservation project support grant which is a test case that
examines modifying cargo containers for temporary museum
storage of railcar components. New shelving was purchased and
installed in the modified storage containers this fall, and the next
move will be to start loading components from the Lehigh Valley
parlor car and the entire interior from the B&O RPO car into the
containers. These items have been stored in railcars for the past
several decades, none of which had any climate control and were
also subject to bird invasions and particulate contamination as the
storage car’s exterior envelopes deteriorated.
The storage containers are weather tight and have climate
controls installed along with insulation, lighting and shelving. l
Curators Amy Frey (left), Dodie Robbins (center) and Rosie Meindl (right)
assemble shelving for the Railroad Museum container project as volunteer
Peter Messimer looks on. (Susan Sharpless Messimer Photo, Railroad
Museum of Pennsylvania)
Rambles Redux
ERIE RAILS
by Ryan C. Kunkle
IT SEEMS HARD TO BELIEVE AS I LOOK BACK OVER THE PHOTOGRAPHS
from the Lake Erie Ramble that more than a year has passed since
our trip. The excuses for this time lapse are many and varied, and
most are mine alone and not all that good. Nevertheless, a review
of the FRM’s Ramble to northwestern Pennsylvania and western
New York is long overdue.
The first destination on our journey took us through the
“Valley That Changed The World.” Barely a century ago, the aptly
named Oil Creek Valley had become among the most prized real
estate in the world. Beginning with Edwin Drake’s 1859 tapping
of his first well at Titusville, prospectors, investors and
fortune-seekers from every walk of life flocked to the area to lay
claim to their own tract of land.
Passengers enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of railroading in the
wilderness on board the OC&T’s open air car. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
In addition to splendid scenery and friendly service, the Oil Creek & Titusville
rosters the last “operating” Railway Post Office Car on its regular excursion
trains. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
Once oil had been discovered, its holders were immediately
presented with the tremendous challenge of transporting the
slippery treasure out of the wilderness. Not surprisingly, not one
but several rail lines were chartered. Within a decade, Titusville
would be served by at least four different lines.
Almost overnight, the land was stripped of its virgin timber
and natural beauty. It is estimated that about 1/3 of the oil brought
up from the ground was spilled back onto it before making it to
market. The average life expectancy for the horses brought in to
move the crude was only about six weeks. But for those who acted
quickly and wisely, there were tremendous fortunes to be made.
Then, almost as quickly as it began, the economic tidal wave
that swept the valley clean poured onward to Texas, California,
South America, Africa and the Middle East. Oil is still a major
part of the local economy, though not nearly on the scale of a
century before. Pennsylvania crude is still regarded as some of the
best in the world, but its cost of production makes it less profitable
than others. Record high oil costs should be good for the region.
Today, the unthinkable has happened. The Oil Creek Valley is
once again deriving its primary revenue from the natural bounties
above the ground. While certainly different from the sylvan
canopies that stood before, the vibrant green mountainsides and
clear running waters draw outdoors vacationers from miles around.
Titusville can even boast of some of the best natural drinking water
in the country. Only the occasional abandoned shed or wooden
tank along the right-of-way of today’s Oil Creek & Titusville
Railroad or the steam whistle echoing through the canyon from the
Drake Well Museum’s reconstructed well hint to the Valley’s
history-changing heritage.
By the 1970s, the web of rail lines in the area had been
reduced to just one meandering branch. By 1986, Conrail made
plans to cut that one off, too. Local business leaders united
and purchased the former Pennsylvania Chautauqua Branch to
protect it for the few remaining customers who hadn’t switched to
the highways or just closed their doors altogether. Passenger
operations began in 1987 using an ALCO S-2 and former
Lackawanna MU commuter cars.
A reproduction of Colonel Drake’s first well stands as the centerpiece in the
PHMC’s Drake Well Museum. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
The railroad is still an ALCO haven with two S-2s and an
MLW C-420 that served as the power for our trip. The railroad
also maintains the only operating RPO in the country, although its
operations are somewhat more relaxed than what the mail clerks
were accustomed to. Still, passengers can purchase a postcard and
drop it in the mailbox onboard to be postmarked with the official
Titusville RPO cancellation stamp. The RPO also doubles as the
dining car and onboard gift shop. Boxed lunches served on the
train were well appreciated by our hungry travelers.
An open-air car converted from a former General Electric
shop car provides the best sights, sounds and smells of the Valley
and the train. A well-written narrative recounts the Valley’s
history as you try to imagine it against the natural backdrop that
surrounds you.
The scenic journey offers passengers several opportunities to
disembark and visit local historic sites, including the Pennsylvania
Historical & Museum Commission’s Drake Well Museum where
we concluded our travels. The Drake Well Museum offers a wide
range of historic exhibits covering both the local oil industry’s
history, as well as the science and engineering behind oil
exploration and refining in general.
We arrived at the Maritime Museum just in time to watch as the Brig Niagara
set off for a day-sail on Lake Erie. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
The Caboose Motel’s rooms are located right across the street from the OC&T
station in Titusville. The paint schemes are colorful, if not entirely authentic.
(Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
A reproduction of Drake’s original well sits just off the actual
site of its prototype. Its steam-driven pump circulates oil into a
barrel that never gets full. A new transportation exhibit with audio
labels displays several vintage vehicles. Scattered around the
grounds, a wide variety of drilling and refining tools stand like
rusting lawn sculptures. In front of the museum, a replica rail car
sits awaiting restoration.
After the museum, we proceeded back to downtown Titusville
to check in to our night’s accommodations. Located adjacent to the
OC&T station, the Caboose Motel offers the chance to spend the
night in a real caboose, albeit an extensively remodeled one. From
the exterior, the heritage of these cars is undeniable but, once
inside, there is little to distinguish them from most other hotel
rooms. The cupola does make for a very impressive skylight,
however. And although the paint schemes are somewhat whimsical,
the rooms and the cars themselves are meticulously maintained
and very comfortable. All of the cabins came from Conrail, and
have a variety of heritages. Most are fairly common varieties
supplied by the PRR, LV and NYC. My room started life as PRR
N5b No. 477656. At least one car, however, is the last of its kind:
former Conrail No.18435 is the sole surviving class N5H, one of
20 bay window cars purchased from the IUT and Southern by Penn
Central in 1971.
An hour’s respite before dinner afforded time for a stroll
around Titusville to check out downtown storefronts or find other
buried treasures lurking on the weed-grown sidings around town.
Then it was off to a very filling dinner at the Cross Creeks Resort,
just a few miles out of town. If the meals we received on this
Ramble are any indication, moderation is not a word found in the
vernacular of northwestern Pennsylvanians. Even by Lancaster
County standards, we ate very well.
The first light of dawn broke through the cupola windows far
too early on Monday morning, beckoning us back onto the bus to
continue on toward Erie. Jeff Briggs, our escort from Destinations
Plus Travel, who had greeted us at Titusville the previous morning,
was now heading back towards his home country. Jeff provided
the insightful background that only a local guide can as we
meandered northward.
The Erie Maritime Museum was our first stop of the day. We
arrived just in time to watch the Brig Niagara prepare to depart for
a day sail on Lake Erie. Built in 1998, Niagara is Pennsylvania’s
flagship, serving multiple roles as an ambassador for our
Commonwealth, floating billboard for our tourism and heritage,
classroom and memorial to our history. After watching her “set
sail” (she navigated out of port with the assistance of her carefully
concealed onboard motors), there was just enough time to explore
some of the other exhibits of the Maritime Museum before
heading back to the rails.
New York Central U-25B No. 2500 was one of many pieces of equipment open
for our inspection during our visit to the Northeast Railroad Museum.
Passing showers did little to dampen the fun. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
In just a few short miles, we made the leap from wooden
warships to the most modern locomotives on the rails. For
railroaders, Erie is synonymous with General Electric. The
sprawling plant on Erie’s north side has been the birthplace of
many of railroading’s first and famous. From the first successful
electric and diesel-electric locomotives, to U-boats and Dash 8s,
GE has emerged as the country’s largest supplier of diesel-electric
locomotives. In 2001, the company devoted space in the former
employee recreation building to a museum honoring its rich past.
You won’t find any locomotives here—they’ve been prized
possessions in railroad museums across the country for decades
already—but you will find the pride of a 10,000-plus workforce,
told by some of its own retirees.
Our group was greeted by Paul Baker and Ben Anthony, who
felt honored to greet his fellow members of the Friends of the
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Paul and Ben helped guide
our group through the various exhibits in the museum, formerly
the employees’ recreation center. Exhibits include numerous
photographs and smaller artifacts detailing the history of the plant,
its products and especially its employees. With access and
photography of the plant largely and logically prohibited, the
Museum of GE History provides a window into this impressive
and historically significant facility.
From here, we followed the GE Test Track and the main lines
of Norfolk Southern and CSX (NYC&StL and NYC) along the
Boston & Maine No. 444 shows off the dedication and care of the volunteers in
Dunkirk who have brought her home and kept her up. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
coast of Lake Erie to Northeast, Pennsylvania, located in the extreme northwestern part of the Commonwealth. The volunteers of
the Northeast Railroad Museum were kind enough to open the
facility for our group that day, including providing lunch aboard the
Great Northern dining car Lake Wenatchee. An impressive
collection of railroad equipment surrounds the former New York
Central station that houses the museum’s main exhibits. The
railroad collection is focused on local railroading, but includes
representatives from all across the country. Highlights included
Chicago and South Shore “Little Joe” No. 802, New York Central
U-25B No. 2500 and a wide variety of Pullman cars from the
Pennsylvania, New York Central, Great Northern and others. We
were provided with a guided tour through most of this historic
rolling stock and managed to be inside during almost all of the
intermittent rain showers that plagued our visit. Situated
alongside the busy mainlines of CSX and Norfolk Southern, the
museum also offers a great variety for fans of more modern
equipment. Nearly half a dozen trains passed during our two-hour
stay alone.
The size and scope of the exhibits and layout of the Medina Railroad Museum
are hard to capture on film…better to go and see it in person. The HO scale
freight yard in this photo is nearly 60 feet long. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
We then continued north and east through the vineyards and
rolling hills into New York for our first evening’s events in
Dunkirk. Once home to the Brooks Locomotive Works—absorbed
by ALCO in 1901 and closed in 1928—the city of Dunkirk remains
proud of its railroading heritage. A small group of historically
conscious railfans has set about preserving this history through
exhibits at the historical society and the restoration of Boston &
Maine No. 444, an 0-6-0 built at Dunkirk in 1916. No. 444, along
with a D&H box car and NYC caboose, sits on static exhibit at the
nearby state fairgrounds.
We rounded out the long day with a visit to the Dunkirk
Historical Society, including a major photographic exhibit
on Brooks and a dinner slide show on a branch of the New
York Central which extended from Dunkirk to Titusville.
Our experience in Dunkirk exemplifies the impact that
railroading has on the communities it serves. While this
little line would mean little more than a sleepy branch line
to many, to those who grew up beside it, its abandoned
roadbed is as sacred as the Apian Way. By now, it was after
10:00 p.m. and we were all ready for a night’s rest.
Waking at a more reasonable hour the next morning,
we set off to visit the Medina Railroad Museum. The
museum is quickly becoming one of the largest and most
visited attractions in all of New York State. Housed in an
old New York Central freight station, the main attraction is
the enormous HO scale model railroad. The layout is
surrounded by cases containing many other models and
small prototype artifacts. The museum also hosts a regular
schedule of excursions over the adjacent former NYC trackage to
Lockport. Our train consisted of five beautifully restored NYC
stainless steel coaches, owned by the New York chapter of the
National Railway Historical Society, and was powered by an
RS-11 on lease from the West Falls Railroad, the current operator
of the line. The scenic highlight of the trip is the crossing of the
New York Canal, just below a series of locks at Lockport. For
freight car lovers, the collection of former PRR X58 box cars at a
local industry made for some equally memorable photography.
We returned to Dunkirk for a truly unforgettable and unique
visit to the NRG Power plant to witness their rail operations up
close. The coal burning plant receives coal from Wyoming’s
Powder River Basin, from CSX in 120-car trains. Each car carries
about 120 tons of coal, for a total of 14,400 tons per train. On
average, the plant consumes an entire train load every two days!
Unloading all of this tonnage requires the round-the-clock use of
a rotary dumper, an enormous rotating cylinder capable of flipping
one of these 144-ton gondolas upside down. From entry to exit,
each turn takes less than two minutes. A small GE industrial
switcher is kept busy pulling loads from the yard to the dumper
and returning the empties. The crew was about halfway through a
train that had just arrived the previous day during our visit. From
the dumper, coal can be directed immediately into the plant or out
to a large storage pile nearby. Powder River Basin coal is so
volatile that it has been known to spontaneously ignite in the
storage pile. Indeed, some small wisps of smoke could be seen
around the pile during our visit. In the modern era of stringent
security and liability concerns, the opportunity to get this close to
such a heavy industrial operation amidst the daily routine was a
rare and special occasion.
After our tour, we turned in our hard hats and safety goggles
and prepared for dinner. This evening’s feast was enjoyed at the
Fireside Manor and, with hearty appetites, our crew went through
dinner like NRG goes through coal. After dinner, it was back to
lakeside for a cruise on Lake Erie at sunset. With its wide
expanses, Lake Erie offers some of the most impressive sunsets in
the eastern U. S. The cruise was a relaxing way to end the day.
Our final morning of the trip had us finally heading towards
home. Our first stop was Salamanca, New York. Once a major
railroad junction serving the Erie, B&O (Buffalo, Rochester &
Pittsburgh) and PRR, the town’s railroad operations are but a
shadow of their former glory. The Buffalo &
Pittsburgh still operates a few trains a day through
town over the old BR&P, but the large yard and
station complexes now stand as acres of empty
land. A small museum has been assembled in the
old BR&P station, including a small collection of
rolling stock displayed outside. After touring the
exhibits, some of the group departed on foot to
explore downtown. The rest took a tour via bus
where they came across one of General Electric’s
demonstrator locomotives conducting load tests on
the B&P.
After trying our luck at lunch at Seneca Falls
Casino located nearby, we officially started the
long trek home. Breaking up the journey, we had
a late stop at the Packwood House Museum in
Lewisburg. Packwood House is home to a unique
and varied blend of fine arts, Americana and do-
Above: The restored BR&P passenger depot in Salamanca houses most of the
museum’s displays. Below: A larger Erie station sits abandoned and forlorn
just a block away. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photos)
mestic life collections, most of which were assembled by the
home’s last owners, John and Edith Fetherston. Artifacts are
displayed throughout the many rooms of this three-story, 18th
century tavern-turned-mansion. The rich diversity of the
collections and the quality of their presentation/preservation are
juxtaposed against an historic tavern in a quaint small town
setting. Packwood is your small house museum and metropolitan
art museum all rolled into one. Exhibits are constantly being
updated and rotated, and it exemplifies the type of museum you
can’t see completely in one visit. It is definitely one of
Pennsylvania’s hidden treasures.
After one more stop to test our stomachs, it was time for our
nocturnal journey back to Strasburg, completing one of our more
varied Rambles to date. Perhaps more than most, this trip took the
Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania travelers into
relatively unexplored territory. The surprises encountered along
the way most certainly made for an interesting trip, not soon to be
repeated. k
Sporting hard hats and safety glasses (not requisite for all of our Rambles), our
group poses with our guides next to one of NRG Power’s dozers at the rotary
dumper. An up-close-and-personal look at heavy industry like this was a
rare and remarkable event worth the trip in itself. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
FOAMING IN THE
PIEDMONT
by Ryan C. Kunkle
IN JUNE, 21 FRM MEMBERS SET OUT SOUTHBOUND ON A FIVE-DAY
Ramble to some of Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia’s
best railroad attractions. The itinerary for this trip offered many
facets of the railroad spectrum: scenic train ride, art gallery, highly
specialized collections and ample opportunities for good train
watching. Of course, sampling of the local cuisine was added for
good measure.
Our first stop was the Fort Eustis Army Transportation Corps
Headquarters & Museum. Located on the grounds of Fort Eustis,
home of the U. S. Army Transportation Corps, the museum serves
as the living memory of the military’s transportation units from the
American Revolution to current operations. The museum’s
primary function is to serve as a classroom for new cadets. It is one
of the greatest examples of history being used as a teaching tool
you will find anywhere. Housed within its collections are lessons
to be learned from past generations’ successes and failures.
The institution’s primary focus does not detract from its value
to civilian visitors. Displays cover each of the major conflicts and
include a diverse array of artifacts from General Hermann Haupt’s
frock coat to a rocket pack. With military discipline, everything is
neatly organized and displayed to allow a self-guided visitor an
easy time of negotiating the vast indoor labyrinth of collections.
Director David Hanselman and assistant curator James Atwater,
however, treated our group to a guided tour. Both of these
gentlemen are experts in their field and can add their own personal
perspectives to many of the exhibits and stories. Their extra effort
truly made the visit special for all of us.
The museum’s rail collection is prominently displayed outside
the building. Plans are underway to enclose this area for better
protection of the artifacts, but for now it serves as a nice welcome
to the museum itself. The rail yard is actually one of the first sights
you’ll see after going through the checkpoint at the entrance to the
base. The rail collection alone would have made the trip through
Washington, DC traffic worth it but, to be honest, it pales in
comparison to the artifacts and stories told within the building.
The collection includes two steam locomotives—one a rare
Among the many interesting exhibits inside the museum, Fort Eustis displays
this jeep used in the China-Burma-India campaign with its wheels adapted for
railroad service. (Karen L. Kunkle Photo)
Two of steam’s most famous faces, N&W Nos. 611 and 1218, are posed nicely
and kept gleaming for photographers. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
Vulcan—a diesel, crane, snow plow, freight cars and a passenger
car used in the daily run connecting West Berlin to West Germany.
The transportation museum is only a short drive from any of
the more heavily advertised attractions in the WilliamsburgNewport News area. The collection offers something of interest for
everyone in the family, even the “Oh, not another museum!” crowd.
Like the Corps whose history they have chronicled, the small staff
of the museum has done an outstanding job of making the most
out of a limited budget and unlimited demands upon their time.
March down and pay them a visit on the double-quick.
From the Virginia coast, it was time to head inland to Spencer,
North Carolina and the North Carolina Museum of Transportation.
Spencer grew as the home of the Southern Railway’s central
maintenance facility for steam locomotives. The coming of diesels
spelled the end of most of the rail operations. Housed in the
former Southern Railway shop complex, Spencer displays one of
the largest railroad collections in the southeast. Although not
officially biased towards any one mode of transportation, railroads
dominate the scene at Spencer.
The centerpiece of the complex is the 37-bay roundhouse that
serves as the primary indoor exhibits area, orientation theatre
and restoration facility for the rail collection. The positioning of
the restoration bays in the middle of the building presents an
interesting view to the visitor as you move from completed pieces
to a glimpse of actual work in progress and back again. A ride on
the 100-foot turntable is offered for a nominal fee. The museum
also maintains an operating stable of four historic diesel
locomotives for use on the 20-minute train ride that takes visitors
around the grounds and alongside the active Norfolk Southern
freight yard. North Carolina’s rail collection includes 25
The former station has been moved and meticulously restored to serve as the
North Carolina Transportation Museum’s visitor center. It is also the point of
embarkation on the 20-minute train ride that traverses the entire facility. (Ryan
C. Kunkle Photo)
United States Army No. V-1923, a 0-6-0 built by Vulcan for service during World
War II, has been recently restored and is representative of the quality of
artifacts on display in Fort Eustis’ outdoor rail yard. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
locomotives ranging from an ACL Russian Decapod to an Amtrak
making the site the home to their primary locomotive and railcar
F40PH, several private cars, a complete wreck train and such rarely
fabrication and repair shops. For those who know anything about
seen artifacts as an army hospital car and mechanized ballast
trains, the name Roanoke instantly conjures images of big black
cleaner. Like the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, all of the
articulated steam locomotives or bullet-nosed Northerns. The
artifacts have a strong state connection.
N&W was steam’s last stand, and men of Roanoke took pride in
The museum’s automotive and aeronautical collections are
building the last and the best of them. Today, the name on the
currently displayed in other railroad shop buildings. A site master
shops has changed and the fires have gone out, but Roanoke
plan calls for integrating many of these exhibits into a single
remains one of America’s great railroad towns.
cohesive story in the old backshop. Nearly the size of three
Roanoke’s downtown grew up around the shops and the
football fields, this new exhibit will be one of the most extensive
passenger station. Neighboring mountain ridges have helped to
of its kind in the country. As is, this museum is easily large enough
keep the urban center tightly packed in that same space. For the
to spend a full day’s worth of wandering and enjoyment.
visitor, this means that everything you could possibly want is never
Following our stay at the museum, we were treated to some
more than a few blocks away. Our group stayed in the Hotel
fine Carolina Bar-B-Que at Gary’s, a few miles to the south in
Roanoke, a fabulous old hotel built by the railroad in 1882 in the
China Grove. Now, eating well is nothing new on FRM
grandest style possible. Sharing the hotel with us that weekend
Rambles…if we’re not on a train, we’re probably in a restaurant.
were contestants in the Miss Virginia pageant, being held in the
But Gary’s deserves some special recognition, not just for the
neighboring convention center.
outstanding food, but for giving us what has to be the warmest
From the hotel, a covered pedestrian bridge leads across the
welcome a busload of Yankee tourists has ever received anywhere.
busy Norfolk Southern main line just west of the shops to
Gary himself met us on the bus and, from there on, it was as if we
downtown. A short block away is the 19th Century central market
had been regulars at the place for 20 years. Gary and his staff truly
where you’ll find an amazing variety of foods to meet
take Southern hospitality to heart. The restaurant is a fun
any taste without challenging the budget. Surrounding the market
place, filled floor to ceiling with the owner’s personal
collection of vintage tin advertising
signs. Oh, and the food…we were Lighting and angles can make photography inside any roundhouse a challenge, but the displays at Spencer make
the results worth the effort. There is very little here to suggest it is 2007, not 1947. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
started off with some complimentary
hushpuppies and stew, and then
welcomed to order anything off of the
menu, which included everything
from BBQ salad to a half-chicken
platter. Just about everyone chose
something different, and everybody
seemed to leave happily stuffed.
Thank y’all for a real fun evening.
The next day brought another
early rise and motorcoach ride to
Roanoke, Virginia. Like Spencer,
Roanoke’s history is inseparably
tied to railroading. In this case, it was
the Norfolk & Western that
literally put the town on the map,
The Virginia Museum of Transportation’s Clayton Pavilion
offers a proper display for their most prized possessions. A
single fence is all that separates these iron horses from their
old stomping ground on the N&W main line just out of view
to the right. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
Roanoke’s 19th Century central market is just a block away from the hotel,
offering a convenient and enjoyable place to grab a meal, all without ever leaving
the sights and sounds of the railroad far behind. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
are dozens of unique specialty shops, cafés
and outdoor vendors, all in the shadows of
corporate highrises and never far from the din of
the railroad itself.
Our two-day stay in town gave us ample
opportunity to explore the city or, for those with
more focused interests, to take in a little
railfanning along the main line. The finishing
touches are still being put on the Goode Railwalk,
a pedestrian walkway paralleling the tracks and
nicely appointed with interpretive panels and
railroad artifacts from signals to wheels. A high
wire fence along the length of the walkway makes
photography all but impossible, but is a necessity
with an average of at least six trains passing by
every hour of the day.
Following the walkway for about four blocks from the hotel
will take you straight to our first planned stop in the city, the
Virginia Museum of Transportation. Like Spencer, it’s a museum
struggling with its split identity as an overall transportation
museum with a rail collection that hogs the spotlight. Housed in
the old N&W freight station, VMT houses a very significant
collection of railroad rolling stock. And while one would expect a
Roanoke railroad museum to be dominated by steam, some of its
most significant holdings may well be its diesels!
The museum’s leading ladies are N&W Nos. 611 and 1218,
a streamlined class J Northern and heavy articulated class
A 2-6-6-4, both built in Roanoke and both restored by Norfolk
Southern for a fabulous decade of excursions in the 1980s. The
two behemoths are situated prominently at the entrance of the
Robert B. and W. Graham Clayton Jr Pavilion, a sheltered rolling
stock display area nestled between the freight house and Norfolk
Southern yards. Sitting adjacent to her younger and larger sisters
is N&W No. 6, a 2-8-0 built in 1906. She is the spitting image
of her slightly older cousin, PRR No. 1187 who now resides in
Strasburg.
Virginian E-33 electric No. 135, a product of General Electric’s Erie plant,
served on four railroads before its eventual retirement and return to Virginia.
The powerful electrics were the precursors to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s
E-44s. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
The Goode Railwalk connects most of Roanoke’s attractions and parallel’s the
old N&W main line through the heart of downtown. Benches, plaques and
exhibits, all with a railroad theme, provide a nice distraction in the short breaks
between trains. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
when we think N&W owe as much to Link’s
camera lens as the foundries of Roanoke. Link’s
photography blurs the lines between man and
machine, as few other artists have ever been able to
demonstrate. Far from your typical train shots,
Link captured the meaning of the railroad and the
steam engine as it was for those who worked and
lived with them. Locomotives appear as just
another living part of the scene, often a carefully
controlled vision created at night through the use
of numerous flashbulbs, the cooperation of the
railroad, raw talent and pure luck.
The museum houses more than 300 of Link’s
photographs, manuscripts, audio recordings and
equipment. Link himself was very active in the
planning of the museum up until his death in 2004.
The displays and orientation video, one of the best
Chessie would be proud…restored equipment at Petersburg, Virginia recaptured
I’ve seen in any museum, provide a complete look
the glory years of C&O passenger service. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
at what was going on in the mind on the other side
of the shutter. While his work with the N&W dominates, it is not
During our stay at the museum, I had an opportunity for a brief
your typical railroad museum. My wife Karen, who wouldn’t
discussion with the executive director Beverly Fitzpatrick Jr.
know a N&W class A from a Ford Model A, so fell in love with his
Under his leadership, the museum has begun to refocus on its
work that a print now graces our living room wall. This museum
mission, get down to serious business in making up for past
is a must-see for anyone with an appreciation for photography or
setbacks and get on track to becoming a much more attractive and
railroading at its finest.
well-rounded institution. The museum’s history is a case study in
After another lunch, and a few last minutes of trainwatching
crisis management. The past 20 years have been marked by every
downtown, it was back on the bus to Staunton, Virginia for some
problem imaginable, from fights within the board of directors to
free time shopping and wandering the historic downtown before a
partisan state politics and the wrath of Mother Nature herself.
lovely dinner in the old Chesapeake & Ohio station, now the
Fitzpatrick paid us a major compliment upon learning who we
Pullman Restaurant…sometimes we combine trains and food on
were, saying, “We want to be like you guys.”
the Rambles!
Part of Fitzpatrick’s plan involves getting the railroad
The next day would bring another really early wake-up call
collection restored and refocused on Virginia. While the big steam
for the drive to Romney, West Virginia and the Potomac Eagle
is impressive, they are far from the most interesting attractions.
Potomac Eagle excursion makes it way through the Trough as passengers
Other highlights include an E-33 electric
gather at windows to search for eagles. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
beautifully restored in Virginian livery,
Pennsylvania GG-1 No. 4919 (a legitimate
Virginia locomotive, thanks to the Potomac
Yard in Alexandria), a wide assortment of
diesels including EMD FTB No. 103,
a high-hood SD45 painted for the
bicentennial, an ALCO C456, an
experimental articulated auto carrier from
the Southern, a loaded Trailer Train flat car
and a depressed center flat complete with
transformer load. You will also find one of
the best collections of non-revenue
equipment to be found anywhere, including
a complete 250-ton wreck crane,
dynamometer car, instruction car and track
geometry car. It is the sort of varied
collection that exhibit planners dream about.
It should be interesting to see what else
unfolds in Roanoke over the coming years.
After another evening to take in the
sights in and around the hotel, we awoke for
a short walk across the street to the old
passenger station, now home to the
O. Winston Link Museum. Those images of
hulking black steam engines we all think of
Spencer’s turntable takes on a somewhat less weighty load…the chance to ride a turntable was a first for most of our travelers. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
excursion. Aside from our rail tour around the grounds at Spencer,
we had yet to ride a train on this trip, so we made up for it at the
Potomac Eagle. Today’s train was an all-day affair, heading south
to the far end of the line at Petersburg. For those who remember
our last trip to the railroad in 2005, this provided a slightly
different experience and a chance to visit Railroad Days in
Petersburg. Railroad Days is an annual affair that brings together
local railfans, live steamers, horn and whistle aficionados and a
nice display of vintage rail equipment.
Breakfast, brunch, and lunch were all served on board the train
as we rolled through the beautiful West Virginia scenery along the
South Branch of the Potomac River. As with our previous trip
along the line, hunger was not an option and the service was
stellar. A trip on the Potomac Eagle is always a favorite of any of
our Rambles and this trip certainly continued that fine tradition.
A stop at Burhan’s Station in Hagerstown, Maryland to force
down one more good meal finished off this mountain-sized
excursion into the Piedmont. Our motorcoach driver, Andy
Dornes, deserves some special thanks for getting us safely over a
lot of roads, ranging from rush hour in DC to cresting the
Alleghenies on West Virginia back roads. Another compliment is
in high order for Craig Haberle and all of his staff at AAA Central
Penn for putting together another flawless and exciting trip.
Without their connections and knowledge, we certainly would have
missed out on a lot of fun opportunities along the way.
Although they may be a little more than a day’s worth of driving,
the places we’ve visited are all well worth the trip. If you’ve been
thinking about visiting, or joining us on one of our other Rambles,
look at the photographs here and see for yourself. They’re no
O. Winston Link, but you can’t help but see that we’ve enjoyed
ourselves immensely! j
Ryan C. Kunkle is visitor services manager
at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Above Left: Southern GP-30 No. 2601 takes a ride on the Spencer turntable at the
end of the day. The roundhouse and turntable serve as exhibit and
interpretive space, a restoration facility and in their traditional roles of
servicing and storing the museum’s working collections. (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
Below Left: Petersburg’s Railroad Days provided an interesting destination for
the Potomac Eagle’s excursion and offered numerous opportunities for some
interesting photography. Here, the excursion train itself, powered by South
Branch Valley SD-9 No. 181, completes a trio of heritage units with B&O
GP-9 No. 6604 and C&O F-9 No. 8016 (actually a former Clinchfield
Railroad engine). (Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
A T U N N EL ACC I DEN T
by Bert Pennypacker
RECALLING A MEMORABLE AUTUMN SUNDAY OF NEARLY SIX DECADES
ago, November 14, 1948 dawned with a bright and cloudless sky
over the old hometown of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The
atmosphere was invigoratingly cool and pleasant, just a fine day to
travel over to the main line of the Reading for a look at current
train operations. But that was not all, for the railroad’s publicity
department had been advertising that date would mark the
inaugural run of its brand new homebuilt streamline, the Schuylkill,
running between Pottsville and Philadelphia. Replacing existing
schedules over the 93-mile route, this “new train” would make two
round trips on five weekdays and Saturdays, plus one round trip on
Sundays, running as Trains 2,7,10 and 37, plus 2002 and 2037 on
Sundays.
The train’s Schuylkill name was an appropriate choice because
its main line route followed the river valley of the same name all
the way to the Quaker City on its two-and-a-half-hour journey.
Since the train would depart Pottsville at 7:00 a.m., we selected
the Abrams yard location to watch and photograph its passing.
This spot stood one-half mile west of Norristown Junction, where
the morning sun should be just right at its passing time of
9:00 a.m. As she began slowing for the junction just ahead, the
glamorous new train slid past almost noiselessly, her nine cars
forming a long streak of highly polished and brightly gleaming
steel beauty. Her engine was the brand new G3 class 4-6-2 Pacific
type 219, the last of 627 steam engines built at Reading Shops
since 1845.
Incidentally, the Schuylkill was only one of three deluxe coach
streamliners inaugurated by the Reading in 1948 and 1949, the
other two being the Wall Street to New York and the King Coal to
Shamokin. The homespun conversion and refashioning of 27 cars
was carried out in the Reading, Pennsylvania car shop building,
representing a remarkable feat because most of them were old
coaches from the early 1920s, having relatively short lengths of 72
feet, six inches. Replacing the old and uninspiring olive green
paint job was a pleasing blend of two shades of green as they rolled
upon new Commonwealth roller bearing trucks.
As the excitement over the new train diminished as quickly as
the train itself faded away in the eastern distance, we decided to
take leave of the Abrams location and drive elsewhere to find more
train action. Going west from Abrams some 5.8 miles, we came to
Perkiomen Junction, situated on a big sweeping curve at the
western edge of historic Valley Forge Park. From this junction, the
single tracked Perkiomen Branch extended some 36.8 miles
northward, to another junction with the East Penn Branch at
Emmaus, near Allentown. Train 2003, a Shamokin Express, had
Above: Seen at Erie Avenue engine terminal in Philadelphia in 1939,
M1sa 1723 would be called upon to haul the Reading wreck train to
rescue the damaged 178 at Phoenixville. (Harold K. Vollrath Collection
Photo, courtesy of Bert Pennypacker.)
departed Reading Terminal at 8:30 a.m. and soon would be due to
pass Perkiomen Junction. The pleasing sounds of her Nathan
chime whistle soon were heard in the distance, but their direction
was from behind us. This odd situation was caused by big
sweeping curves as main line tracks followed the ever-winding
course of the Schuylkill River.
Here she comes! G2sa class Pacific No. 178 came coasting
around the slightly banked curve at an easygoing 50 miles an hour
with her throttle closed, as she had a string of 10 coaches in tow.
She was one of five such 4-6-2 types built by Baldwin in 1926 and
was the largest-boilered of all four Pacific classes in an eventual
fleet of 50 engines. Three of the G2sa engines, assigned to the
Green Street engine house in Philadelphia, were most often used
on the longer upstate Pennsylvania passenger trains, where
gradient from 1.3 to as much as 2.6 percent were encountered,
sometimes even with the assistance of helpers.
But today, fate would intervene and she would not even get as
far as the Royersford stop. Of course, all was quite normal aboard
the 178 and back in the cars of her train as she made the
Phoenixville stop, and then underway, headed for the eastern
portal of Black Rock tunnel.
With Train 2003 gone by Perkiomen Junction, we hung around
that location, hoping for a passing freight train. Sure enough, the
laboring exhausts to the west announced the approach of a tonnage
train. She came into view as the 2001, a huge 2-8-0 Consolidation
of class I10sa hauling a train of 125 loaded coal hoppers at a very
efficient speed of 20 miles an hour. Being a turnaround job from
St. Clair, headed for the coal yard at Abrams, her payload of
Reading hoppers was headed eventually to the coal dumper at
Port Reading, New Jersey with anthracite for the New York
metropolitan area. Had this been West Virginia bituminous, the
cars would have been either those of the Baltimore & Ohio or the
Western Maryland.
Next, we decided to visit the east portal of the Phoenixville
tunnel, hoping for another train to come along. Known variously
as Phoenixville or Black Rock, this 1,931-foot-long bore dated
from 1839 and was historically regarded as one of America’s
earliest railroad tunnels. Under the supervision of civil engineer
Monicure Robinson, the bore had been blasted out with black
powder and dug with hand labor during the construction of the
Philadelphia & Reading’s main line. Rather than taking a much
longer route around the mountain, the tunnel was decided upon,
even though this course also meant bridging the Schuylkill River
right at the bore’s west portal.
By the year 1911, the railroad was being increased to four tracks
between Birdsboro and Norristown Junction, a distance of 31.5
miles. However, it was necessary to retain a double tracked stretch
of 4.3 miles between Royersford and Phoenixville because of the
tunnel.
Shortly after reaching the east portal, we heard the roaring
sound of a diesel coming through the tunnel. Oh well, that was
better than nothing at all, even though a steam-powered train would
have been much better. Just imagine our surprise when a Baldwin
1,000-horsepower switcher burst from the portal, running
eastbound on westbound Track 1, pulling cars of a passenger train!
The cars were occupied, with passengers riding backwards, so this
had to be Train 2003, but where was engine 178?
The task of searching for the missing locomotive began by
driving over a circuitous route of backwoods roads that followed
the course of the river around the end of the mountain. Upon
No. 178 G2sa making the Pottstown stop with train 7 to Pottsville. In November of 1948, the train became the deluxe coach streamliner named the Schuylkill.
(Harold K. Vollrath Collection Photo, courtesy of Bert Pennypacker.)
Brand new in September of 1948, G3 Pacific 218 makes the Pottstown stop on a Sunday with Train 2007, just two months before the inaugural run of the
streamlined Schuylkill. (Harold K. Vollrath Collection Photo, courtesy of Bert Pennypacker.)
reaching the western portal of the tunnel, at a location known as
Mingo, lo and behold! There stood the 178, alone on Track 1, about
a thousand feet west of the tunnel mouth. A man, who turned out
to be a road foreman of engines, and who had been riding Train
2003 on his day off, seemed to be in charge of the idle G2sa.
Obviously his services had been enlisted due to the sudden engine
problem. So there he was, stuck out on the road with an engine
failure. This, in itself, was unusual because the Reading’s usually
high level of maintenance seldom resulted in road problems.
So, exactly what had happened? As related by the foreman,
No. 178 had thrown off the tire of the righthand main driving wheel
while passing through the tunnel. That must have made quite a
loud clatter in the confines of the tunnel but, nevertheless, safety
rules said not to stop a passenger train in a tunnel unless this
cannot be avoided. So it was that Train 2003’s engine man was
able to run the train clear of the tunnel before stopping. Upon
examining the damaged wheel, we saw that it seemed to be
hanging loosely, with its bottom edge suspended in midair, several
inches above the rail. The broken wheel problem was quickly
reported on a dispatcher’s line phone installed in the nearby shack
occupied by a tunnel watchman. During cold winter months, the
watchman was employed to walk back and forth through the
tunnel to break off icicles and inspect the tracks.
Up at the Outer Station in Reading, when the dispatcher
received word of the damaged engine, he doubtless felt fortunate
that a rescue engine was immediately available at the nearby
Phoenixville station. We, of course, had already seen this Baldwin
diesel switcher pulling the passenger train out of the tunnel. The
switcher was kept at Phoenixville for local work at such places as
the Phoenix Iron Works and along the short 3.7-mile-long
Pickering Valley Branch. It worked five days a week and, on
weekends, was tied down on the Pickering Valley track behind the
passenger station. While this switcher was capable of hauling a
train in an emergency, needless to say it was not the best choice.
Yet under the circumstances, almost any engine would do.
After talking to the road foreman and examining G2sa No. 178,
I walked over to the tunnel watchman’s shack to find out his
version of the incident. But instead of talking, the watchman
obviously thought I was a railroad official and handed me the
dispatcher’s line phone. So I listened to a conversation taking place
between the dispatcher and the block operator at U tower
down at the Phoenixville station. Later known as Phoenix
interlocking, this facility controlled switches whereby the four
tracks to the east were diminished to just two tracks for the
forthcoming run through the tunnel, as well as entry onto the
Pickering Valley Branch.
Now getting back to the conversation I overheard on the DS line
phone at the tunnel watchman’s shack: I learned that the diesel
switcher and Train 2003’s cars were at U interlocking, near the
Phoenixville passenger station. The engine was being run around
the train in order to reach its west end. So the train soon would be
underway, running westbound on the eastbound Track 2. When it
reached Royersford, the regular westbound Track 1 would be
attained, while the complete run of the little diesel to Reading
would be 31.1 miles. Meanwhile, at the Reading Outer Station,
another Pacific type steam engine would be waiting to haul the
train onward to Shamokin.
Down at the tunnel, we eagerly awaited the appearance of the
diesel-powered train. She finally burst from the western portal in
a crescendo of throbbing and roaring from the VO 1000 diesel
engine. She was doing perhaps 35 miles an hour, which probably
was pretty good.
Phase II: damaged engine recovery. When the main line
dispatcher received news of No. 178 and Train 2003’s sudden stop,
he immediately ordered out the Reading wreck train. Its engine
was No. 1723, a 2-8-2 Mikado type of class M1sa. When the train
arrived at the scene on Track 1, facing the damaged 178, the first
order of business was to clear the line, so that single track could be
changed back to double track. So, No. 178 was then pushed very
slowly back through the tunnel and onward to the vicinity of
U interlocking.
The task of retrieving No. 178 was much more involved than
merely coupling up to her and dragging her off to the Reading
Shops at a slow speed. Therefore, the wreck train and its
mechanical forces were needed to disconnect and take down the
engine’s driving rods and valve gear machinery, as well as
blocking in place the piston valve and main drive piston, all on the
righthand side. The locomotive could then be moved safely over
a distance at perhaps 10 or 15 miles an hour, even though the
absence of weight on one driving wheel afforded an overall uneven
balance of weight.
In order to make the return trip to Reading, the wreck train had to
be turned on the wye track at Perkiomen Junction, located 2.8 miles
east of Phoenixville. Dusk was falling by the time the wreck train
finally dragged into Reading with the hapless No. 178 coupled onto
its rear end. The road foreman sat in his cab with his face showing
a sad look after a long day of work, a day that had begun as a day off
from work, riding aboard the ill-fated Train 2003. j
Bert Pennypacker is a frequent, and a perennial favorite,
contributor to Milepost, as well as to numerous
other railroading publications.
Hauled by two FP7 units, 900 and 901, the coach streamliner Schuylkill races past Port Kennedy station as she nears the Norristown stop on her way from
Pottsville to Philadelphia. (Photo courtesy of Bert Pennypacker.)
On the eve of her PCB abatement, GG-1 No. 4800 was posed for a last-chance photograph with her sister No. 4935 in the Museum’s restoration yard.
The following day, workers would begin to strip No. 4800 of her paint and most of her internal organs, making this a rare opportunity to
photograph two five-striped GG-1s side by side anywhere. Although the sun had already slipped too far to the west for optimum photography, we lined
‘em up and took our best shots. Funding permitting, No. 4800 is slated to be restored to her original, pre-Raymond Lowey streamlining, appearance.
(Ryan C. Kunkle Photo)
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ON THE WAY TO BLACK ROCK - Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

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