In the effort to preserve railroad history, our efforts are most often focused on the physical aspects of the railroad and its infrastructure. But another, and sometimes neglected, element of history lives in the memories of those railroaders who lived that history as part of their day-to-day job.
In this episode of Legacies: Living History, we talk with three retired train dispatchers for an insider’s look at the job of the dispatcher, the ups and downs of day to day railroad operations, and some memorable stories that took place over the span of nearly 50 years.
Not a sound on Friday, July 30th. Everything was ready.
An unprecedented event occurred on the Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway on July 31st – August 1st. All, as in ALL of the remaining two-foot gauge locomotives in Maine were gathered together. Five in total, three in steam, for a photographer’s dream.
The following history was written by the WW&F Railway Museum and is used with permission.
The Historic WW&F Railway.
The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway was one of fine common carrier two-foot gauge railway systems that served Maine during the late 1800s and early 1900s. The first two-footer was the Sandy River, opened in western Maine in 1879. The Wiscasset and Quebec (predecessor to the WW&F) was the last two-footer started, opening in 1895 between Wiscasset and Albion, Maine.
Number 17 in New Freedom, Pennsylvania – July 20, 2020
In December of 1854, the Northern Central Railway was formed by a merger of numerous rail companies. The rail line connected the city of Baltimore, Maryland, with the city of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, and it connected numerous small towns in between. The line was later taken over by the Pennsylvania Railroad. During its time, many towns were formed. Abraham Lincoln rode along this rail line numerous times. He first rode this line when he was on his way to Washington D.C. to take up residence in the White House to serve the nation as the President of the United States of America. While on his way to Washington D.C., the railroad thwarted the first assassination attempt which was supposed to take place at a station in Baltimore. He went along this line to connect to a train at a place called Hanover Junction while on his way to a Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg. Why was he going to Gettysburg? Months before, a battle of the American Civil War that was the turning point of the war, known as the ‘Battle of Gettysburg’, took place. He went to the cemetery to honor those who lost their lives fighting for freedom with ‘The Gettysburg Address’.
His last ride was when his casket was on its way to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. Throughout the years, the line changed ownership, but the trains kept rolling on.
Number 17 in New Freedom, Pennsylvania – July 20, 2020
Until 1972
Hurricanes Agnes struck the United States of America in the early Summer of 1972 making landfall in Panama City, Florida. The hurricane made its way to the Mid-Atlantic region causing much damage. The tracks that were the Northern Central Railway in the U.S. state of Maryland were destroyed. Penn Central Railroad, the last owner of the rail line, decided to abandon the line between Baltimore, Maryland and York, Pennsylvania. The Northern Central Railway was gone forever.
Not exactly . . .
In Maryland, the tracks were taken up, and it is now the Northern Central Rail Trail except for a stretch of track that is part of the Light Rail Transit System for Baltimore.
The Northern Central Rail Trail in Freeport, Maryland – April 18, 2021
What happened in Pennsylvania?
The two-track line (became double-track during World War I) became a single track leaving the one track to remain with the York County Heritage Trail, the northern continuation of the Northern Central Rail Trail, running alongside the rail line. For many years, no trains ran along this line despite that it was still an active rail line.
That changed in 2011 . . .
Number 17 in Seitzland, Pennsylvania – July 20, 2020
‘Steam Into History’ began train excursions with a newly built steam locomotive pulling newly built old time passenger cars giving passengers a one of a kind passenger experience. Many have come from across the United States of America and around the world to ride this train. The Number 17 William Simpson York locomotive pulled passengers from its south terminus in the town of New Freedom, Pennsylvania through the towns of Railroad, Glen Rock, and Hanover Junction, the same place where Abraham Lincoln changed trains while on his way to Gettysburg. Sadly, only a short section of this track remains.
Number 6076 in Seven Valleys, Pennsylvania – April 18, 2021
Today, ‘Steam Into History’ has been rebranded as the Northern Central Railway, and it continues to take passengers along the same route pulled by Number 17 but by a diesel locomotive, and you can now ride to the town of Seven Valleys. The Northern Central Railway is making a comeback, and they are looking to make its way to York.
The Northern Central Railway is at 2 W. Main Street in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. You can learn more about the excursions and buy tickets at https://www.northerncentralrailway.com/.
Railfans watching the train arrive in Seitzland, Pennsylvania – July 20, 2020
It may be not be ‘Steam Into History’ anymore, but the return on the Northern Central Railway will keep the history moving on.
John Cowgill – Photographs and text Copyright 20201
Heisler #6 simmers quietly in the cool evening next to the little train shop, and the historic Durbin C&O depot.
Like so many, COVID completely upended our life. The kid’s sports, church activities, school, and work schedules were all turned upside down. We had even planned a big trip back to Chama, New Mexico, but alas, that was not to be. Instead, our family bought a small travel trailer and camped a little closer to home which allowed us to travel a little safer during the pandemic. Our longest trip took us back to the tiny town of Durbin, West Virginia, where the Durbin and Greenbriar Railroad still operates a small section of the old Chesapeake and Ohio line. We had been to Durbin before on a trip to the neighboring Cass Scenic Railroad several years ago, but this time we camped at a small family campground in Durbin itself.
Quincy, Pennsylvania Station today (James Fouchard Photo)
Often close scrutiny of an old building can provide a researcher with clues to its past, like an archeologist sifting through the ruins of an ancient locale. My previous article in “The Trackside Photographer” (http://thetracksidephotographer.com/2019/09/05/station-on-the-move/) detailed my history with the small Cumberland Valley Railroad station that served Quincy, Pennsylvania, and what I knew of its past to date. I have continued this research into its history, particularly to uncover clues as to when it was originally built.
In examining the building over the years, both inside and out, I recognized that it was built in the Victorian “Stick Style” of architecture; but using the centuries-old timber frame style of construction, rather than the more modern (for the 19th century) “balloon” stud-frame method. This method of construction of the station used large 4” x 4” vertical corner posts with interconnecting horizontal beams (lintels) to form a box-frame structural skeleton of the building, including creating the openings for doors and windows. This frame is a visible feature of the exterior of the structure, with stud framing clad with horizontal boards inside and out creating wall panels added in-between the posts and beams. As with the earlier English Elizabethan half-timbered construction the Victorian style emulated, 2” x 3” visible diagonal wood framing elements helped reinforce the joints of the structure as well as providing a decorative feature.
Last fall I shared some ideas with my friend Rick Selva about what I thought was needed at the SONO Switch Tower Museum in South Norwalk, Connecticut. (From this point on I will refer to it as Old Tower 44 like it was called on the New Haven RR. Later on it was called Berk then after it closed and controlled from NYC at the control center, CP 240 & 241.) Rick’s background when he hired out on Conrail was as lineman on the B&A and Maybrook line. His hobby is old communication equipment, and he knows it very well. Rick and I threw around some ideas and I ran them by John Garofalo, who is one of the most dedicated volunteers you could ever meet at the tower. He and his friend Bob Gambling are there almost every weekend from May till October, when we close. Garf, as he likes to be called, was very excited about our ideas and gave us the OK to do it. Rick’s excitement when I told him we could do our project of hooking up the scissor phone and other phones you see in the pictures throughout our three floors was just what I wanted to see and hear. So Rick, Bob Eb and I spent eight hours working to run wires while Rick hooked these antique phones up. His attention to detail was really something to see, even running wire across the back wall to hide a modern-day wire and he used the insulators you see and affixed the wire to it like it was done 100 years ago.
